Sunday, April 28, 2002		Dream Theme

Dreaming of spiders
Vinaya Katoch Manhas

ALTHOUGH considered to be crafty and deceptive creatures, seeing spiders in dreams does not necessarily foretell bad luck.

According to Indian thought such a dream can be interpreted in two ways. For a person proceeding on a journey to dream of a spider web enveloping him is not a good omen. But to see a spider move towards you in your dreams foretells that you shall gain wealth form someone. Should the spider spin a web in front of you, it is an indication of luck coming your way. It is a warning to be patient. Your fate is about to favour you. If you see that a web has enveloped you but you can manage to get out of it and escape then luck shall favor you, but you have to tread carefully. You are warned to beware of crafty people and be prepared for struggles.

As per western thought, dreams of spiders mean that fortune shall favour you if you work hard. To see a spider making its web, foretells that you shall be secure and happy in your home. To kill a spider foretells that you shall quarrel with your loved ones. If a spider bites you, it means that someone you know shall be unfaithful to you and that your enemies shall get the upper hand. To see several spiders hanging in their webs around you foretells fortune, good friends and health. To see spider webs also denotes pleasant associations and fortunate ventures.

Psychoanalytically speaking, the feeling that a dream of spiders invokes in you is of importance in interpreting the dream. Dreaming of spiders can also signify deviousness. Psychologically speaking it corresponds with the mandala. The mandala is a sacred shape found in mostly all religions in some form or the other. It is a circle enclosing a square with a symbol in the centre representing the whole of life. Jung judged this figure to be an important part of psychological wholeness. For him it was the archetypal expression of the soul. It is the ability to create a perfect pattern which both nurtures and protects us. As pointed out before it also stands for deviousness and craftiness in a person. Should you see a man turn into a spider or vice-versa or else see a spider with the face of a person, it simply means that you are trying to characterise the person with the quality of the spider, i.e. deviousness. To see yourself as a spider or maybe spinning a web could mean that you are subconsciously trying to accept that fact that you are devious.

A lady of 50 years of age would often dream of spiders, huge and ugly, catching her with their many legs and bringing their mouths close to her to eat her up. But some member of her family would manage to rescue her. But she could never recall having seen the person who rescued her. But somehow she knew that it was a member of her family.

Later it was found that the dream reflected her fear of being hurt by the world at large after her husband's death. Having been totally dependent on him, she feared being left alone. Her rescue by her family members was a wish fulfilment dream of someone taking over the reigns of her life.

Among certain religions the spider also represents the Great Mother in her role as the weaver. She weaves destiny from her own body, and is, therefore, the creator.