Spider Woman and Her Message
I am with a female associate. There are no details of the place. I don't actually see her, but I recognize her voice. I am looking at a spot on my skin on my arm because it itches.
I see a tiny spider-like creature that I think may have bitten me. As I watch it, it gets a whole lot bigger. It is actually a fat round thing with eight legs. It looks like an opal with a pale green moonstone in the center, a little bit like an eye.
As I scratch the spot on my arm, another of the spiders emerges from the pore, leaving a dent or hole in the skin. Within the dent I can see more of the tiny spiders. I tell my associate that we probably have to go to the hospital, as we have to get those little things out of my arm.
After I have been awake for about half an hour, my son-in-law calls to say that Lynda is at the hospital having the baby. I tell him that I have had a dream about the Spider Woman, and that I know this is the right time for the baby to come because she weaves the Web of Time, and she came to me in a dream.
On the obvious level, this dream has meaning because it delivered a message that everything is all right with Mom and the baby. The baby spiders are alive and well, even if they are coming out of a hole in the dreamer’s arm! The part about needing to go to the hospital to get the spiders out of the arm is a close parallel to going to the hospital to have a baby.
The fact that the dreamer identifies the dream as a message from the Spider Woman who weaves life, death and history is unusual, but not unique to this dreamer.
Dream Symbols and Their Meanings
Arm: The arm symbolizes strength, activity, and offerings. What the arm is doing reveals something significant to the dream.
Eight: The figure eight is a lemniscate-a figure that eternally revolves into itself. It includes two circles or ellipses but is one object. The Tibetan Wheel of Law, or Dharma Chakra, the lotus, the eightfold Buddhist path, and numerous other sets of sacred symbols contain eight elements. The Chinese believe eight is the number of prosperity. When the eight appears in a dream you may consider your intuition as a strong source of valuable information.
Eye: The eye symbolizes the soul. In a dream eyes may reflect your state of mind in the dream.
Green: Green reflects sensation. In the Buddhist system green reflects the capacity for effective action. Green is the color of the heart chakra.
Hole: The hole symbolizes a passage from one thing or place to another. The sexual meaning is only one possibility. It can indicate a passage into a different spiritual existence, and often indicates the path from life to death, or vice versa.
Skin: Skin symbolizes rebirth. The skin renews itself continually; the snake sheds its skin as it grows.
Spider and Spider Woman: Spiders have played a role in mythology around the world. The Spider Woman provides the creative impulse to weave for American Indians, and was associated with weaving for the ancient Greeks as well. The spider has several symbolic meanings: First, it has the power to create, indicated by its web. Second, it is aggressive in the treatment of its prey. Third, the pattern of the web is reminiscent of the spiral of life, a profound symbol of progressive development. Hindus thought the spider wove the web of maya, or illusion. The thread of life and death symbolizes the pattern of rebirth.
Woman: A female figure in a dream symbolizes some aspect of the anima, in addition to any other role she plays. Aspects of the feminine archetype include the Daughter, the Mother, and the Crone-the three distinct roles at different stages of life. Another view suggests Enchantress, Mother, and Unknown Damsel.
Sources
Dreams: Working Interactive, by Stephanie Clement and Terry Rosen, published by Llewellyn
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