Incubation (ritual)

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Incubation is the religious practice of sleeping in a sacred area with the intention of experiencing a divinely inspired dream or cure. Incubation was practised by many ancient cultures. In perhaps the most well known instance among the Hebrews, found in 1 Kings 3, Solomon went to Gibeon "because that was the most renowned high place to offer sacrifices." There "the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night," and Solomon asked God for the gift of an understanding heart. Among the members of the cult of Asclepius, votive offerings found at ritual centres at Epidaurus, Pergamum, and Rome detail the perceived effectiveness of the method. Incubation was adopted by certain Christian sects[1] and became an important ritual of Byzantine doctor saints (e.g. Saints Cosmas and Damian, Saint Artemius, Saint Cyr and John, Saint Thecla) and their related miracles are a fundamenta source for Byzantine medicine and everyday life.[2] The practice spread all over the Mediterraneaum to Western Europe and allegedly is still used in a few Greek monasteries. Modern practices for influencing dream content by dream incubation use more research-driven techniques, but sometimes they incorporate elements reflecting ancient beliefs.

A form of incubation was also used by the iatromantes of the ancient Greeks. According to Peter Kingsley, iatromantis figures belonged to a wider Greek and Asian shamanic tradition with origins in Central Asia. A main ecstatic, meditative practice of these healer-prophets was incubation (ἐγκοίμησις, enkoimesis). More than just a medical technique, incubation reportedly allowed a human being to experience a fourth state of consciousness different from sleeping, dreaming, or ordinary waking: a state that Kingsley describes as “consciousness itself” and likens to the turiya or samādhi of the Indian yogic traditions.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Averil Cameron (1997). Webster, Leslie (ed.). The Transformation of the Roman World, AD 400-900. London: British Museum Press. p. 98.
  2. ^ Csepregi, I. (2024). Incubation in Early Byzantium. The Formation of Christian Incubation Cults and Miracle Collections. Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-60660-6.

Further reading

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