Spider Tattoo – Meaning, Symbolism, Designs and Ideas

Tattoos weren’t always a way to decorate your body and make it more appealing, they were once used as a way of recognizing each other and standing up among the groups. People used tattoos as a form of artistic expression as well, and this has become more of a case in modern times.

Spider tattoo is just one of many designs that people choose to express something about themselves that makes them unique. Spiders and spider webs might come off as mystical and too dark for some, but to others they are perfect representations of their inner feelings and thoughts. Spider tattoos are very versatile and can be put in many categories as far as design go.

The spider as a tattoo motif does not exist only because of Spiderman. For many people, the spider is not a pretty sight, but in its symbolism it appears in many cultures with often similar meanings – and they are not just negative. What meaning spider and its nets can have as tattoos, I summed up in this post.

Spider – Meaning, Symbolism

In many cultures, the spider is considered a fate goddess who literally holds the threads of everyone’s life in their hands – or rather, legs – and is associated with the art of weaving.

In our ancestors, the spider has exactly such a role, because there it was associated with the Norns (= fate weavers). The spider is supposed to symbolize the power of all three Norns and to unite their powers. Thus, the spider was also credited with the ability to influence fate and to link people’s lives with others. So it applies to the Germans as well as the Norns as fate weaver, which not only connects life networks with each other, but also past, present and future.

In Greece Arachne is a transformed woman who has a human torso, but the legs of a spider. She was a gifted artist and weaver, which was a thorn in the side of Athena, the goddess of struggle and wisdom. According to legend, Arachne is said to have delivered a contest with Athena, in which both wanted to outdo each other in weaving. Arachne finally won the contest and out of rage, envy and jealousy Athena tore the tapestry of Arachne and hit her with her boat on Arachne. Afraid of Athene’s wrath and revenge, Arachne hanged herself. Athena, however, did not simply let her opponent die, but loosened the rope a little and sprayed Arachne with the gifted iron hat, whereupon the rope turned into a spider web and Arachne turned into a spider.

In addition, Athena condemned Arachne and her descendants to weave nets and hang on the strings forever. Even today, this myth is reflected in the Greek language again, because Arachne is the Greek word for “spider”.

In Celtic culture as with the Teutons, so the net was a symbol of all life, which is interconnected. At that time, our ancestors already knew what we are today reminiscing about: there is a connection between everything that has to be known.

Among the Hopi, the spider Kokyang Wuuti is the great-grandmother of all beings and plays a central role in the creation story. The jump of the dream catcher goes back to the spider Iktumi, which appeared to a Lakota elder on a hill in a vision. There she explained the health of all life and showed him her web as a symbol image for a better understanding. She emphasized that the net is basically a perfect circle, but has a hole in the center. The network should capture and capture all good ideas, thoughts, intentions and dreams. Everything harmful, however, will disappear through hole. Since then, the Lakota Indians use the dream catcher as a religious object to sift their dreams and capture great visions. The Navajos, on the other hand, say that a spider-woman and a spider-man taught you how to weave.

A similar meaning of the spider as a teacher for the weaving art is also found in Asian cultures. In general, it is believed that people have copied the spinning and weaving of the spider and the weaving was perfected in Asia, which is why even today rugs and tapestries from Asia around the world are highly valued and traded expensive.

If the spider crawls silently into your life as a power animal, it draws attention to fateful connections and dark corners of the soul. But it also stands for the connection to the ancestors, deceased and beings from other lives. The power animal spider helps them to recognize fateful connections and to understand that there is no coincidence. Everything has its meaning, its place and its connection to oneself. Only when we become aware of the connection to all beings, we can find and understand our own place in life.

Spider Tattoo - Meaning, Symbolism, Designs and Ideas

However, with the power animal spider, you can also break away from unpleasant entanglements, connections or traps. Thus, the spider initiates as a power animal in the weaving of fate and shows you when to weave threads and when it needs to be repaired or cut. Realize that you are part of a larger whole and need to weave and sustain the web of life together with others. If you are otherwise caught in a net, the spider will come to you to liberate you and lead you to freedom – but on the condition that you show courage and face the once-woven threads of the past.

Due to the power to weave new nets even under the most adverse conditions, the spider as a power animal is in direct contact with femininity and creative power, because often the spider weaves in secret or in darkness – just as life grows in secret and born from the darkness in the belly of Mother Earth. In this respect, the power animal spider is closely connected with the feminine mysteries, the illusion and the universal laws. So if you want to break the web of illusion, to understand the female primordial force or the cycle of life, you should visit the spider. In many cultures, the spider is considered not only as a gifted weaver, but also as a messenger of death, because the females in some species of spiders kill and eat the males after the act.

