Spiritually the spider represents the Great Mother in her role as the Weaver of Life. She weaves Destiny from the body of her self and is, therefore, the Creator. In coming to terms with this aspect, we become weavers of our own destiny. In psychological terms the spider connects with the principles of the Mandala. The spider has the ability to create a perfect pattern, which both nurtures and protects at the same time. On a very mundane level spiders are generally disliked, perhaps because of their scuttling movement but also because of its association with dirt. In dreams it can also suggest deviousness, harking back to the innate fear of the Destructive Mother archetype. In a woman's dream a spider will often reconnect her with her essential femininity, whereas in a man's dream such an image is more likely to generate fear.Consult the entries for Insects, Mandala and Web as well as the information on Great Mother and Destructive Mother in Archetypes in the Introduction.