Aranea diadema
-VERMEULEN Frans,
Aran.
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
[G.K. Chesterton]
Signs
Araneus diadematus. Cross spider. Garden spider.
CLASSIFICATION The cross spider belongs to the family Araneidae or Orb Weavers. At present the name Araneidae is preferred, whereas in the older literature the family was called Argiopidae. It is a large family with more than 2500 species worldwide. [In general, there are 35,300 described species of spiders!] In Europe 17 genera with 50 species are known.
EVOLUTION "Of the millions of animal lifeforms that have made an appearance on Earth, nearly 99 per cent of these have faltered and vanished: amongst the successful stayers are the spiders. Around 360 million years ago, they crawled out of the ocean and they have been diversifying in form and habit ever since. Their ability to fill a plethora of niches and to keep apace of the development of insects, their major food source, has assured them a place in the animal kingdom today. Their story is the universal story of survival and the universal mechanism of adaptation. ... Their ability to adapt to changing environments throughout the ages has resulted in their penetration into many different types of habitat. They are found in the scorching heat of deserts, the steamiest of tropical jungles, amongst the ocean rocks and coral reefs, as well as on the snow-capped summits. The majority of spiders are exclusively terrestrial."1
ADAPTABILITY Because spiders are able to postpone their emergence until conditions are favourable, they are often one of the first forms of life to reappear in areas after devastation. Spiders usually avoid competition by occupying different niches in a single habitat.
DISTRIBUTION Despite their great adaptability, their distribution over the Earth's surface is not even. As to the number of individual spiders and the number of different species, spiders are far more abundant in tropical regions. Also, their diversity and abundance diminishes with increasing altitude. In general, spiders require high humidity, shelter, and insects.
FEATURES Spiders differ fundamentally from insects. Insects have three body sections, spiders have two: the cephalothorax, comprising the fused head and thorax [in most species clearly arranged in two regions], and the abdomen. Insects have three pairs of legs, spiders have four pairs, all joined to the cephalothorax. Insects have mandibles or true jaws, spiders have none and feed only on liquids. Insects have both compound and simple eyes, antennae and, usually, wings; spiders lack compound eyes, antennae and wings. The legs of most spiders are dorsally covered with fine sensory hairs, which are extremely sensitive to vibrations, including air currents. The legs are extended by means of a hydraulic system of fluid. "The blood of spiders has some unusual features. It has been found to be poisonous when injected into the blood system of mice, using controlled experiments. It is also transparent, since it contains pale blood cells. And unlike vertebrates, the blood is not circulated within closed tubes, so a spider can quickly bleed to death if the cuticle of its abdomen is punctured."2
SOLITARY Of the 35,000 or so described species of spiders, only about 40 species in 16 families are known to exhibit some kind of social behaviour or group living. Yet none of these 40 species is truly social in the manner exhibited by ants, termites, wasps or bees. They never exhibit a reproductive division of labour, nor the evolution of different castes suited for special tasks within the nest. Spider species living together on a permanent basis are extremely rare. Most of the approximately 40 species are only periodically social. Some species form web colonies, although each member retains its individual snare, while in other species the temporary social bond is linked with brood care. Web spiders are solitary. "The evolutionary origins of sociality in spiders must probably be sought among the solitary web spiders, since their threads certainly play a central role in communication between individual spiders. It even seems that their webs needed to be irregular, because only several individuals can use those simultaneously. Among the freely roaming wandering spiders we find very few social species, probably because the 'connecting wires' are lacking."3
COURTING Courting is not without peril. The male must convince the female of his good intentions by sending the correct set of vibrations through her web; if not, he can well end up as her meal. "The male uses the female's sensitivity to web vibration to his advantage. He remains on the perimeter of her snare, well away from the sticky threads, and plucks at the spokes in a lively manner to entice her from the centre of the wheel. Should she accept his advances, the two meet and both display great excitement, waving their limbs and touching one another."4
MATING By olfactory organs on their palps, males pick up scents [pheromones] exuded by females during the mating season. Unlike insects, male spiders have no penises. "Their reproductive organs, located ventrally on the abdomen, consist of testes connected by a tube to a small opening. The male spins a small 'mat' of silk onto which he discharges his sperm. The sperm on the silk mat is then siphoned up into the bulbous tarsi reservoirs of his palps. These tarsal appendages have tubes within the palpal bulbs, known as emboli and during a successful mating they will be inserted and discharged one at a time into the female's egg or genital tube [depending on her physiology] for fertilisation of her eggs. ... The sperm is then stored [for as long as 10 months on occasions]. With this more evolved structure, the female can control the fertilisation of eggs. In her own time she lays her eggs, like a string of pearls, and as they pass down the egg tube, they are fertilised by stored sperm from the sperm pocket."5 Cross breeding in spiders is impossible because the shapes of male and female genital structures are species specific.
