Spider Animal Totem

In spirit the Spider is associated with power, hard work, progress and also discreet mysticism.
Beginning our journey to unlock the Spider symbolism, we will first take a closer look at its silky house, the web.
The Spider cleverly weaves the silk it produced into a fully functional web. Likewise, this means that one needs to ponder upon our life events and the effect of our choices in weaving our web of life. The Spider can serve as a warning; we must think about the effects of our choices, those that have been made, and those that one is currently planning. The best choice is one that will offer a solution to current problems. The spider’s appearance as a totem animal means that other people surrounding you must be considered when making plans. A spider’s web is an important asset. One can see the efficiency as they use it for storage, egg incubation, and catching food. Throughout the course of life, the webs one makes for themselves can sometimes be a trap, entangled in a web of destruction. This animal calls for how we treat others, ourselves, and the events that happen simultaneously in our life.
In ancient times, the Spider represents a more subtle appeal, more linked to that of infinity symbols. As a spider has both eight eyes and legs, it is quite a coincidence that the number eight is similar to the symbol of infinity. Not to mention the significance of the number eight on Trigonometry, physics, time, cycles and space; it is like a frequency, a vibration to infinity.
The Spider is a manifestation of concepts such as being cunning, development, and not surprisingly feminine. It is extremely rare as an animal totem. Also, spiders are related to cycles, rebirth and also of death, creativity, defensive strategies, and fate.
Native Americans see Spiders as an icon of protection, especially against storms and destructive calamities. For the Indians, Spiders are of the Mayan civilization; where the spider was an icon. Trivia has it that the ‘Ma’ in the word Maya meant no form or limit, in Sanskrit. Thus, it is associated to the Spider who is illusive in appeal. It promotes the culture of the Mayans that do not adapt things as they appear, but also meditate to discover the unknown.
Egyptians associated spiders with hunting. Spiders are depicted with the Egyptian deity Neith, and as such are also associated with matters of how the world is created, the process, and the transition of night and day. The Egyptians appreciated the dusk and the dawn, and they all gave the credit to the Neith. Weaving is the exact reason why Neith is associated with the Spider.
Of course, the Greeks would not overlook the appeal of the Spider, as it appeared on the legend of Arachne, a human of nobility who weaved fabulous creations that ornamented the hills and plains. Athena was made aware of the spectacular Arachne, and was challenged in Arachne’s claim to have made the most beautiful looms around. This was the advent of the “duelling looms”. It was not clear though who won in that myth, but Athena cursed Arachne with guilt and conscience. In summary, Arachne committed suicide, Athena became guilty, and she resurrected Arachne as a spider. Athena even gave the blessing to their kind as being the best to weave in the face of the earth.
Spider shows up as a spirit guide when
- You need shape shifting.
- You need wisdom.
- You need to be creative.
- You need divine inspiration.
- You need to understand your fate.
Call on Spider as a spirit guide when
- You need to understand patterns of illusion.
- You need to understand female energy for creative force of life.
- You need to be interconnected.
- You need to connect the past.
- You need to create possibilities.
- You need to be industrious.
By Flo Saul
Mar 23, 2013