Seeing Beyond the Ordinary

there is more to things than meet the eye

Directly outside my window where I do my writing, I've noticed a new spider on the awning. As it’s become colder here in Brisbane there are fewer big, showy spiders about - this creature is of the smaller, compact kind.  Also, its web isn’t the concentric, radiating spiral but a cluster of tangled threads, opportunistically taking up space in the carved-out curves, holes and corners of the wooden awning typical of Queenslander houses. 

Dora Marr

As I write this, she’s just finished wrapping up a fly, and has climbed into a crack for shelter, or rest (do spiders rest?). I can just see her ‘knees’ from my angle, legs all pulled into her body. The last 10 minutes of watching her was mesmerising.

What ideas, images, and associations come to mind and body when you think of ‘spider’? of ‘web’? 

spin, weave, spiral, silk thread, tangle, trap, eight? … fly, creepy, poison, bite? … pest? fear? disgust?

I love my house and garden spiders. I appreciate their service, beauty and skill. Their persistence and patience. For prey to arrive.To inevitably rebuild their webs that are destroyed by clumsy humans, or toddlers wielding sticks. 

Don’t get me wrong - I would not love them crawling on me, and when I run into a web (as sometimes happens) I freak out a little. Definitely creatures admired from a respectful distance. 

However, my gaze orients to them, I notice them. They call me.

What calls you in your environment? What creatures, people, objects, dynamics or structures? What do they activate in you? Thoughts, images, stories, body sensations? 

In some mythologies, spider is associated with the Creator of the universe, or sometimes “the Great Mother in her terrible aspect”, and the “devourer", due to the female devouring the male after mating. She is also the “weaver of destiny” in Hindu mythology, so connected to fate and fortune. In Greek Mythology, Arachne - a master weaver - was turned into a spider by goddess Athene, jealous that Arachne’s creations were more beautiful than her own. 

Web has associations with mandalas and the radiating sun. What of my spider’s ‘tangled’ web then?

Through the "the web of life” we can be reminded of the cycles of life, death and rebirth. Webs also appear like labyrinths, and so link to ‘the cosmic plan’ and the dangerous soul journey - where you inevitably find yourself traversing long, un-sign-posted pathways, dead-ends, snares, and danger. Where you can find yourself spun about in illusions, making you feel like you’re going mad! Making you question … 

“Didn't I just come this way? Where am I going? How do I get through this? What’s real?

Dive deeper and you’ll find many ancient cultures and traditions speak of spiders, weaving, web in this mythic-storied way.

The mythic imagination

LEONORA CARRINGTON (1917-2011) Ferret Race (Stoat Race)

Humble little window spider is so rich in symbolism - and has given me much to consider - about what it’s activated in me, in my imagination, of stories, and how this might point to something in my life that needs attention or review?

Labyrinth, cycles of life-death-rebirth immediately seem interesting to me, but also obvious given my current professional trajectory … I’ll keep being curious.

My invitation is for you to tend to your world and experiences through imagination.

When I work with people - 1:1 or in groups - I’m guiding them to explore this way, and value this way of knowing. I do this by encouraging sensing into the body, and using tools or other stimuli like old stories, anecdotal evidence including personal stories, the tarot, and dreams to activate the imagination. Or like I’ve shared today  - noticing what’s coming forward in your world. 

It can be weird for some, as they’ve become accustomed to putting imagination aside. I recall leading a workshop some years ago, and an attendee became so confused, even angry when guided into exploring like this. She wondered about the point of it when “it’s not true! You’re just making stuff up!” 

I understand her pain and confusion. Western and secular culture can get stuck in just valuing what’s scientifically proven, evidence-based and quantifiable. But this is only one kind of knowing. Other kinds of knowing have always existed, and can be great at getting to the core of personal and collective unconscious material which is often less tangible, and the ‘cause of trouble’ when we think about our problems and foibles. 

Sharon Blackie refers to this way of thinking/knowing as the mythic imagination. And Tyson Yungkaporta speaks of this when he talks about the Indigenous mind as non-linear and holistic while the Western mind operates from a linear-left brain default (you can read more on this in an old article I wrote). 

What’s beyond the first seeing

Stories include your own experiences, that of your elders and ancestors, and ancient tales and myths. 

If we go back to spider - weaving is akin to yarning. The (anglicised) Australian Indigenous word for telling and sharing story. Dreaming stories, folk stories - which ones seem most evocative to you? Myths like the Arachne-Athene story I was pointed towards. These are ancient ways of imparting wisdom and knowledge that still hold relevance for modern troubles.

When it comes to your own life stories,resist the blow-by-blow retelling of trauma stories, but tell ones that Dr Estes says have been “washed and rinsed”. Tell them in a way that is thoughtful and draws lessons

Question what you're seeing. 

Not in a paranoid way, but in a way that observes and really looks. Resist layering what you see with preconceived and received ideas, judgements, and definitions (But absolutely note these as rich sources of information to untangle). Describe what you do see, not what you expect to see, or just accepting what you’re told something is, or means.

If I were to really look again at my spider's web, it's not really a tangle - that's just what I immediately saw and projected. True it's not the archetypal spiral, but I see a clear weft, and the weave is less organised, but it's there, and ordered in its own, offbeat way. I’m beginning to get a message for myself - how I perhaps judge my creative process as tangled, chaotic, less lovely than the ‘big showy” creators. What is it that I can appreciate about my less conventional web/way?

What’s your body’s story?

An aspect of somatic therapies is to track and scan sensations, pains, urges and movements in your body. You can deepen into the body by opening up to the stories these experiences hold - as thoughts, and emotions, images, shapes, colours, memories real or conglomerate. And be curious to how these might be messages for you now.

Imagination, when done “actively” i.e. consciously, can foster a rich dialogue between the awake ego and the unconscious.  As an “attitude” it helps build a relationship between different parts of the self, enhancing self-understanding, deepening connections, and aiding in coming to terms with yourself and your inner world. 

Mendy xx

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Please follow this link to find out about my process which includes working with imagination.

You can find references to the spider and web symbols I mentioned in this letter in these books on symbols that I love:

Barbara Walker  The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets

J.C. Cooper An Illustrated Encyclopaedia Of Traditional Symbols

Ami Ronberg Kathleen Martin (Eds) The Book Of Symbols. Reflections On Archetypal Images

I was also inspired to write this article, by spider of course, but also from an audio course I am (re) listening to; How to Be an Elder by Dr Estes via Sounds True.

* This article contains affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to purchase through my links (at no extra cost to you). I will always suggest first trying to buy from local independent sellers, second-hand sellers, or from friends and libraries first, before purchasing from large multi-national companies.