Spider
Often the dependent emotions and conflicts one feels ‘caught in’ connected with mother or family; any emotions you don’t want to ‘handle’, such as those surrounding a spouse leaving; wanting to ensnare, or feeling trapped by someone. Sometimes symbolises a mother’s power, as in the way we are caught in the web of her desires and emotions. So inability to become independent of the mother.
But it can also be feeling caught and wrapped up to be eaten later sort of feeling, so being ‘handled’ by someone; or having all the time to watch for subtle signals in order to survive. See big spider dream
The spider can also be used as a symbol of sexual orgasm, but only if we are terrified, disgusted or guilty about such feelings.
The spider can also depict any emotions you don’t want to ‘handle’, such as those surrounding a spouse leaving; wanting to ensnare, or feeling trapped by someone; the basic survival instincts in us such as a spider might have – can I eat, or will I be eaten in this meeting/relationship? This level of our sensory and feeling perception is important. Like a spider it keeps one of your feet/fingers on the web or influences that connect you with other people and the world. Like the spider, if you are wise, you thereby know something of what is coming your way – do you advance or run? See: Web.
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The following waking fantasy by a man undergoing depth therapy shows an aspect of the spider. |
I realise there is something I am looking for, and I don’t find it in my wife, or at least I don’t sense it in her. It is a frightening thing and partly exciting. This leads me on to fantasising a struggle with a young woman. It is about wanting to have sex, but seems to be some sort of power struggle. The image was of a smart very confident and aggressive young woman. She was attractive and attracted, but her approach was one of attack, so to have a relationship I needed to fight her. What I appear to be meeting is that I have the sex drive, but what I am facing is a monster. In fact I have the image of a huge spider that comes out from hiding and drags me helpless into its lair, its many eyes shining. I’m afraid. It’s not that my sex drive abates, but within this fantasy you have to time it just right. One must wait for the ‘beast’ to become passive then dash in and plunge into the wonderful hairy cavity. Otherwise the ‘beast’ will rip you apart. It is exactly like the horror films one sees of the monster that drags men or women back to its lair. It is actually all about my fear of women based on past pain. I want sex, but to get it I have to confront memories of being torn apart emotionally by a woman.
Here is fascinating dream about spiders, and its exploration:
I found your email on the internet for dream interpretation. If this is not correct, I am sorry to be bothering you.
I have had the same dream as I fall asleep for several years. I have it nearly every night just once, sometimes, rarely, twice as I fall asleep.
I dream that I find a dried piece of skin or scab somewhere on my body, usually my foot or my hand, tho it has varied over the years. I begin to pick at the skin/scab and scratch it until it comes off. When it comes off it unleashes a flood of seed spiders that engulf me. Another variation is I find some odd black hairs growing out of my body and when I examine them more closely they are regular sized spiders crawling out of me and they begin to engulf me.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Again, if this is not correct, I am very sorry for the disruption of your time. Best C
Here is a interpretation:
Dear C – What I see with your dream of spiders is that there is a possibility of an underlying fear, so that when you begin to sink just below waking, just under the surface of your mind, this feelings of being overwhelmed arises. If it were a big thing that emerged it would be easier to deal with. But thousands of little things are difficult to handle because you kill some but there are so many left to get at you. A big thing you could hit with a cricket bat or kill it in some way, but the small things are more difficult. They are a sort of ultimate enemy. You need to find an image that enables you to deal with those feelings. An image that might be helpful is that of jumping into a very hot shower, one you can just about cope with. The water is pouring down and is going to burn up the little bugs. Another image might be that you walk quickly through flames that you are big enough to pass through with perhaps only your hairs being burnt, but the little spiders are going to get burnt up.
Were you at some time frightened of sickness? A sickness that could engulf you and you would be powerless against? If not that, then perhaps an image of something, or an idea of something that has stayed with you just under the surface of your mind. Tony
Dear Tony: Thank you….THANK YOU for getting back to me with the dream information. I am fairly well educated about things but could not come up with anything for myself. I think I may have been too close to it.