The power of the spider is therefore a similar primordial force as that of the dragon that can create, but also destroy. Dream Interpretation A spider appearing in a dream indicates crippling fears or worries. In his current life situation, the dreaming may feel like a small helpless insect trapped in the web of the spider and at the mercy of her. But a spider in a dream can also draw attention to the past or beings from the Otherworld, which block the present and prevent the dreaming from unfolding their full power and their full potential.

Spider Tattoo – Design and Ideas

Spiders are a genus of arachnids, which include the weaver, mites and scorpions. There is hardly a human being who does not find spiders scary, scary, or at least frightening. Their quiet way of getting down from the ceiling in front of them, and the speed with which they move, with the lively dance of their eight legs adding to the impact, give the spiders something sinister and threatening. The way they catch their prey with their spider webs, immobilize them by sprouting them alive to keep them fresh for consumption also makes them look cruel. Spider tattoos are very popular and their images can come in various sizes and designs.

Although there are thousands of different spider species, only five very distinctive species are stung as a tattoo motif. These are:

Tarantula – it occurs in tropical and subtropical climates and grows up to 12 cm long. Your bite is not life threatening, but only painful. After a bite, however, infections usually occur. Often, tarantulas are kept as pets because of their size and the interesting furry fur. No wonder they are also popular as a tattoo motif. The tarantula is distributed worldwide, but occurs in Central Europe only in the small variant, which is up to 2 cm tall. The bite of the tarantula is not fatal, only painful. Their striking looks create impressive spider patterns and tattoo designs.

Spider – the spider is represented by hundreds of species throughout the world, about ten of them in central Europe. Their different, sometimes impressive color patterns and the symbolic cross on their backs make them one of the popular, colorful spider motifs, which are presented in many different variations.

Black widow – it occurs in southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. She has a small body and eight very long legs. Your body has 13 red spots in a very consistent pattern, bordered by thin, light lines. Their look inspires meaningful tattoo designs. The bite of the black widow is quite dangerous, because about one percent of the bites are deadly. The name comes from the fact that the female eaten the male after mating and then widow.

Cobbler – sometimes called a tailor, they have a small, nearly round body and in relation to the body endlessly long legs. As a tattoo motif, they are relatively rare. This is not least because they have no special color notes and are therefore not particularly striking.

The representation of a spider tattoo is most likely created in the style direction of realism. It can be stung both in color and in black-and-gray, whereby it is up to the customer’s wish, in which size he wants to have presented the motif and at which body point it should sit. With appropriate drop shadows, a tattoo artist can render the spider so realistic that it actually feels like a living spider on the body. Since a good spider tattoo in itself is a very meaningful appearance, it is rarely displayed on a spider web, and even hanging on a spider thread you will find it today rarely. A spider on the thread was tattooed in a minimalist manner rather at seafarer times.

However, those who tattoo a spider should rather be a spider lover and not someone who suffers from a spider phobia. Here one should not assume that one should fight a phobia with what triggers the phobia. That will not work, at least in this case. It is said that if you are afraid of heights, then you should go under supervision on a skyscraper and as close as possible to the edge of the roof kicking, etc. That’s true, but then you always have control of the situation and can with increasing fear of the Roof come down. If you have tattooed a spider, then you have the dear animal always in the immediate vicinity and cannot just shake it off.

Sometimes, people who have been denied by others for all their lives identify with a spider that is also rejected by many, be it for some unfounded prejudice or other things. No matter which motive one chooses – for a good spider tattoo you should choose a good and experienced tattoo artist, because only who has a good understanding of light and shadow will also manage to represent the spider realistically deliver.

Spider in general – Creativity, diligence, wisdom, but also cold cruelty, stinginess, meanness.

Spider on the cobweb on the way down – success and wealth. If the spider is on its way down in its spider web, it symbolizes success and wealth.

Spider Web – The Spider Web symbolizes the guide of human destiny. He is a lifeline that leads us through the impossibilities of life.

Spider Anxiety – Spider phobia

For many people, spiders are the purest horror. They suffer from extreme spider anxiety, a so-called spider phobia or even arachnophobia. In this regard, the fear of being bitten by spiders is the main trigger of this phobia.

Anyone who has ever seen the film The Spider will certainly remember the gruesome appearance with which the spider’s head was depicted with its cutting or biting tools. Perhaps getting a spider tattoo can even help you fight against the phobia and become more used to their presence.

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