Symbolically, human cultures have painted the spider with certain overarching tropes. There a few beings (save snakes) that conjure up such a collection of frantic and frightful emotions as our eight-legged (often unwanted) house guests. Time has been unkind to the arachnid, nowadays being portrayed as horrific giant beasts or appearing in droves in any B-Rated horror movie. With that being said, however, mankind has long feared and emulated the spider’s unique brand of strengths.

Similar ideas appear throughout the world in regards to spiders, often portrayed as expert weavers (as in the Greek origins of Spiders and the nomenclature thereof — Arachne // also the Mayan Spider Goddess at Teotihuacán, thought later to be adapted by the Aztecs in the form of Xochiquetzal), as well as creative forces (Spider Grandmother in a number of Native American tribes) in regards not only to tapestry and worldly crafts, but the creation of the Stars and the Universe.

It is not hard to see why our ancestors looked onward to the spider and beheld such great beauty and strength in their art. They created their own world, so was it such a stretch to assume that they wove the silken threads that hold the cosmos together? I think not. Spiders being illusory beings with a great patience is another facet garnering worship. While many breeds do in fact hunt prey, the archetypal spider lies in wait for wayward insects to fall victim to their snares. At once, they leap into action to ensure their next meal, obliterating their prey nearly completely. They are a patient, reclusive and humble animal, in a way uniquely their own.

Another interesting facet to the spider mythos is a strange correlation to prostitution (perhaps not so strange, considering the ensnaring) across the globe. In Japan, there is the dualistic Jorōgumo (portrayed as both malevolent and benevolent, depending on location), a spider spirit-being that can take the form of an alluring female or a unassuming child that lures honorable men and warriors astray to feed on them. Alternately, she is a being known to fetch drowning men from the depths of waterfall basins. This spider correlation to water and prostitution, however, does not appear solely in Japan.

Actually, the Aztec goddess of prostitution, fertility and craftsmanship, Xochiquetzal, also correlates to this mythos. As previously mention, it is believed that Xochiquetzal is an Aztec reinvention of an earlier Mayan Goddess — portrayed most famously in Teotihuacán (colloquially known as the Great Spider Woman). Assuming she is the base for Xochiquetzal, spider connotations are easily assigned. Curiously enough, (in a story vaguely similar to the Greek Persephone) Xochiquetzal is said to have been abducted from both her husband and twin brother by Tezcatlipoca, a multi-faced God central to Aztec beliefs. One important role of Tezcatlipoca was that he reigned as chief God of Sorcery and Obsidian — an extremely important stone/glass to the Aztecs. In fact, it was used as a took for divination when placed at the bottom of a water vessel similar to “scrying.” The idea behind which being that one could see the “fire” within the “water.” Xochiquetzal was widely held to be a Goddess associated with butterflies (which were thought to be related to fire within the Aztec mythos), her predecessor connected to spiders (related to water, because waves refract and reflect light much like a spider’s web). Thereby, the fire within the water was described symbolically as a butterfly caught within a spiders web, and therein lied the means through which divination could be used.

I have found that spiders can teach us great wisdom, that of both patience and tact. We have the ability to “build our own world” and be the gatekeeper to those who may enter safely, otherwise risking destruction. She — as I have found spiders to be portrayed more often feminine than masculine — too, may reassure beliefs in fate and destiny, the invisible strands that bind all matter and spiritual paths. She reminds us that patience brings reward to those ill-equipped to bull-headedly manifest our own destiny. She is at once a being of youthful femininity, unabashed by sexual endeavors, a figure of fertility and the power of feminine wiles, and also a wise and understanding beacon, ensuring that even when all things seem to fall beyond your favor, with patience what you seek will come.

So, too, is she a symbol of resilience. When a spider’s web has been destroyed, it will buckle down and begin again, in the hopes that the world it creates will be even better than the last.

When next tested with the presence of a web-weaving spider, think before you swat. Spiders are docile beings with poor eye-sight and the animalistic urge for survival. Only when prompted with no other course of action will they strike, and even then, it will be most likely of little consequence to you. Even the most commonly maligned spider, the Black Widow, will not strike unless disturbed, and even then only a 5% chance of sustaining even slightly less than inconvenient maladies. Do not destroy something so beautiful as the keepers of fate, they are only attempting to ensure their own survival by cleaning up pest insects near you.

Youthful and elusive, creative and wise, Spider Magic gives you the chance to reshape your own destiny or look to where the strands might take you. Build a world around you over which you have control, and even when forces conspire to tear down all that you have built, remember the promise of new beginnings, erect a world even more beautiful and awe-inspiring than the last.