You mentioned several things that seem to “hit the nail on the head” and I will explore those. The most important thing you mentioned was that of being “powerless against” illness. I do have a life long disease that is manageable but could be fatal. I think this is where I am going to start as that is what seemed to really set off bells.
I really do thank you for this. It has not been interfered with my sleep and the dream only occurs as I fall asleep….once asleep, I am fine.
I thank you so much and I am sure that my partner thanks you as well……
Thank you…thank you….thank you…. With gratitude, C
So having seen spiders in a dream occasionally indicate an illness, if you are in any doubts it is wise to have a health check.
Covered on spiders: If they are large it might mean you feel someone will smother. Or that you have no way of escaping from someone or something.
Comments
Hello Tony,
There’s a lot of comments here and I would understand shouldn’t you have the time to reply to each and every one of the dream interpretation requests.
I’ve had a recurrent dream, as long as I can remember. It’s always the same scenario, sometimes with variations on the theme.
One, sometimes two, spiders are on a ceiling or a wall. Their color varies, mostly brown or black, their size as well, though they’re never quite small.
I panic (in real life as well, I’ve always been terrified of spiders), and ask someone to take it away or kill it. It can be an old classmate for instance. Very often though, it’s my mother I ask…
Then, when the person starts killing the animal, it transforms itself (or bursts out) into another animal, this time with a, for me, more positively charged meaning. A cat for example. Last night, it was a beaver.
At times, there’s no other person in the dream, and the animal simply transforms by itself.
There’s always this incredible fear.
Mostly, the scenery is my own house. Often my bedroom… sometimes a corridor.
Longtime I’ve interpreted the spider as the mother archetype. Then, I came to understand it was part of me – a part of me that has, or had, something to do with my mother, our relationship, as it was crookedly built from childhood on. I’ve always been afraid of her (though the relationship balance shifted over the last years) and was under the impression that I was verbally shut. Therefore I imagine a lot of anger was not able to express itself.
It’s the transformation aspect that I can’t seem to really to the bottom of.
Maybe the dream is telling me, underneath the spider characteristic, there’s actually the other animal characteristic: nothing to be afraid of. Maybe the inner transformation took place already, or maybe it should in the future. Is it a dream located in childhood? Or is it speaking to me about the present?
Is it saying that I am still not independent of my mother?
How does the beaver differ from the cat? (Must be said, in dutch it is called ‘bever’, and ‘Beveren’ is the name of the town where we lived from my age 6 to 12.)
I always hope that at some point, I will embrace the spider in the dream – at least pick it up in my hand – and all will be reconciled. But I don’t see that happening 🙂
I apologize for this overly long and multiple question comment..
Alexandra
Alexandra – I feel that dreams are all about the present, but we contain all our past in us as traits, fears, habits and experiences, and so often the past in relevant to the present.
Another thing is that things that hurt, upset or frightened us in the past are often built into habits of reaction in the present. So even though you have shifted in the way you feel about your mother, the old habits need changing. It’s hard work but is wonderfully effective. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/habits/
I also suggest you try being the spiders – I know that sounds awful but it will give direct insight into what is behind the image – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
Also it might help to read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing
Let me know if you need more help.
Tony
I hada dream last year that a small rainbow colored spider with its little brown baby was trying ot crawl inside my ear. I freaked out and brushed it off, and was studying it. now, my mother is a psychic, into colors, and she has a little brown chihuahua. O.O
Also, either I am paranoid or my mother is BPD or a Narcissist. Or I am. If you don’t feel comfortable answering me, protect yourself. if yo udo, I need to know what you think. IS it a question of my fear taking the form of my mother to tell me to escape her, or simply to look at the situation? I don’t understand what it’s tleling me! I have been getting DANGER TRAITOR dreams forever… but is that me telling myself to stop thinking that way, or is it just plain telling me to GTFO? I ca’t leave right now- no means whatsoever. I have to lvie wiht my parents. I’m 30 years old. I need help here, just to understand what I am not udnerstanding. Or is the fault solely with me? maybe I’m just too stupid to get it.
