Backyard Shaman's Guide to Power Animals

POWER ANIMAL FOR OCTOBER: GRANDMOTHER SPIDER

Spiders are scary. They have eight hairy legs with witch to creep and crawl. They surprise us by dropping down out of nowhere on invisible strings. Some of them bite with poisonous venom. No wonder they are a symbol of Halloween, along with ominous black cats and vampire bats!

Yet, spiders are also helpful hunters, delicate strand walkers, and have two-section bodies shaped like the sign of infinity. They are weavers of intricate webs which mirror Earth’s most sacred geometry, and they generate the silky material for these masterful artworks from their own tiny bodies. These are just a few reasons why Spider has been long revered by First Nation people all over the world as a beloved ancestor. Storytellers since the beginning of time have spun tales of Spider being the Creator of the universe. 

The Sennica people, after reading the lines and spirals of the spiders’ brilliant webs, also credited them with creating the very first language. Spider taught humankind the importance of recording spiritual truths for the well being of future generations. Writers and artists alike share Spider as an inspirational totem guide, who reminds them that they too are time-travelors, carrying the wisdom of the ages from past to future. 

Every web begins with a single thread. This represents the true nature of reality: that there is an invisible constant running through all living things, and that the world is a complex web united by One force.  When a spider shoots her silver thread into the air, she relies on the wind (Spirit) to carry it to a tree branch or window ledge, where it will attach to something rooted in the physical world that can serve as a frame. Creative thoughts are like this to: we spin a thread of an idea, in dreams or imaginings, and throw it into the wind, hoping it will take hold. Many threads float away untethered, and we, as web-weavers, have to try and try again, waiting for one to stick. Imagine what would happen if a spider gave up after one try, or twenty. It’s life depends on continual weaving. So does ours.    

-- Copyright Amy Beth Katz. 2011