‘The Sandman’: Morpheus’ Sand Pouch, Ruby, and Helm, Explained

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comic book series is a cult classic with a devoted fanbase. Now a Netflix show, everyone can dive into the world of Dream. And if you are anything like me, you cannot get enough of the fantastic television show. The acting, script, and visual effects are entrancing and addicting.

The show begins with Dream, also called Morpheus, being captured by a man named Richard Burgess, who fancied himself a powerful mage. Dream’s tools were taken from him, severely diminishing his power. When he finally breaks free after a century of being imprisoned, Dream had to get his tools back to restore his full power. The sand pouch, helm, and ruby are all made from similar magic cosmic dust as Dream himself, but what exactly do they do?

The Sand Pouch

First, Dream sought out his pouch of sand. What is the Sandman without sand, right? Throughout the years, the pouch changed hands several times before ending up with demon slayer Johanna Constantine. When Dream approached her for his lost tool, she admitted to having it in storage. Although Constantine had it for a while, she could never figure out how to open the pouch. But they found Constantine’s ex-girlfriend Rachel got to Dream’s sand and fell under its power.

The small, unassuming drawstring pouch holds a never-ending supply of magical sand. As with Rachel, the sand can give you wonderful dreams that you never want to leave. And it can knock you out almost immediately. Dream also uses the sand to travel between his realm to other kingdoms (such as Hell) and to the waking world.

The Helm

With sand in hand, Dream traveled to Hell to retrieve his lost helm. A demon traded a protection amulet for the helmet and was loath to give it up (I get it, that thing is super cool looking). But after a battle of wits against Lucifer, Dream got it back.

The helmet, or helm, is supposed to be the skull and spinal cord of a god Dream killed. When worn, it looks similar to a gas mask. Which Gaiman said was purposeful to tie the character back to an old DC character of the same name (who wore a gas mask). Besides being intimidating, the helm helped Dream locate his lost ruby.

The Ruby

Possibly the most powerful of Dream’s tools is the ruby. The large dream stone hangs on the end of a gold chain (that looks more like costume jewelry rather than the real deal). Dream installed part of his power into the stone so it could create dreams at will. You don’t even need to be asleep to have your dreams come true. Humans who held the ruby attained power and kept youthful appearances.

Dream tracked down the ruby to John Dee. However, before Dream arrived, Dee had unleashed the ruby’s power on a diner full of unsuspecting people (and the world). Dee tried to make his dream of a less deceitful world come true—which ended in total disaster. Not wanting to give up the gem, Dream pulled Dee into the land of dreaming to fight for it. At first, Dee seemed to have the upper hand. When Dee thought he had won, he destroyed the ruby. All the power contained within the stone released and flowed right back to its source—the King of Dreaming. Technically, Dream is down to just two of the three tools, but his power is now greater than ever.

(feature image: Netflix)