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Spider teaches you to maintain a balance -- between past and future, physical and spiritual, male and female. Spider teaches you that everything you now do is weaving what you will encounter in the future.

The Spider awakens creative sensibilities.  It weaves a web of intricate and subtle fabric, as if to remind us that the past always subtly influences the present and future. The spider found within the web reminds us that we are the center of our own world. Spider reminds us that we are the keepers and writers of our destiny, weaving it like a web by our thoughts, feelings and actions.

Spider is the guardian  of the ancient languages and alphabets. many believe that the alphabet was formed by the geometric patterns and angles found within the spider's web.  To many this was the first true alphabet.  This is why spider is considered the teacher of language and the magic of writing. 

Those who weave magic with the written word probably have a spider totem.
 

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Quote:

If spider has come into your life, ask yourself some important questions: 

Are you weaving your dreams and imaginings into reality?
Are you not using your creative opportunities?
Are you feeling closed in or stuck as if in a web?
Do you need to pay attention to your balance and where you are walking in life?
Are others out of balance around you?
Do you need to write?
Are you inspired to write or draw and not following through?
Remember that spider is the keeper of knowledge of the primordial alphabet.  Spider can teach how to use the written language with power and creativity so that your words weave a web around those who would read them.

 

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So I was thinking that maybe my fear of spiders has to do with more then the physical.  Maybe it has to do with my fears and subtle psychological nuances or something.  Maybe my fear of spiders is a sign that I'm not using my creative talents enough.  For instance, I am sometimes terrified of writing my story because I am afraid of failure.  Believe it or not, I will sit at my computer for a good hour, working up the courage to begin writing because I am scared it will not be good enough.  Maybe my fear of spiders represents my anxiety of failure when it come to my writing. 

What do you think? 

p.s.  please, please please no spider pics in this thread.  I'm not quite ready for that yet. 

Quote:

Research on behavior modification treatment for phobias shows that it is not enough for a person to know intellectually that the object of their fear is harmless. Snake phobics may ?know? perfectly well that garter snakes are harmless, but they will still be afraid to handle one. The way to learn to overcome fear is to face it?to approach the fearsome object or situation little by little. Each time you encounter the feared thing without harm you learn by experience that it cannot hurt you. This is the kind of approach we propose for overcoming nightmares. Many anecdotes demonstrate that the approach is effective and can even be used by children. None of our proposed treatments for nightmares require that you interpret the symbolism of the unpleasant images. Much fruitful work can be accomplished in dreams by working directly with the images. Waking analysis (or interpretation while in the dream) may help you understand the source of your anxieties but will not necessarily help you outgrow them. For instance, consider again the fear of snakes. The classical interpretation of snake phobia is that it is a disguised anxiety about sex, especially regarding the male member, and in fact most snake phobics are women. A much more plausible biological explanation is that humans come into the world prepared to learn to fear snakes, because avoiding venomous snakes has obvious survival value. However, providing this information doesn?t cure the phobia. What does help, as mentioned above, is for the phobic to become accustomed to dealing with snakes.

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bi0 said:

you have alot of problems.

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thecornking said:

bi0 said:

you have alot of problems.

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ivi said:

thecornking said:

bi0 said:

you have alot of problems.

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bf6 said:

ivi said:

thecornking said:

bi0 said:

you have alot of problems.

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bi0 said:

it's true.

every other post by ElmerSlimShady is about some bigass personal problem of hers. I mean, I got the love for ElmerSlimShady - so I am concerned.

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Well man...what can I say...I've come a long way from where I used to be.  You think I am bad now...you should have seen me a few years ago.  So what seems like a lot of problems to you actually isn't that bad for me.  Plus, nowadays, I've more prone to work on my problems to try and fix them, rather then just letting them lie and fester into even bigger issues. 

I don't really know how to respond to you, Bi0.  This is the second thread of mine you've come into just to inform me that "I have a lot of problems."  Umm...yes...no need for a reminder, heh. It's no secret to anyone here that I have issues.  I guess I should be thankful that most people here love me anyway.  Okay, I don't really want to feel uncomfortable in the future making threads like this, so here's a newsflash for everyone: I'm flawed!  I know...breaking news, right? 

The difference between myself and some other person is that I'm more vocal about my problems because I am trying to *fix* them.  I was a living dead person for most of my life.  I couldn't even leave the apartment because I was so riddled with fear and anxiety.  Through a period of self-discovery, I realized there was a better way to live.  I mean, if me talking about the issues I have offends or annoys anyone, then I guess that's their problem, not mine.  Bi0, if you are responding that way in honest concern for my wellbeing, then I appreciate it.   

As for my phobia, I made progress once while tripping.  My last trip, I held a box that contained a dead black widow in it.  For some reason, it was a lot easier to do while on mushrooms.  I guess I saw the futility of my phobia clearly and was able to move past it for a little while. 

I think I'm going to try and get some silly toy shaped like a spider and put it on my desk.  Thanks for the ideas and replies. 

thecornking said:

bf6 said:

ivi said:

thecornking said:

bi0 said:

you have alot of problems.

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Well, I'M quite glad about it, or I'd have nobody to offer tinpot advice to......

bi0 said:

thanks for confirming my suspicion that you have alot of problems. I hope you are doing well. I got the love for you

btw - spiders are cool. why you so afraid?

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Glad I could help out with your suspicions.   

There is absolutely no reason why I am afraid of spiders.  I've had parents confirm that I had no traumatic incident involving them as a child.  So that's why I was looking to symbolism and metaphor for an answer.  One of these days I may even get a pet spider.  One of these days in the far, far, far future, that is.