Lessons From The Wolf Spider

Recently, my daughter came home from work and wished to share her day with us. It was late, and my husband and I had chosen to watch a bit of television in bed before retiring. As my daughter entered the bedroom, I watched her face darken; I followed her finger to a spot on the wall where she had been pointing. Her hand was trembling as she pointed.

There, on the wall, was the largest spider that I have ever seen in my home. Its legs stretched far from the greyish slender body; when I tell you that this thing had to be at least the size of a silver dollar, I am not at all exaggerating.

My husband got out of bed and reached for the nearest item that he could use to squash it - my newest edition of my favorite yoga magazine. While I did not relish the thought of him killing anything, I had no intention of performing my usual “trap and release” game with this mega-spider, and reluctantly relented.

The moment that his arm arched and the magazine made contact with the wall, I heard him mutter an obscenity. I watched as the spider from Hell hopped off the wall with amazing speed, and was making a bee-line for my bedside table.

I swear, I have never moved out of bed so quickly in my life.

We spent a good part of the next hour, hunting through the entire bedroom for the arachnid, upturning bedding, turning over furniture, moving the bed and all of the dressers...and to no avail. Mega-spider had done a fine job of hiding, and we were no longer comfortable with the prospect of sharing our bed with a possible guest. Out came the industrial strength bug spray that my husband purchased recently, and the entire inside of our home, including a double strength dose in the bedroom, received a good spraying of bug killer.

I can honestly say that I’m grateful now that we purchased that pull-out couch for the living room, for that’s where we spent the night. I went back into the bedroom, an hour later, to look again for the creature. I found the carcass of the recent dead, curled into a small ball, its legs still having the ability to be stretched out at length, and curling back up when released. I showed it to my husband, but neither of us was willing to take the chance; how could we be sure that it was the same spider?

Several days later, I found another large spider on my front stoop. Any attempt to shoo it was met with resistance; the spider just stayed there, although I had passed it at least five times. Rather patient creature, the spider. It appeared to be much like a statue - planted by my front door. At some point, I left the house, hours later. Yes, the spider was s

I looked up the variety, after snapping off a photo to compare it to spiders on the Internet. I found that it was a smaller version of wolf spider, which can be found basically world-wide. The spiderlings disperse aerially, which is why they can be found anywhere and everywhere. And yes, they can be found in homes. However, they are an intrinsic part of nature’s checks and balances, and they keep the population of harmful insects at bay, so we should be grateful for small miracles. Wolf spiders are venomous, so one should exercise caution around them. A bite can produce swelling, pain, redness and itching; wolf spiders found in other parts of the world, especially the Carolinas and Australia, can produce necrosis of the tissue. And speaking of the Carolinas, South Carolina has designated the wolf spider as their Official State Spider; South Carolina is the only state in the nation to have a state spider. I suppose this homage is due, in part, to the fact that it serves a great purpose - and demands a great deal of respect and caution.

A friend of mine had remarked recently that I have seen quite a few spiders as of late. She wondered whether or not spiders might have a hidden meaning for me. I opted to do a little investigating, and was pretty pleased with the results.

According to Native American folklore, Spider medicine is incredibly powerful. A feminine energy, it deals primarily with the creative processes in our lives, especially if we are at a creative “impasse”. We humans tend to get caught up in the trappings and illusions of Life; Spider medicine advises us to see the “big picture” into those worlds other than the ones that we see up-close. When we are stuck at an impasse, Spider medicine invites us to investigate new and better options. Spider medicine also cautions us not to get too close to certain situations that we might currently be involved in, and warns us to avoid entrapment in these situations, as they are not beneficial to us. We are encouraged by Spider to write, to journal, in order to investigate our feelings on a particular matter that is troubling us, in order to find the best, and perhaps a better path for us - one that would bring much benefit. Spider is also master of the alphabet, the keeper of letters, which makes spider the perfect totem for a writer.

Pretty good stuff, if you asked me!

I’m still going to check under my pillow before I go to sleep tonight, and I’m going to scan every single inch of my bedroom wall before I shut out the light. I promise to journal and to write as often as I can, not only for my own personal enjoyment, but also to encourage Spider to find another person to bring their “medicine” to.