Spiders have been and always will be controversial figures in our stories and in our lives. We see them every day and whether we like it or not they are there every present.
This isn’t a new phenomenon either. As long as there are human cities and buildings, there are spiders weaving webs in the corner of every room.
Our disgust with them may be purely aesthetic. It may be genuinely rooted in fear. But the most likely answer is that they are truly alien creatures.
Everything that they do is so far removed from our own way of doing things. Thus, it seems uncanny and off-putting.
Their movement is robotic, their eyes unblinking, their feeding habits, their abilities, their thought processes. All so far removed from our own, it is a wonder that we exist on the same planet.
Yet, to discount a spider simply for its appearance would be a mistake. This is because these little arachnids are some of the most successful creatures on earth. Generations of our ancestors observed these creatures with a vested interest.
From their observations, they noted the lessons that spiders can teach us. What their presence in our lives truly means, when you look past their strange and off-putting appearance.
It is surprising to see meaning in one of the creatures that is most loathed by humanity. But there are a ton of lessons that it can teach us about ourselves and about the world in general.
Surprisingly, people see a lot of the attributes of spider in a very positive light. Such are very effective in the modern world. These are: patience, balance, perspective, and determination.
The spider has to be among the most patient animals in the world, up there with crocodiles and stick insects. Most spiders’ method of hunting is to weave an intricate, delicate web. After that, they simply wait for prey to get stuck in their sticky creation. Every part of this process requires enormous patience.
The web must be the perfect shape. Thus, it takes a lot of time and effort to create, with one snag ruining the entire build.
The prey that the spider is waiting for could take days or weeks to get stuck in their web. Even then, the spider must wrap it and liquify it for later, rather than having it right away. A spider knows that the long, hard hours of work are not wasted. Rather, it sets it up for success later on down the line.
Unlike other creatures, who may see the world as either light or dark, positive or negative, a spider sees the world as it truly is: gray. It knows that inherently there are no truly evil or good people or creatures, only good or evil actions and everyone has the power to commit them.
Spiders fear not the darkness nor the light, they commit to a path of balance and show us that there is beauty in all aspects of our morally gray world.
The spider is an observant creature that takes in the world around it and watches everything with a close eye. It understands perspective very well, being both a fearsome predator and easy prey.
This mentality has allowed it to gain a good sense of what is going on around it and helps it make judgment calls based on a broad perspective that could save its life.
Constantly watching the destruction of your hard work is gut-wrenching, and no animal understands this more than a spider. Its webbing is an intricate work that displays ecstatic beauty, but number of different things can rip it apart. Even the prey it is designed to catch often ruin and tug at the threads.
However, the determined spider, time and again, will restart and rebuild. Never faltering and always carrying on no matter how grim things are.
Spider: Spirit Animal
When a spider spirit wanders into your life, there is no need for alarm, it is here to restart your drive and passion. It is a creature that frequently comes to people who are experiencing creative blocks or burning out at work.
It will help you reclaim the creative ideas, dreams, and passion that you lost. Also, it will begin the process of helping you plan how to achieve these things.
Even in the face of extreme challenges, the spider won’t balk, instead continuing on and weaving your hopes into reality.
The spider spirit may also come before you because you can’t see who you are anymore. Spiders have an innate sense of their world and themselves, they live and die by the web, and they know it like the back of their hand.
They can show you who you are and convey that it is okay to be the maker of your own web, your own destiny as it were. We are all the cores of our own world, much like the spider is the core of its web, and we cannot exist without realizing that we matter, something the spider can show you.
People born under the spider totem understand balance very well. They see the true nature of things. How everything is interwoven, good or bad, physical or spiritual, rich or poor. Everything is connected.
Thanks to this understanding, spider people know their place in the world. They are the ones who must choose their fates, they do not let societal or cultural bias define them.
Those born under the spider totem easily solve puzzles and patterns. They regularly can make something better or more useful than what they received. They find joy in the symmetry of the world and make connections that others would not.
The people of the spider totem can be some of the most inventive and creative people in the world. They also happily influence others through words, either written or spoken. Together with many professions that rely on communication and creativity being a good fit for these people.
Spider: Power Animal
Though many feared spider as predator, it does not possess the strength nor the speed that other powerful predators have. Yet, it possesses an extraordinary agility. Such can help those who call on the spider as a power animal to dodge out of danger quickly. Even if that danger is social rather than physical.
The spider is a great power animal for those pursuing creative endeavors to invoke. It is capable of amazing works of art, while simultaneously it will defend them to the bitter end.
Further, it will help you protect you and your work from plagiarism and thievery. It gives useful insight into where you should go from here, as well. When fighting for control of your fate and your life, it is good to call upon the spider. They are used to constantly being a target and scraping by to survive.
Also, they will offer handy tips and lateral solutions to the problems surrounding you. They probe what destiny you actually want, as well. Whether that be down your current path or on another one.
Spider: Native American Symbolism
Spiders are deeply important cultural figures among the people of North America. They inhabit a lot of tales and creation myths about the world.
The Hopi and Navajo of Arizona have a creation myth that involves a timeless spider woman. It is about Spider Grandmother who wove the world into existence with the conscious spinning of her web.
To many tribes of Southwestern United States, she is hugely powerful figure acting as healer and teacher for all who listen. The Lakota people of the Dakotas also have a powerful spider person in their stories known as Iktomi.
