Spiders are insects that inhabit large portions of our planet. Since people’s first encounter with these creatures, they have been fascinated with their appearance.
Something about these small creatures captured our imagination and created a whole spectrum of symbolic meanings and symbolisms around it.
Although there are many people who enjoy studying them and admiring them, there are still a larger number of people who fear them.
There is something about them that makes chills appear on our skin and forces us to imagine canister things.
Spider traits and characteristics
Cunning – Spiders are known for their skill of web-making. They patiently knit their webs and wait for prey to come inside. They hide somewhere where poor, unsuspecting insects can’t see them.
Then, after the insect gets tangled in a sticky web, they approach it and start to lure it back to their hiding spot. This hunting technique has been perfected up to the last detail and represents one of the most cunning hunting techniques in the nature.
Fragile – Spiders are usually small and they can’t protect themselves from stronger predators in the nature. Their only way of protection is their venom (if they possess it) and nothing else. It is not hard to kill a spider in your home and our fear of these animals definitely doesn’t come because of its size.
Spider as a totem
Spider totems are representations of patience, balance, receptiveness. Spiders represent weavers of reality and paths of fate in symbolism.
People born under this totem or protected by it are patient and they know when it is their time to shine. They know how to use their 15 minutes of fame and make the best of it. You won’t see these people cutting lines and rushing to do something. Their philosophy is simple and they aren’t afraid to wait for the right opportunity.
Just like a spider weaves its web and waits for the prey to get tangled inside, these people have all the time in the world and they can patiently wait for their shot.
People born under this totem are weavers of their own destiny. Spiders are creators of their web just like these people are creators of their own destiny. Instead of waiting for someone to give them a hand and help them, these people rather create their own opportunities. This way they never end up relying on someone and the only person they need to thank for their success is themselves.
Constructing a web is not an easy job. Spiders pour their soul and every piece of their skills into it to make it look perfect. This is exactly how people born under this sign look at life. They see it as a field of endless possibilities and they get to create everything they want to.
Spiders are also symbols of balance in life. They easily manipulate things in their life to make them perfect. Nothing can disrupt this balance and nothing can hurt them, because they will make sure to protect it.
This balance is, again, created by themselves and they need it in order to maintain happiness in life. People born under this totem enjoy having a strong ground beneath them in order to make all of their visions come to life.
Receptiveness is another trait people born under this totem have in common. They are extremely sensitive to outside influences and they pick up every sign of negative energy around them. They also monitor what is going on around them and use this information to form an opinion about almost everything.
They don’t force themselves to do this, they are simply more aware of their surroundings than other people. This comes with its own problems, since they are easier to hurt and disappoint than other people.
Paths of faith as a symbol linked to spiders, is actually represented with spider’s web. Small lines that intersect with each other are a perfect example of how life can take us in many different paths. Even though we choose the path ourselves, whatever happens on it is never up to us.
Spider as a symbol in a dream
Dreams about spiders carry an important message. This message needs to be interpreted in the right way, in order for us to understand it completely.
Dream about a spider in general represents a person in your life that is draining your emotional energy. You constantly feel like this person is trying to manipulate you and force things on you that you don’t enjoy. We all have people like that in our life and the only way we can live freely is when we eliminate them completely.
Dream about spider on a web is a symbol of negative experiences you have been through. Something in your life was extremely difficult and you are still trying to cope with emotions that are bottled up inside you.
Dreams about spiders on walls of our house, is a symbol of misfortune and problems. Things won’t go your way in the upcoming period and you won’t be able to make something come to life. Even though this project or relationship is important to you, you shouldn’t get discouraged. Everything is solvable if you put your mind into it.
Dream about a spider weaving a web is a symbol of news that is going to make you day. News might come from someone close to you and they are going to be a reason enough for celebration by the whole family.
Killing a spider in your dream is a symbol of success and victory over your enemies. Something you are planning to make true in the upcoming period is going to be very successful. Also, your enemies won’t stand a chance against you will be able to defeat them without a problem.
Catching a spider in your dream is a symbol for newborns. Someone in your family is about to tell you the great news or even you might end up welcoming a new family member to your home.
Spider as a symbol in different cultures
For Indians, the spider was a symbol of the Sun. The airspace spiders reminded them of the rays of the sunlight. The spider is a symbol of weaving, the unification of various elements and their connection to the center.
Upanisads describe a spider that enters the world into its center and enters its heart. In lunar symbolism he is the master of destiny, the great prophet, the guardian of the secrets of the past and the future.
Spiders are truly exceptional beings. Most have four pairs of eyes that distinguish shadows and characters, they have sensory cells for taste, smell and vibration. They do not have a muscular system, but they use a hydraulic pressure that allows them to fly up to fifty times their own length. They vary in size: from the smallest, only 0.37 mm long spider from Borneo, to the tarantula of 25 cm. A smaller number of species, mostly tropical, is social and in one place gathers up to fifty thousand individuals who share food and a net that can be nine meters in diameter.
With help of weaving glands spiders can create up to eight types of silk: basic and auxiliary threads, or for strengthening the edges, especially dense silk, etc. During the process of making the web, the spider first breaks down the radial threads, and then, moving from the center, it creates adhesive spiral threads. Their distance is equal to the spacing from the spider’s hind legs to the swollen glands.
Upon completion of the netting, the spider bites the ends of the thread’s initial secured core strings, sits in the center of the net, or next to the net with one leg on it and awaits the first victim. Spiders feed on nectar and pollen, fruits, bugs, or even birds and lizards. If the net is damaged, the spider recycles the silk by swallowing and creating new threads that restore the net.
The average thickness of silk is 0.15 mm, and the smallest recorded is only 0.002 mm. The spider’s thread is so thin that the human eye cannot be seen from a distance greater than ten centimeters – we only notice it thanks to the reflection of the Sun’s light and dust particles that are gathered there. The
In traditional medicine spider webs were used to heal wounds and reduce bleeding. Modern science has discovered why: it is rich in antidepressant webcillin and a coagulation vitamin K that plays an important role in blood clotting.
Spider silk is also used in transplantation because it does not cause negative immunological reactions. Even his poison is used in research of insecticides, the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and Alzheimer’s disease.
