Dreamwalking

African Dream Root

I’m a dreamwalker. It means when I sleep I see another world, this other dimension. – Kaia Nieves, 13.10 Wayward Sisters

History

Dreamwalking is the ability to leave the barriers of one's own mind while asleep. It allows the dreamwalker to enter someone else's dream and observe or control them, or to travel to other realms. Dreamwalking is a form of telepathy, and therefore a psychic power. Humans can dreamwalk using African Dream Root, or as a result of innate abilities. Angels and some demons can enter dreams at will.

Certain dreamwalkers are powerful enough to see or briefly visit other worlds in the Multiverse through meditation. Derek Swan was capable of seeing multiple worlds that were paradises, but Kaia Nieves only goes to The Bad Place, despite being more powerful than Derek.

According to Castiel, when anyone dreamwalks in another person's mind, they would appear as mental projections that are essentially unable to utilize their powers as they normally would in real life. Even archangels like Michael are unable to use their powers when they dreamwalk. However, they are still capable of manipulating the memories of any mind they enter.

Dreamwalking as a Psychic Phenomenon

Humans are capable of entering another person's mind through a psychic phenomenon or ingestion of African Dream Root. When entering a person's mind, they are capable of manipulating whatever they please, even using their targets' worst memories against them. Certain dreamwalkers like Derek Swan or Kaia Nieves can use their powers to witness or visit other worlds in their sleep or through meditation.

Episodes

3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me

Bobby's wife in his nightmare.

Jeremy Frost has been using the herb African Dream Root to facilitate dreamwalking. He has learned to kill by dream manipulation. He kills his doctor, and imprisons Bobby in a nightmare about his wife. Sam and Dean obtain some of the herb from Bela so that they can enter Bobby's dreams and wake him up. They brew a tea from the root and add Bobby's hair before drinking the concoction. Dean finds Bobby and is able to convince him that he is dreaming. Sam is nearly killed by Jeremy, but is saved when Bobby wakes up and the dream ends.

Jeremy's next target is Dean. Dean stays awake as long as possible, but when he can no longer resist, Sam takes the herb to follow him into his dreams. While Sam confronts Jeremy, who overpowers him with his control over the dream, Dean faces down a manifestation of his own self-loathing and kills it, symbolically killing that part of himself. However, he is unable to wake up and his dream self morphs into a demon version of him, a manifestation of his fear of becoming a demon. The manifestation taunts him that he can't escape Hell and this is what he'll become. Meanwhile, Sam is nearly killed by Jeremy, but is able to use the dream root he has taken and possibly his psychic abilities to bring Jeremy's father into the dream and free himself. While Jeremy is frozen in fear, Sam hits him twice in the head with a baseball bat, killing him in the dream and in real life and waking himself and Dean.

8.20 Pac-Man Fever

After Charlie Bradbury is poisoned by the djinn Jennifer O'Brien and the antidote doesn't work, Sam and Dean figure out that she is stuck in a loop replaying something over and over. Since the experience is similar to a dream, they theorize that they can use African Dream Root to enter her mind and break the loop and free her. Dean enters Charlie's mind and finds her trapped in the game she stole, The Red Scare where she endlessly must defend her comatose mother from super-soldier vampires. Dean realizes that Charlie's greatest fear is losing her mother and if she stops trying to fight back, they can break the loop and break free. Charlie sadly agrees and the loop breaks and Dean and Charlie wake up.

Kaia and Jack unleashing a surge of energy while Kaia dreamwalks.

13.09 The Bad Place

In an attempt to reach Apocalypse World, Jack seeks out the help of a dreamwalker named Derek Swan. While Derek is able to locate Apocalypse World, he is not strong enough to maintain a connection with it until Jack uses his powers to see what Derek sees, maintaining a connection long enough for Jack to find that Mary Winchester is still alive.

Realizing their only method of escape from the angels pursuing them is to open a portal to Apocalypse World, Jack and Kaia Nieves combine their powers. Kaia is initially only able to dreamwalk to the Bad Place until Jack helps her focus and she is able to pull back and see the Multiverse; from there Jack is able to find Apocalypse World. As he locates Mary once more, Kaia's connection begins to falter and she begins bouncing between Apocalypse World and the Bad Place. Soon their combined powers cause a surge in energy that kills the angels surrounding their location and transports Jack to Apocalypse World, while Sam and Dean are sent to the Bad Place and Kaia is teleported to the side of the road in a wooded area outside Sioux Falls.

