medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I have been trying to find some information on spider symbolism on the web
(no pun intended!), to see in what way the imagery would be implied when
used in a medieval Christian context. I have found the following on
http://www.supertarot.co.uk/thoth/spider.htm, which is exploring the imagery
on tarot cards:
"Spider Cults are fascinating, particularly as they were suppressed by
Christianity. The symbolism on the Art card encapsulates alchemy and sex
magic, but Aleister Crowley does not explicitly discuss these important
themes.
James Vogh's "The Thirteenth Zodiac" sets out the case for an extra sign of
the zodiac, Arachne, placed between 25° 23' Taurus and 23° 5' Gemini.
According to Vogh, the symbol of Arachne is a circle with a cross at the
centre, a common symbol for the Earth.
Arachne is a lunar symbol that was apparently suppressed by Christianity,
possibly due to its Celtic ancestry in Odin the Hanged God, who invented the
Runes, and he had his horse Sleipnir, who had eight legs. As we know, the
Celtic influence was strong on Mathers, Waite, and W.B.Yeats."
Does anyone know what/where these "spider cults" were that the Christian
Church supressed?
I have found some suggestions that the spider-web symbolism is in some way
related to the labyrynth symbolism of the middle ages (eg. the famous
example on the floor of Chartres cathedral). This sounds intriguing, but
unfortunately, I don't know enough about layryth smbolism either to make
much sense of it!
www.mythopedia.info/10-pan-european.htm mentions the following slightly odd
Arabic legend:
"The child Jesus was concealed in the trunk of the Gemaseh tree, a spider
having spun its web over the entrance to hide him from his pursuers. [G.
Massey, The natural genesis, I-II, Williams and Norgate, London, 1883: I
375]"
Best wishes,
Rob Howe.
>From: Chris Daniell <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [M-R] Spiders
>Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:48:58 +0000
>
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>And don't forget the classic spider story involving Robert the Bruce
>watching the spider in the cave and then defeating the English. I am not
>sure of the first source for this, but indicates the tenacity and 'never
>say die' attitude of spiders ...
>
>As far as I'm aware the date this was supposed to have happened has never
>pinned down (there is a date range of 10 or so years during Robert's life),
>so is this a secular motif and does it appear elsewhere?
>
>
>Chris Daniell
>
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