This figure is a trickster who causes mischief wherever he goes. However he is also a huge cultural hero for the Lakota. They consider him the bringer of culture and a fool and a wise man all in one.
Similarly to people of the Americas, many stories of spiders or spider figures from Africa present them as tricksters who are wiser than they let on.
The most prominent of these figures is Anansi, a god of knowledge of stories, from West Africa, especially the Akan people. He is a trickster god who is known to transform his weaknesses into virtues, and the stories he is in convey messages and lessons for those listening.
Anansi is a person who others frequently underestimate, and he is well known for his ability to outsmart and defeat opponents far more powerful than he through wit, cunning, and creativity.
Anansi is known by many names in many cultures, as his stories were not only spread around West Africa but were also brought to America by the oral traditions of the people enslaved and forcibly moved there.
Far Eastern Spider Symbolic Meaning
The spider is an especially influential figure in the myths of the Japanese people, and they have been portrayed as manipulative and patient beings that serve as antagonists for the heroes or tricksters who cause more harm than good. In the story of Minamoto no Raiko, a race called the Tsuchigumo are mentioned.
These beings are said to resemble tarantulas, being large ground-burrowing spiders, that take on the form of a boy or a young woman and place illusions on those who wander into their trap using their web.
Another mythical figure amongst the Japanese people is the Jorogumo, which is a yokai (supernatural apparition) that is able to transform into a seductive woman.
Which story is being read changes how the Jorogumo is viewed, in some she attempts to seduce and marry any passing ronin or samurai, in others she is a goddess who is venerated and saves drowning people who fall into the Joren falls.
Spider: Dreams
In dreams, spiders tend to fall into three different roles that symbolize various messages to you, the dreamer. The first is that of the messenger.
In this role, they are serving a god or goddess who has seen your life fall off course and is trying to get it moving in the right direction. When the spider visits, see how you feel about its presence and act accordingly.
While interacting with the spider, pay attention to the rest of the dream in order to pick up clues about the message. The spider can also symbolize the need to be a creator.
A spider creates its own tools for hunting and living, something which you may want to do yourself but have been unwilling until now. It may come to you to show you that you can create your own reality and that naysayers to your vision have no ground to stand on.
Your creativity is your own, and you should be proud of it. Finally, the spider can come to you as a protector. Spiders protect your home from insects and other creatures, with a lot of different cultures appreciating their presence for this reason. It is often bad luck to kill a spider for this reason, so if you see a spider in your dream don’t try to get rid of it, instead find out what it is protecting you from.
There are a multitude of meanings to the spider tattoo, however perhaps the most common of these meanings is that of fear and death.
No matter how important they are for ecosystems of the world, spiders are most commonly thought of as vicious predators who will kill victims without a second thought. This has made the spider favored amongst the criminal community, especially as a tattoo for those currently incarcerated, as it acts as a good message to stay away from that person.
However, the spider tattoo is also popular amongst creatives seeking to brand themselves as such. It is a creature that crafts so much, putting so much time and effort into something that will be torn down later.
Its perseverance reminds artists to not worry about what will happen to their work or what could go wrong, instead you should just create for creation’s sake.
Spiritual Meaning
A spider’s aura is one that is wholly settled in the gray of the world. In some ways, people view them as a creative genius who understands the world better than most, others view them as nothing more than horrifying monsters who gorge themselves on the bodies of others. However, the truth is somewhere in between, as spiders are a creature of balance.
They are predators and prey, they are creative beyond belief and coldly logical, they build with the intention to tear down, a spider walks a path between two opposing forces constantly never dipping more than a toe into the waters of either.
They have a calm, steady aura and will patiently wait for their hard work to pay off rather than run themselves ragged in search of something that may not be there.
This patience comes with the perspective of the world around it, the spider knows that nature is a bounty while still being unendingly cruel. It knows that living life the way it chooses is best, because sooner or later that cruelty may come in the form of a big predator.
Through all these trials and tribulations, the spider will rebuild constantly, never worrying about setbacks or losses, instead doggedly moving forward to the next task, its determination winning the day over all else.
The spider zodiac falls under the primal zodiac and is from the 23rd December to the 23rd January. The people of the spider are incredibly independent and tend to be completely self-reliant for everything. They are dependable friends who, while social, are determined to find their place in the world.
Spiders will spend a great deal of time trying to realize their dreams, but are patient in their attempts and will happily spend years turning them into reality. The people of the spider zodiac are incredible planners and will have year long plans that are worked out minute by minute.
However, this focus can be troublesome for spiders, as it can lead them to neglect parts of their life and cause health problems. A spider functions best with balance, and they need to have separations in their lives, especially relationships that have nothing to do with their work.
Spiders are creatures that spend their lives being judged for how they look, but they are also one of the creatures who, if they could understand us, would not care about others’ judgment. They live their lives for themselves and are happy in the niche they have created, something that we could learn from them.
So, if you see a spider’s web, try not to react with disgust, instead marvel at the beauty of this small creature’s creation.
Diane has always been interested in spirituality and self-improvement. She is a happy and outgoing person. She started her spiritual journey with Chandra while looking for tools to bring positivity to their lives. She boosts her mind with self-care and affirmations. However, she also knows what crystals to wear based on her feelings. She also practices the law of attraction.