13.10 Wayward Sisters

After being found by Claire Novak at Sioux Falls General Hospital, Kaia explains her powers and her visions of the Bad Place to Claire, Jody Mills, Alex Jones, and Patience Turner. Kaia helps the group locate the portal she and Jack opened to the Bad Place where the hunters face several monsters who crossed over while the portal was open. Claire and Kaia travel through to the Bad Place and rescue the Winchesters, but while protecting Claire Kaia is killed by the hooded figure that featured prominently in her visions.

14.03 The Scar

After capturing Dark Kaia, the Winchesters learn that she is also a dreamwalker who has been sharing visions with their Kaia for their whole lives. Amongst these visions was one of Dean threatening Kaia with a gun to get her to help them to open up a portal to Apocalypse World. Due to Kaia's Spear being able to harm Michael, she is hunted by Michael's Monsters, killing several and refusing to give up her spear despite the danger that it puts her in.

15.12 Galaxy Brain

Dark Kaia reveals that Kaia Nieves is alive in the Bad Place, having tended to her wound and leaving everything she needs to survive before retreating to the Winchesters' world. She explains that she still dreamwalks on occasion to see how Kaia is faring. Jack dreamwalks with Dark Kaia and decides to use his powers to help get her back. When Dark Kaia decides to stay behind and die with the Bad Place, Kaia's connection to the Bad Place is most likely gone.

Dreamwalking by Supernatural Beings

Certain supernatural beings such as angels and demons are capable of dreamwalking. They can either show humans mental constructs of their memories or alternate realities of their own devising. Angels like Castiel, Anna, and Zachariah use dreamwalking to communicate with their targets in private, indirectly bypassing any warding.

Episodes

2.05 Simon Said

Ansem Weems tells Andy that the man with the yellow eyes came to him in a dream and told him that he had a twin. The man also said that he has plans for them.

2.10 Hunted

Scott Carey tells his psychiatrist that a yellow-eyed man comes to him in his dreams and orders him to do terrible things.

2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One

Azazel comes to Sam in a dream while he is being held with the other Special Children at Cold Oak, South Dakota. He tells Sam that he wants them to fight to the death, and that the survivor will lead a demon army. He also shows Sam the night of his mother's death, and reveals that he fed Sam demon blood.

Later, Jake Talley tells Sam he had a similar dream visit.

2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two

Azazel visits Jake Talley in a dream to convince him to do his bidding. By threatening Jake's family, Azazel is able to succeed.

4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester

Castiel appears to Dean while he is sleeping at Bobby's place and explains that the demons are trying to free Lucifer by breaking the 66 Seals.

4.10 Heaven and Hell

As Uriel cannot find Dean, he contacts him via his dreams and forces Dean to reveal his location.

4.20 The Rapture

In a dream, Dean is fishing on a dock. Castiel appears beside him, and gives him an address where they will meet. He refuses to speak in Dean's dream, fearing he will be overheard.

5.01 Sympathy for the Devil

Lucifer manipulates Nick's nightmares and appears to him as his murdered wife, Sarah, to ask Nick to be his vessel.

5.03 Free to Be You and Me

Lucifer appears to Sam Winchester.

Sam seems to be having dreams about Jess, who tells him that he cannot run from his fate. It is actually Lucifer, who reveals himself in the last dream. He says he cannot find Sam, and Sam does not reveal his location. Lucifer tells Sam that he is grateful to be free, and that Sam is his vessel.

5.13 The Song Remains the Same

Anna comes to Dean during a dream set in a strip club. She explains that she has been Heaven's prisoner, but has escaped. She cannot find him because of the Enochian Sigils on his ribs, and asks him to meet her later.

5.18 Point of No Return

Zachariah comes to Adam in a dream about his childhood playground. Castiel hid Adam with sigils, and the angels cannot locate him. Zachariah convinces him that the Winchesters are wrong, and that he should give up his location.

11.04 Baby

Sam is sleeping in the Impala and is awoken by Judy Collins's song "Someday Soon." He asks Dean what he's listening to, only to find the younger version of John Winchester in the driver's seat. Sam believes he's having another vision. John says he is only here to deliver a message -- that the Darkness is coming and only the boys can stop it. Sam insists that there should be a way to stop the Darkness and that John needs to tell him, but John only answers, “God helps those who help themselves.” Sam asks John one last question before he wakes up: “Who are you?”

11.10 The Devil in the Details

Rowena is having a dream in which Crowley is an overgrown kid dressed in footie pajamas searching under a Christmas tree for his presents. He opens one and exclaims "Mum, mum, I got a Sam!" while showing her a Funko POP! Vinyl Sam action figure. Lucifer, dressed as Santa Claus, walks in the door and proceeds to stab Crowley with a giant sharpened candy cane. Rowena, wearing reindeer antlers and a blinking red nose, says to Lucifer/Santa, "I’ve been having this dream for months but you, you’re new."