Arachnid Artistry

There comes a singular morning, often preceded by mists and fogs of early autumn when Adytum wakes to the artistry of the spider world. Silken webs drape every bush and tree while gossamer strings extend to the next possible site of construction. The dance of the arachnids marks the turn from summer to Fall. Arachnid art is on display before the fame of the flaming leaves takes center stage across the nation…yet few truly see it.

Catching this art show at the break of day is the best time, when early morning light illuminates the webs to show every perfectly laid silken line shimmering heavy with dew. Everyone in the spider community participates. In the arachnid experience artists are born, not made.

Mmmm… Perhaps this is true of more advanced life forms, like us as well, who believe only some are creative geniuses. The spider would say, “Don’t you realize that everyone’s business is to create?” True, they are hunting/making a living through creative construction of their web. So too are most human artists hunting/making a living for a paycheck through creations of their own. Spiders have found a beautiful, creative way to make a living.May we all be so blessed.

It is interesting that the highly significant symbolism of the web, in light of the birth of the World Wide Web connecting the whole world, and complexity of execution of design is left to the lowly, repulsive spider. Wikipedia tells us that “the tensile strength of spider silk is greater than the same weight of steel and has much greater elasticity. Its microstructure is under investigation for potential applications in industry, including bullet-proof vests and artificial tendons. Spider webs are rich in vitamin K, which can be effective in clotting blood. Webs were used several hundred years ago as gauze pads to stop an injured person's bleeding.”

While we enjoy the interconnectedness of the World Wide Web, the spider has been literally drawing out that conclusion for us for thousands of years silently hinting at the broader application. While we have sensed that we are all connected, that we are indeed all One, the spider again has been imaging that basic truth for millennia. Rather humbling...

The art of spiders represents tremendous skill, strength and beauty in symmetry with literal healing potential inherent in its raw materials. While I still don’t want one in bed with me as I sleep, it’s hard not to have increased respect for such skilled craftsmen and healers, eight legs or not. Perhaps this autumn I’ll leave a web or two I’d normally sweep away from the kitchen window where they always work. The cobweb is abandoned and needs clearing, but the active spider web is in use. Have I been aware of the need for respect, even a certain amount of reverence and even awe?

The spider and the web will remind me of my own creativity and how the world will be uplifted and blessed when I discipline myself to create and  share my gifts. It will remind me that I am full of strength and healing power; that we all are. That we are all connected, even as One.