Spider goddesses

One of the most feared creatures on earth is a spider. People who are really scared of spiders have arachnophobia, named after Arachne, a princess in Greek mythology, who was turned into a spider. Spiders have also been on earth longer than the dinosaurs and kept the earth from contamination from vile pests. Early humans have been aware of the usefulness of spiders, and how they prevent homes from getting swamped by ants and other bothersome insects. People have always had stories to tell of spiders, and ancient legends feature a spider goddess somewhere imparting wisdom to early people.

Spiders spin webs made of silk. Some spiders have also spun golden threads. The webs don't just lure winged insects but also act as bad spirit blockers and keep negative energies out. Webs resemble jewels, especially after a rainfall when droplets of water decourate the webs. The traits of the spider goddess is weaving webs of magic and artistry.

The beautiful princess Arachne was skilled at weaving threads and baskets. She made fantastic tapestries and cloths. She insulted the goddess Athena by having such an inflated ego and she challanged Her to a weaving contest. Athena is a goddess of wisdom, crafts, weaving and warfare. The contest begun, and Athena used a glittering powerful thread to weave a tapestry of gods and mortals. Arachne used a fine rainbow coloured thread and weaved images of gods and mortals embraced. This total insult of the gods angered Athena, and she ripped up Arachne's work. Arachne was so distressed that she hung herself. Athene was full of regret and sadness after this, and sprinkled a magical potion on Arachne's lifeless body, bringing her back to life in the form of a spider. The spider Arachne was able to weave webs forever, and all of her descendants had the same gift.

The myth suggests reincarnation from a gifted mortal into a spinning spider. But the magic of altering a human into another species depends upon the person's abilities, talents, skill and natural gifts.

There are many spider goddesses and goddesses of weaving. Neith of Egyptian myth is a spider goddess. She's also called Net, and has so much traits similar to the Greek goddess Athena, as both are goddesses of crafts, war and wisdom also. Neith is a prehistoric goddess also linked with creation and the turning and spinning of water, sun and moon. She also acts like a powerful weaver who creates destiny and fate of the world, animals, men and women and individuals. She behaves like one of the Three Fates, also similar to the Norns, who are powerful cosmic goddesses that spin the destiny of both mortals and gods. They spin with static webs and each life pattern follows its orbit, as do the planets, suns and moons. Spiders are also spinners of webs, or nets.The Germanic myths don't have an obvious spider goddess but there are certainly those with traits of spinners and weavers of fate, such as the Norns, and the powerful goddesses like Freya and Frigga.

Native American legends tell of spiders creating the star contellations. Various people in the Americas feature powerful goddesses called Spider Woman and Spider Grandmother, who helped create the stars and galaxies. She taught people how to weave, make baskets and clothes. She stole fire from the animals and gave it to humans during winter months. It is this that the spider is highly respected and loved. Prehistoric art features images of spiders all over various ancient places. From the spider geoglyph on the Nazca plain, to Australian aboriginal spider totems.

In Japan is Jorogumo, the benign spider goddess of Joren Falls, saved people from drowning in the waters. Some spiders of the Jorogumo family can live for 400 years, and alter appearance over time. They begin to look like spiders but after a few centuries they transform into beautiful women. They're often magical and they look for particular men to choose as husbands. These spider women have a preference for Samurai warriors, who are very robust, strong, muscular and handsome, considered ideal mates for producing children with. It's been said that occasionally a Joro spider woman has stolen human babies to foster as her own.The nurturing side of spider mothers and spider goddesses has set out the birth of humans becoming learned and more civilised.

Magical spider web art from these mystical goddesses of weaving have been passed down throughout the centuries. Crafts, jewel making, tapestries from tartan to baskets and carpets, painting, threading, beading and even making magical ornaments such as dreamcatchers linked to spider folklore.

Divine Canines: Sarama

This is the second of a series of posts about divine canines, gods and goddesses who are dogs, spirits in dog form and other magical canines. Years ago I did a few posts about wolf goddesses but found in my research too many male canine gods and beasts, or non-wolf canid goddesses that I couldn't include. So I promised to do something on the wider subject of myth and canid species linked to ancient legends, spirits, deities and folklore.


Sarama is a divine she-dog in Vedic mythology and Hinduism. She's also called Deva-shuni. She has aided gods and helped to track demons and wild animals. Described as Mother of all the dogs, she's the mother of two very unusual dogs who each have many eyes flashing in different colours. These two dogs belong to Yama the god of death. They guard entrances to the afterlife. Dogs generally are worshipped and respected in India, as they have a significant role on the physical world and spiritual realms.

Dogs are celebrated on Kukur Tihar in Nepal, the"woship of dogs", once a year during the Hindu five day festival of Tihar "festival of lights". The holiday season is very similar to Diwali. Dogs are treated with jewels, garlands of flowers, spiced and sweetened luxury foods, cushions, decourations, music and hugs. Overall dogs are cherished and they always love the attention. People believe that dogs guard humans, the home and the afterlife.

Links:

Nepal dog worship
Sarama

Why are there earthquakes?

In light of the recent disaster of the earthquake in Nepal, devastating cities and destroying vast areas, killing thousands of people and wrecking tamples and reducing ancient World Heritage sites to dust. There's been tons of casualties and there are people still being rescued. It's been the largest earthquake recorded there and the first earthquake within that zone for almost a century. Unfortunately, disasters happen and will always likely to happen again. There are always going to be natural disasters and man-made disasters. There will always be such powerful earthquakes, storms, floods and volcanoes. But everyone keeps asking why. The most common question people ask is why should this happen? They seek answers from "God" and they wonder why there is so much suffering in the world. Pagans also ask the Goddess/gods/spirits why there is so much tragedy and so much anger in the world. Maybe I can find out.

I will use a special technique that some people refer to as "channelling". I will pose a few obvious questions and then get some feedback from a divine answer. Please don't be offended by this. My questions are the following:

1. Why is there so much disasters?
2. How can there be so much pain, death and suffering?
3. Humans were blessed with intelligence and yet punished this way, why?
4. What can be done to stop this?

I ask the gods if they can share some insight. I understand not everyone will believe in gods, spirits or ghosts and will not take this too seriously and won't be interested. This is really no problem and I don't mind if people will laugh and scoff. Here are the replies from the gods:

1. "The world that you live upon is by nature full of life. It is constantly moving. It breathes. It reflexes. When lands shift, it makes a shock wave effect and can cause a massive earthquake, and it is not avoidable. The earth's history is full of earthquakes. The earth's beginning was far more hostile than it is now."

2. "You ask how can there be so much pain and death. There has always been pain and death. It is not deliberate. Pain is a reaction from a severe cut. There is pain and there is joy. Pain comes in many forms. Death is not about a purposeful end as it is a change of existence. Suffering itself is part of living on a world that is very physically active."

3. "Humans were not so much "blessed" but are gifted with the ability to learn, create and invent. There are other intelligent species. Humans are simply a product of time and journey of the earth's history made to endure life and produce something highly advanced and give protection to the ageing earth's vulnerabilities."

4. "The problem with stopping disasters and earthquakes is that the world would have to stop moving and then the world will become uninhabitable, barren and open for cosmic attacks from showers and radiation storms. To understand the world, understand the planet itself as if it were a living human. Also humans lost the ability to predict earthquakes when humans were able to farm."

Thank you.

(The image used on this post is of an elephant statue among the debris in Nepal).
To help, go and visit DEC