Those crawly, creepy little rascals with 8 legs can portend the future? According to many superstitions they can!

As early as the 1500’s spider superstitions made claims such as: “Find a spider on your clothes in the morning and you’ll have a happy day”. A later date superstition along those same lines states, “A spider on your wedding gown means you will have good luck in your future”.

Various times of day when spiders are “spied” mean a great deal, too. Seeing a spider in the morning is supposed to mean that sorrow will come your way. Midday sightings are cause for anxiety and evening spiders give you hope.

Don’t ever kill a Daddy Longlegs spider! To do so leaves you open to bad luck.

Where spiders are seen is important in the eyes of the superstitious. If a spider drops on the head of a visitor, that person will get a present. If the spider comes down from the roof, a legacy from a friend can be expected.

Spider webs have been cited as informative about future weather. “When spiders are many and spinning their webs, the spell will soon be very dry”. Some believe that when dew is on the webs of grass spiders in the morning, it will be a beautiful day. Others note that, “if you see a spider spinning before noon, sunny weather can be expected”.

Superstitions are created by human minds to help alleviate situations people may find themselves in. They may be due to wishing something in particular will happen and, sometimes, to keep bad things from happening. Drought, weddings, happiness (or the lack of it), disease and illness all have spider superstitions attached to them.

Most of the time superstitions actually have no portent to the future at all. But, if you believe in one, it can make a big difference in your outlook from day to day!

There are some really informative websites for more in-depth studies of superstitions and spiders. Weave your way through the Internet to: http://www.spiderzrule.com/superstitions.htm and read through the article on various superstitions and legends. Or check out “Spider Superstitions & Omens” at: http://www.japach.com/superstitions/spider_superstitions.html.

Step into the parlor, have a seat and be amazed as you learn about spider superstitions and myths at “The Spider Myths Site” located at http://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/. Some superstitions are scary, some funny, some just strange…but are they real?