METAMORPHOSIS Cross spiders appear in abundance from late summer to early autumn due to the mating period. "The males die shortly thereafter. Some weeks later the females produce eggs spun into sacs. During the winter the eggs hatch and blind, much incomplete prelarvae are born inside the egg sac. After moulting for the first time they become larvae and dwell inside the sac until their next moulting. The larvae are similar to adult specimens but without poison. After a third moulting period the larvae become nymphs [spiderlings] that prey upon their weaker siblings. Following spring the nymphs hatch from the sac and leave it as soon as they are able to feed themselves. Spiders this size need at least two, sometimes three, overwinterings to mature. This is depending on the climate. Cold winters make them grow slower. Females can live for five to six years when kept indoors."6 Araneus females leave their egg sac unattended. The newly hatched spiderlings are afforded no protection by their mother. Packed up in a ball-like structure, they remain together for several days and then disperse.
MOULTING Due to their external skeleton of chitin, spiders have to moult to be able to grow. A few days before the actual moulting process starts the cross spider hangs from a silk thread, during which period it is totally uninterested in eating. When the time for the moulting has come the carapace opens at the sides. The opening continues backwards until only the legs, palps and the sternum are attached to the old skin. After releasing the sternum the most difficult part remains, and that is freeing the legs and the palps. If a leg is caught the spider can tear it off by the joints, but if that is not possible the spider will be caught in its old skin and die. A torn off leg can be replaced during the following moult, this leg, however, is never as moveable as the original leg. The spider can also lose much of its vital fluids if a leg is torn off at the wrong place. Directly after extracting legs and palps the spider hangs still for some time, usually for an hour or two, while stretching and bending its legs while the new exoskeleton hardens."7
SILK Spiders produce up to seven types of silk. A commonly produced silk is called dragline and is used as a safety line. Dragline silk is known for its exceptional properties of tensile strength and toughness. The way spiders process their silk has a striking resemblance to the way some man-made fibres are spun. The silk starts as a liquid, secreted by a gland. It is then squeezed through a tapering, tubular duct and exits via a spigot. In the cells lining the narrow end of the tubule water is extracted, thereby converting the liquid into a solid thread.
WEB All cross spiders make round webs that are big in relation to the spider. In the centre the web is denser. Due to its size - males measure 8-10 mm, females 10-15 mm - Araneus is one of the most spotted spiders. It has a black to pale beige colour, with the typical cross marking on its back. It weaves a circular web with a sticky fluid on the threads in woods, heaths and gardens - often near water. The web, which often has a diameter of 30 or more centimetres, is [re]constructed nearly every day just before sunrise. If it is damaged by weather conditions [wind and rain] or by a large prey, the spider to conserve protein eats it. The cross spider sits in the middle of the web and waits for prey. The slightest tremor of the web induces the spider to drop on to the victim caught in the web, paralyzing it with a poisonous bite while wrapping it in silk. Bright warning colours of bees and wasps don't deter the spider because of its poor eyesight.
