Spiders Weave their Spell on Me

Golden Orb Spider at Vegetable Garden

Golden Orb Spider on Library Window

Weaving a Creative Masterpiece

"The means to gain happiness is to throw out from oneself like a spider in all directions an adhesive web of love, and to catch in it all that comes."
Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Like the quote above, I felt the spider's spell weaving its magic on me as I gazed at it the other day. Yes, Halloween is coming, bringing with it images of spiders, black cats and witches. And the book "Medicine Cards" by Jamie Sams and David Carson, delves into the Native American tradition of what the spider represents. They talk about how, on a symbolic level, there is the idea of becoming trapped in the web, helpless, stuck in life. We are caught in our illusions, fearing there is nothing more to life, leaving few alternatives and solutions. But all is not gloom and doom. Sams and Carson go on to say that the spider symbolizes the infinite possibilities of creation and is also the female energy of the creative force weaving in and out beautiful designs of life.

Perhaps on some deeper level, as I stared at him/her floating in its web, I felt this deeper knowing that resonated through me and, subsequently, did not feel repulsed, but rather drawn in. I wanted to get closer, to tap into the knowledge that danced on the white, milky threads before me. Using the camera as a tool, I gave the image backgrounds presented here a dreamy, floating feeling. Perhaps I already knew on some deep level what I was going to read in words and print the following day about the spider and felt compelled to capture the image in this way. (a bit of foreshadowing, maybe). An article on the internet about the golden orb spider also seems appropriate to add here. This particular creature is also referred to as a writing spider due to the occasional zigzag patterns built into its web. The 2nd photo above probably depicts this best. The creative connection is certainly interwoven, isn't it? How important to read the words of others to clarify, and affirm, and help us find our own voice in the process.

From the readings of others, I now have a better understanding of the spider and how it relates to me on my creative path. The spider shows its creative gifts of writing and weaving and is a great example of how we are all multi-faceted, with many talents to offer the world. And it is female energy of the creative force. Perhaps that is what this creature is trying to tell me here. Messages are everywhere, when we open our eyes and our hearts and the outcome fosters in us the female energy to create, as the spider says. And like the spider, who symbolizes the dark and light aspects of its being, so too shall I tap into all parts of me, and not hold back.