ChristStory Bestiary

SPIDERS & WEBS

Traps & Vain Works

In many myths, a great spider lives in the center of the universe which it has woven as a spider weaves its web. For Hindus, it represents Maya, the weaver of illusion. The spider may be considered an evil spirit, a shape-shifter, or a trickster. The moon is personified as a giant spider.

Because its webs are traps for the unwary insect, Christians use the spider as a symbol of the Devil and the elaborate traps he prepares for souls which are represented by flies. A person led astray by lust, greed, murderous impulses, unorthodox teachings, or drunkenness is especially likely to be bound by the spider's web of lies. A naked woman in a spider's web represents the demon of lust in the guise of a prostitute.

Because the spider embraces the fly in order to poison it, the spider has come to represent traitors and Judas who embraced Christ as he betrayed him (Mt 26:47-49). It also represents the miser whose withholding of alms betrays humanity by sucking the life from the poor just as the spider sucks the life from his prey.

The spider's web represents the malicious traps evil doers weave for the righteous. Isaiah points out the futility of the plans of the wicked: "They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They ...weave the spider's web... Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands" (Is 59:4-6). In "weaving the spider's web" sinners toil away at plots for another's downfall or their own exaltation. And yet, their "web" is fragile and temporary. It takes only a gust of wind to blow it away. When held up to scrutiny, their webs fail and their true natures are exposed. Christians are advised to buy white garments from Christ that they may be clothed with righteousness and good deeds (Rev. 3:18).

To Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, the spider was symbolic of the Fates who constantly wove at the web of each person's destiny. Unavoidable good fortune or bad fortune befell each person through no fault of their own. An opposite point of view was held by the Celts who saw in the intricacies of the web a maze symbolic of the difficulties of life which each person was obliged to navigate.

To the Christian, the spider's web was representative of human frailty and the temporary nature of earthly existance and riches. In the book of Job, Bildad says of the man who places his trust in anything but God, "His trust is a spider's web. He leans on his house [cobweb, wealth], but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure" (Job 8:13-15).

Vain works are a trap of the Devil and are represented by the spider's web. As early as 405 A.D., St. Paulinus of Nola wrote to fellow Christians, "Pray...that we may not be misled into weaving spider webs, accomplishing works without merit."

The spider may also symbolize inefficiencies or inequalities in the law. Small or poor criminals are caught in its web, but large or wealthy ones break through it.

All scripture quotes are from the NKJV Bible.