Recently I visited one of my favorite hot springs, and as I immersed myself within the familiar embrace of wild waters, something hardened within me began to dissolve. Time fell away, and I knew that I was surrounded by benevolent spirits—that I was held.
She was there. I could sense her in the darkness though I could not yet make out her form. Energy began to move within me, rising then releasing almost in an instant. And then I saw her—formidable and wider than two dimes laid edge to edge.
I made myself still and rested within the watery womb, watching her as she sat motionless beside the water. I wondered what she might be doing here, so far from her web. Perhaps she was warming herself beside the rising steam, luxuriating in the quiet darkness—just like I was.
Spider reconnects us with the mythic qualities of life.
It was Spider who showed me how significant a presence so small a creature could command. For, despite her size, Spider’s spirit is immense. She invites us to reconsider the tales we tell ourselves; to pay close attention to the threads of narrative with which we weave the web of our world. She shows us how to rewrite the stories we’ve inherited so that they more closely align with our values and goals.
Spider reminds us that we have powerful gifts and that with those gifts comes a responsibility to share them and share them wisely. She encourages us to pay attention to the choices we make and to exercise discernment about who and what belongs within the web of our world.
