I've been gazing at this web out my kitchen window for the past week or so. I've grown mesmerized by it. And the other day when it was pearled with raindrops I tried my best to capture it in a photo. I even got to meet the crafter (not pictured). She was huge and enjoying her lunch and I swear I could see her beady black eyes staring at me. This reminded me of a story I had heard about Grandmother Spider. I couldn't remember the details, so decided to do some research and to share some of what I've learned.
There are various accounts about Grandmother Spider. In some traditions she is the keeper of esoteric wisdom, in others creator of life (Hopi), and in still others the bringer of light (Cherokee). This account, focused on our interconnectedness, from the book Grandmother Spider and the Web of Life seems particularly worthy of repeating right now. It reads: "When the Universe was still so dark that not even shadows could be seen in the night, Grandmother Spider sat in her web in the Sky World, waiting and watching. No one knows how old Grandmother Spider is, or how long she sat waiting for the Universal Mind to awaken. But, every Creature Being who has ever lived knows her song and dance as the weaver of the Web of Life. From her web, Grandmother Spider observed the first thoughts as the Universal Mind awakened from the dream. Seven energy beings floated out from the shining light in the center of the Universal Mind and solidified into bright, shining stars who went out to take their places in the Sky World. Grandmother Spider took a very deep breath and softly began to sing her weaving song while she danced across the Sky. As she spun her thread, Grandmother Spider envisioned the Web of Life. Within moments, she had woven her web connecting the seven stars and creating the Spirit Doorway through which all of the rest of life would enter...Singing her song and weaving the Web of Life, Grandmother Spider continued with her work. The Sky World filled with light and life as her creative process unfolded. As the stars, suns and planets prepared to give birth to their children, Grandmother Spider spun her cord even longer, so that all of the newly born could be included in the Web of Life. Grandmother Spider continues to weave the Web of Life throughout every cycle of creation. All life everywhere in the Universe is connected by the Web of Life. We are not separate beings. We are each a part of the Great Mystery, manifesting as an individual awareness in a separate physical body, but sharing the same energy as all other life. The energy web is anchored within our center and is our connection to the Great Mystery. Along with Grandmother Spider's web cord, we carry within our center our dream for living that includes a promise and a purpose. Before we came into the Earthwalk, we chose the gifts and talents that help us create the reality that we envisioned. We also chose the lessons and challenges that motivate our learning and growth. Our dream for living carries a specific vibration of sound and color that guides our spirit essence in it's flight from the Universal Mind, through the Sacred Cave, and into the womb of our physical mother. During our Earthwalk, we live our choices and lessons, and develop our talents and gifts, as we meet each situation and challenge of our growth... Grandmother Spider weaves the Web of Life around us when our spirit essence enters its physical body inside the womb of our mother. From feet to head, our spirit essence is woven together with our physical body as Grandmother Spider sings her weaving song to us. When she completes her weaving, Grandmother Spider does not cut the cord, but leaves an energy trail with her weft thread that goes out from our center to connect with the next Creature Being that will enter the Web of Life...This gift of Grandmother Spider insures that we are never alone, for through it we always share the love of All Our Relations." I also found lots of interesting information in Spiders as Spiritual Guides by Dennis Hazenbroek. Hazenbroek points out how "the spider is considered the teacher of language and the magic of writing," offers lessons in "persistence," and "represent[s] ancient symbols of infinity." Hazenbroek also points out the link between spiders and Samhain. Their link to death via venom which is "of course also used as basis for the antidote, connecting the Spider both to death and rebirth and thus...the completion of the circle." So with that I say Happy Halloween and I ask... What are you weaving?
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And it is time to reinvent....again
Rogue_Revel started out as a women's empowerment circle, and while I love the connection and community that group fostered it has now morphed into something broader. That sisterhood centered on shared experiences, self-expression, and spiritual alignment. This website will also, no doubt, weave those threads. But for me, part of going rogue also means refusal to be boxed in to any one idea or identity, perspective or product. Thus the revamped website. It celebrates multiple versions of me - the traveler, the creative, the writer, the mom, the yogini, the romantic, and the yet to be determined. I've never been good at compartmentalizing. My home life bleeds into my work life bleeds into my creative life and on and on. This new site will evolve as I do. My hope is that it connects me to people and projects that right now I can't even begin to imagine, and which will birth still more versions of me. This new hosting platform feels paradoxical: much more minimalist in its design compared to my old site, and yet its simplicity actually expands what I am able to do and offer. Breathing room. That's what I feel like it gives me. A break from the chaos (mostly self-generated) where I spend the majority of my time. I'm excited to see what happens when I quit being a damn control freak and allow this site to fill up organically with new creative collaborations, offerings, and ideas. When I allow for some blank space. |
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I am a creative writer, a runner, a seeker, a teacher, and a student. I've been practicing yoga since 2014 and story-telling my whole life. Archives
July 2021
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