I had a dream, i saw my fiance from a distant holding something towards me and i came closer to see it he himself turned into a HUGE tarantula with only his legs closing off into itself. I awoke feeling sad and as if my spirit was drained. What could this mean?
Soly – It could mean two things, but you could find out for yourself by using http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
It could mean that you are receiving and intuitive impression about him. If that is so it would explain the sadness and your feeling drained, because you had lost all hope for the relationship.
Another reason is that as we are entering into a new relationship all our fears tend to surface to be faced. For instance in my last marriage that lasted 16 years I dreamt before we were married that her ex-husband came to warn me that she planned kill me.
Obviously I am still here and she was a loving wife.
Tony
Hi PG,
I recently had a very similar dream, there are spiders in my boyfriend’s room. I am vacuuming and find bugs in the room. Then I are that there are spiders nested around the room to feed on the bugs. I try to clear out the spiders because I assume my boyfriend would dislike them. Then I am in a tug-of-war with a spider. It is super strong and pulls on its webs till the webs start to snap.
I am also graduated from a program that I feel will have nothing to do with my career. I have seen many spiders in my life recently. PG, please let me know what happens to your life. I am worried about my career
I am concerned because it feels like my job / career objectives / relationship are on the line.
I drempt that I was in an unfamiliar room with cobwebs on the ceilings and floor. The cotton-looking kind, like from Halloween stores. I went in through one room and saw a spider on the ceiling. I was probably the size of my palm and coming towards me. I got scared and started walking into the other room. And there my boyfriend was holding one of the spiders. It was still, and he wasn’t scared or concerned at all. He just looked at it.
I am recently out of grad school in a program I am not using towards my career goal. My career goals are a mess and I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m scared of wasting crucial years towards creating a good career on still “figuring” it out. I have a job, it doesn’t make me happy.
Last night I had a dream that I had big spiders all over me while I was in bed I jumped out of bed screaming.
I’ve also had something scary happen last week that woke me up also but it wasn’t a dream I woke up in fear and looked up at the ceiling and saw some kind of demon at first it looked like a raccoon then it blinked and had red eyes.
I’ve contacted a friend of mine to cleanse my home.
But I need to know what these things are.
I had a dream that I had like a big pimple on my hand and I started to pop it and a lot of white messy stuff started coming out and then black stuff and bugs and the end a lot of baby spiders a was trying to get them of me but they were just coming out of that big pimple I had popped ..
I had a dream last night that there were sooo many spiders on the floor and I killed all of them with Lysol spray or something close to that. apparently that means bad luck is coming for me? is that true? I felt a mixture of gross/scared and also determined to kill all of them. I think there were a few left I’m like 100% sure cause the dream kinda changed after that. it changed to this guy I’ve been dating for a bit and everything went well in reality and also in my dream so I’m scared when most websites say it’s bad fortune and right after I dream of him
Imogene – Most websites are simply quoting rubbish. They are quoting ancient Babylonian dream books, which were written, not about dreams, but were based on the belief that all dreams were predictive – which they are not. Where did I mention bad luck in my entry on spider. Also words are all in context with other words. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/context-theme/
Your dream dealt with you killing out feelings of grossness and being scared – scared of what, and don’t blame it onto the spiders – see http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#Summing
Also your boyfriend in your dream is not your boyfriend – he is your memories and feelings about him. When you think and even emote about someone it is never the person, just your own thoughts and feelings you are meeting.
Tony
I had a dream last night that there were sooo many spiders on the floor and I killed all of them with Lysol spray or something close to that. apparently that means bad luck is coming for me? is that true? I felt a mixture of gross/scared and also determined to kill all of them. I think there were a few left I’m like 100% sure cause the dream kinda changed after that
-Preeti
2014-07-02 11:27AM
Hi
last few months, in sleep time my husband has cut by spider. This is again and again. I am worried about my husband. Please tell me what is the meaning of spider cutting in sleeping time. Please suggest me what can i do?
