Parting the Mists

Still feeling the Halloween Oracle today, but we shall see what next week brings. This is a good one, regardless. Happy weekend, everyone!

SPIDER – Community and web weaving

She spins her silk alone
In the dark with hope of collection
Sticky with dreams,
Weaving the worlds
A wide web of connection

Masses of sticky spider webs make any Halloween decorations complete. The idea of a haunted house covered in the “artwork” of a big, hairy spider is classic horror. Even those of us who appreciate our eight-legged friends still hurriedly brush off those stealthy webs if we run into them in the dark!

Although most spiders are not venomous, humans have an innate fear of them. Perhaps it’s the fangs or the poison. Perhaps it’s all those legs and the way they move. Perhaps it’s where they live – often in dark, hidden places – or the way our Western, popular culture has demonized them by making the giant, fierce, and man-eating! Some cultures though revere the spider in very positive ways. In many Native American traditions, for example, the spider is the creature that gives birth to all other animals and sustains the web of life. The Goddess Spider Grandmother (and there is also a Spider Woman) is a key deity that brings wisdom, safety, and communication to all the tribes. She created and wove all the stars in the sky and makes soft webs for those that are troubled to rest upon and be supported by.

Spiders’ webs can be seen as a symbol of connection, not necessarily entrapment. There is a fine line sometimes between a family or community supporting us and controlling is. This card looks at this discernment. It also suggests you review the way you communicate with the wider community, at work, or generally with others and take steps to improve this or do it slightly differently. It also indicates that there needs to be a balance between what you do for yourself and what you do for others . . . if we give too much to the outside, our strength diminishes and we cannot weave the supporting web for ourselves.

The Halloween Oracle by author Stacey Demarco and artist Jimmy Manton