The spider has always been the symbol of mystery, power, and growth. However, they also relate to consistency: just think of the incredible cobwebs that the spider is capable of making on its own.
This reminds us that just as spiders are able to build webs, so are we able to build our lives. When we come across a spider’s web, we should ask ourselves a series of questions: How do the choices I’m making affect my life? How could my choices improve my life? What influence do the choices of now have on the choices I will have to make in the future?
Spiders or cobwebs not only call our attention to the life choices we need to make, but they also show us a new perspective on how we can manipulate our way of thinking to build the life we want.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Spiders are often associated with creativity, cunning, and weaving in various cultures and mythologies. Here are some deities and gods commonly linked to spiders:
- Anansi (African and Caribbean Folklore): Anansi is a trickster spider god in African and Caribbean folklore. He is known for his cleverness and often appears in tales that teach moral lessons.
- Neith (Egyptian Mythology): Neith is an ancient Egyptian goddess associated with weaving and creation. She is sometimes depicted as a weaver, and the spider is one of her symbols.
- Athena (Greek Mythology): Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, is sometimes associated with spiders due to her weaving skills. She is credited with inventing the art of weaving.
- Grandmother Spider (Native American Mythology): Grandmother Spider is a figure in the mythology of various Native American tribes, such as the Choctaw and Cherokee. She is a creator and a teacher, often credited with bringing fire and storytelling to humans.
- Nareau (Kiribati Mythology): In Kiribati mythology, Nareau is a god associated with creation and weaving. He is said to have woven the first coconut fiber mat and created the world.
- Arachne (Greek Mythology): Arachne was a mortal weaver in Greek mythology who challenged Athena to a weaving contest. When she won, Athena turned her into a spider, resulting in the creation of the arachnid.
- Tsuchigumo (Japanese Folklore): Tsuchigumo is a mythical spider creature in Japanese folklore. It is associated with trickery and transformation.
- Jorogumo (Japanese Folklore): Jorogumo, also known as the “Binding Bride,” is a spider yōkai (supernatural creature) in Japanese folklore. It can transform into a beautiful woman to lure victims.
- Gohone (Tibetan Buddhism): In Tibetan Buddhism, Gohone is a spider goddess associated with weaving and the creation of the universe’s fabric.
- Iktomi (Lakota Sioux Mythology): Iktomi is a trickster spider figure in Lakota Sioux mythology. He often plays pranks and teaches lessons through his actions.
These deities and beings associated with spiders reflect the complex and varied symbolism of these creatures in different cultures, symbolizing qualities such as creativity, weaving, trickery, and transformation. Spiders are often featured in myths and stories as both symbols and characters.
3 Amazing Deities That are Associated with Spiders
Arachne and Athena myth
Arachne, daughter of the dyer Idmone, was a girl who lived in the city of Ipepe, in Lydia. She was well known for her skill as a weaver because her creations were of extreme beauty and because of the unique grace and delicacy in her canvases.
Arachne was very proud of her skill, so much so that one day she had the imprudence to say that not even the skilled Athena, also famous for her skill as a weaver, would have been able to compete with her and, taken by pride, she had the daring to challenge the same goddess in a public contest.
As soon as she heard the news, Athena was overcome with anger and presented herself to Arachne in the guise of an old woman, suggesting that she withdraw the challenge and be content with being the best weaver among mortals.
In response, Arachne said that if Athena did not accept the challenge it was because she did not dare to compete with her. At that point, Athena revealed herself in all her greatness and declared the challenge open. One in front of the other Athena and Arachne began to weave their canvases and as the skeins of wool unraveled the scenes they had decided to represent appeared: in the canvas of Athena the great deeds accomplished by the goddess and the divine powers that were proper to her; Arachne instead, depicted the loves of some gods, their sins and their deceptions.
When the work was completed, Athena herself had to admit that Arachne’s canvas had a beauty that had never been seen: the characters seemed to jump out of the canvas to perform the deeds represented.
Not tolerating the obvious defeat with anger, Athena grabbed the rival’s canvas and tore it into a thousand pieces. Arachne, shocked by the goddess’s reaction, ran away and attempted to commit suicide by trying to hang herself from a tree.
But Athena, thinking that this was too mild a punishment, decided to condemn Arachne to weave for the rest of her days and to swing from the same tree from which she wanted to kill herself but she would no longer spin with her hands but with her mouth because she was transformed into a giant spider.
| Deity | Mythological Origins |
|---|---|
| Anansi | West African folklore and mythology |
| Arachne | Greek mythology, transformed into a spider by Athena |
| Neith | Egyptian warrior goddess |
Anansi
Anansi is one of the most important and well-known divinities belonging to the mythology of the original populations of West Africa, from which he is portrayed as a being halfway between a deceiving god and a cultural hero.
His father is Nyame, the god of the sky, on behalf of whom Anansi brings rain, extinguishes fires and performs various other tasks; his mother is Asase Ya and there are also several mentions of children he would have fathered.
According to some myths, his wife is known as Miss Anansi or the witch Anansi, although she is usually called Aso. The forms with which he is described are those of a spider, a man or a combination of the two; for this reason, he is often called the spider or the spider god.
Neith
Neith, goddess of Sais capital of the fifth district of Lower Egypt, was a warrior goddess.
Her emblem consisted of two arrows or bow arrows. She was “She who prepared the way”, she who preceded the pharaoh in battle. Like Hathor, she was also the goddess of the flood and was worshiped in particular by women as “the Mother who gave life to the Sun. Her cult developed in the late epoch in the Delta, where a sanctuary probably of Libyan origin stood.
In Sais, every year, the mystery of the death of Osiris and the finding of the body by Isis was celebrated, Women and men walked around the city carrying a lighted lamp that symbolized participation in the search for the body of Osiris.
Neith was also worshiped in Esna, where she played the role of Demiurge. In Egypt, it was sacred to Neith goddess of hunting, warfare, and primordial creation.
Her symbol was the loom; therefore, she became the goddess of weaving, protector of women, and marriage. As she is the creator, her doing has often been linked to the web of the spider.
Don’t forget that if you feel a special connection with one of these deities, you can work with them to use their energy and yours to create some amazing energy and have all you need to create a better life experience in both your personal and your spiritual journey.
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