I had a dream that I had bumps all over my body like pimples and I popped one and spiders started coming out of them and crawling down my stomach. There were two big ones and two smaller ones.
How would you interperet the meaning of this dream?
Thank you
Tamara – Well, something is coming out of you, but you didn’t say what feelings or emotions you felt as they emerged.
Also it depends very much what you associate with spiders. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/association-of-ideas-with-dreams/#Working
The bumps definitely seem to represent something you have within you, or have taken within you that does not agree with you/your body. Such things often have quite a powerful feeling or emotions linked with them and it would be wise to see if you can see what it is. You might be able to do this by using http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
Tony
I had a dream that a small red spider was crawling across my eye and I realized it and gently brushed it off. No pain. No drama. But quite interesting as I don’t even like eye drops at the opthamologist so shocking I was so calm.
Best regards,
Tanya
mine our your website? I have none. I had a dream last night about spiders. most dreams of mine are precognitive. I have a friend that has salem, or wantabe brown recluse spiders. I dream wierd. most of the time I am the one looking at whats happening. same in these dreams but at the same time I am being bitten. the first segment I dreamt i was bitten by the one that is similar to the brown recluse, there was two, but one bite me on top of my right hand. I looked at it hanging after I thought it bit me and I respect spiders most of the time becuase of the belief they are scared and lucky. In the second segment of the dream i was laying on my bed, and a spider that looked like a hermit crab with a yellow shell came and bit me. I was angry sleeping. as I was standing over my self and telling my boyfreind, “take me to the hospital, it bit me and went into the top of my right hand, look, didnt you see!” “well arent you going to do anything, dig it out, help stop, while he said, eh dosent do anything.” ARGGH, I need to cut it out, look theres more, as I point to the walls. But my body is laying on my bed, but the house I am looking at is my best freinds. (i been avoiding her and her move out, cuz I help her so much…and you know the rest if I tell you its not reciprocated when I need help and shes richer than I am!). So, I keep looking at myself sleep and I think its my sick sister trying to become me so she can heal, and then I get more angered in my dream as I am looking over me sleeping. I am mad because my boyfriend is emotionally not afraid of either situation. So I look at myself and think its the IV going in for the ump tenth time. But its not me, its my sister dying of cancer and shes lying in my bed on my side.
In all honesty I am tired of reaching out, shes caused a lot of havoc and damage in my life and to my kids. I forgive her on some level, but on the other levels she is still tying to fight me and my niece wants me to go see her. I tried last year, and she tried to program my birthday again with no one coming to my birthday. She’s, evil and I tried to turn her in and my brother and no one listened to me. so, why does the spider have the yello shell like house on it. My house and my friends house she lost is yellow. ? and the house I lost in 1999 was yellow. Ps, my family beleives in voodu, hoodoo, santeria, and my sister is always trying to put hex’s on me and my kids. She killed on of her childrens around 1970- or 71…. and pretended she was afraid of my dad, didnt tie the umbilical cord, it bleed to death. As an adult I thought she didnt it as an offering, only because she was 17 and knew what she was doing.
I had a frightning vision this moring as I woke up. In saw a big jetblack spider running out from underneath me up the cushion next to me and as it approached the wall and I was positive it is real and must have bitten me is disolved and I realised its a vision. Its the fist time in my life something like this happened and its is clearly a message. Please help me. Regards Deirdre
Hi,
I had a dream last night that I found a ball of white fuzzy stuff outside of my house and when I picked it up it was a dead white rabbit that was being eaten by a medium sized black fuzzy spider. I got scared and threw the rabbit but once I released the rabbit I looked back at my hand and the spider bit off the tip of my index finger. What could this mean?? Please help.
Sincerely,
M.Brown