Whenever I encounter something I don’t understand, I attribute it to my spiritual life; that’s the land of mystery, the place of growth where I learn new things about life. I visited with Sophocles again this morning for a few minutes; I was coming in from taking my morning photos.
I sat down next to his web in the candle holder and called his name. Once again, to my surprise, he popped up and stood still. I don’t know if he had recognizable eyes or not; I couldn’t see them. He stood still, clearly aware of me but as confused as I was about what to do about it. I saw he had worked on the web, strengthening it, and I saw a dead mosquito in it.
I wondered if he was coming up to eat it. From what I read, spiders are determined creatures as well as skilled artists. If their trap works, they may not need food for several days. It isn’t unheard of for people to attack spiders (I get a lot of messages now from people who have). I think it’s true that my living with Maria sparked this process. I see her constantly interacting with insects, worms, and birds.
I have opened up recently and seen things I never noticed before. Nature is all around me; it works its own way. I know I couldn’t go back to a city and live without it. After about ten minutes, I got up and said goodbye. If Sophocles was trying to communicate with me, I didn’t grasp it or hear it. We may learn to talk to one another in a new and unspoken way.
Maria is amazed by my comfort with Sophocles; she can’t quite get over it. Me too. I am impressed with the patience, care, and diligence that goes into being a spider. He moves slowly, works carefully on the Web, and can move in and out of it when he wishes. When something is caught, he takes his sweet time about getting to it, doping it, and eating it. I think I see his belly getting more minor and more significant.
I had this fantasy that he was waving to me, but that couldn’t be true.
I no longer doubt that Sophocles recognizes me and feels safe around me. I’m not sure yet if I feel safe around him, but I’m getting there. I am learning to respect life, even if it is strange to me. Something interesting is happening to me; I can’t wait to see what it is. It is a spiritual thing to connect to nature, and that’s the best thing I’ve come with us so far. The people who love nature are, by nature, spiritual people.
Thanks to you and Maria, I never smash spiders any more. Recently found a Joro spider at my front yard water pipe. She stayed put for a week – beautiful yellow abdomen (good 3 inches across with legs spread out), then she climbed the fence surrounding the dog pen and made her way along the top of the fence. Last saw her there before the storm and 7,5 inches of rain we had last week. Hope she’s OK. Picked up a Georgia magazine in my chiropractor’s office last week and discovered an interesting article about Georgia’s newest arachnid – just like the one in my yard. They came into Ga in 2014 on a cargo ship – native to Asia – have spread to several southern states now. Lots of them in north Ga. Just beautiful. So thankful you and Maria had taught me not to smash spiders before I found her!
My book group is reading “Magic Lessons” by Alice Hoffman. In it she says our familiars choose us – I think Sophocles had chosen you!