WEB STRUCTURE In weaving its web, Araneus diadematus first lays down a set of radiating spokes and some framework threads. Working from the inside out, it then lays down a temporary or 'auxiliary' spiral linking the spokes. A permanent sticky 'capture' spiral laid from the outside in supersedes this. A few final tweaks at the hub, and the spider has finished its job. Research has shown that light has no effect on the web structure of the cross spider, whereas in response to wind a significant reduction in the surface area of the web was demonstrated. The latter probably is to avoid web damage. 8
FOOD Catching prey in sticky snares is not merely a matter of luck and awaiting one's opportunity. There are web weavers who "incorporate sheets of ultraviolet silk in their webs that, to the fly, look like glistening escape routes. The flies are trapped as they make their getaway. Some spiders have refined this basic design by constructing an inconspicuous web beneath the ultraviolet lure to catch any escapees. There are even spiders that entice insects directly with an abdomen glowing with reflected ultraviolet light. Some spiders attempt a different approach, weaving into their webs ultraviolet designs that mimic the honey guides of flowers."9 Catching many harmful insects, spiders play a very important role in our ecosystem. "In a study, the Panamese wheel spider was observed for a year. It consumed an average of 1.63 insects [= 0.089 g] a day. A study in Great Britain estimated an average of 130.8 spiders living in a meadow per square meter. If we extrapolate this to Holland with 15 million habitants on 36150 square kilometres [4.4 human beings per hectare], we can make the next calculation: spiders living on one hectare consume 116.4 kg of animal material every day. At that rate, the spiders will finish off all humans living in Holland in three days!"10 Spiderlings of A. diadematus sometimes eat their webs. The reason is that the web is covered in pollen grains, which serve as a source of food for the young spiders in the absence of insect prey. This provides a temporary solution, for the spiderlings are only able to moult when they have consumed animal prey.
DIGESTION The pre-digested, liquefied tissues of the prey are sucked up by means of a muscular sucking stomach, aided by the squeezing action of the pedipalps and the sucking action of the pharynx. Beyond the sucking stomach the digestive tract gives off several pairs of pouches, which increase the digestive and absorptive surface, in a large digestive gland, which branches extensively and occupies most of the spider's abdomen. This gland is the main organ of digestion and is capable of taking up very large quantities of food at one time, storing it, and then gradually absorbing it. This enables spiders to go for long periods without taking food, though they must have water quite often. 11
COLDNESS Spiders have developed several adaptations to survive such adverse conditions as cold, dampness, flooding, and lack of food. About 85% of the spider fauna overwinter in the soil, mainly in leaf litter. During this time most spiders assume a rigid posture, with the legs drawn close to the body so that the exposed body surface is kept to a minimum. Most Araneus species can withstand temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, even in unprotected locations. "It is not quite clear how these spiders achieve their remarkable resistance to cold. It is known that the spider's haemolymph contains glycerol, which acts as an antifreezing agent, and that the glycerol content is markedly higher in winter than in summer. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the glycerol alone can account for such resistance to cold, since it has been found that this chemical lowers the freezing point of the spider's haemolymph by only 1 degree C. The freezing point [or melting point, to be more precise], however, is not equivalent to the much lower undercooling point [i.e., just before ice crystals are formed] that is measured in live spiders. This is apparently due to certain proteins of the haemolymph, which can lower the freezing point by 20 degrees C."12
POPULARITY When in 1965, 80,000 American school children were surveyed as to which animals they disliked most, spiders finished second to snakes. In British surveys in 1950 and 1988, spiders were also the second most unpopular animal - below the snake in the first survey and the rat in the second. This most probably is a conditioned response since humans usually express a duality in their reactions to spiders. Spiders are feared as well as respected. In medieval Europe, for example, the cross spider was considered sacred on account of the cross marking on its back.
SYMBOLISM The spider is associated with the moon. Lunar goddesses are seen as 'weaving' the cosmic veil, enmeshing the human destiny in its threads. Since it holds sway over the whole phenomenal world [for all phenomena are subject to growth and death], the moon weaves the thread of each man's destiny. Accordingly, the moon is depicted as a gigantic spider in many myths. The spider's life of weaving and killing, creating and destroying, is an allegory of the ceaseless alternation of forces on which the stability of the cosmos depends. This continuous sacrifice symbolizes the means of man's continual transmutation throughout the course of his life. Even death itself merely winds up the thread of an old life in order to spin a new one. The spider sitting in its web is a symbol of the centre of the world, and is hence regarded in India as Maya, the eternal weaver of the web of illusion. 13 For the Greek the spider was an attribute of Athena as a weaver of the world and of Persephone, Harmonia and of the Fates, the Moirai, as spinners of destiny. Clotho, the first Fate, presided over birth and drew from her distaff the thread of life; Lachesis, the second Fate, spun life's thread and determined its length; Atropos, the eldest of the three Fates, severed the thread of life. The two section spider body, in conjunction with its eight legs, gives it a figure eight kind of appearance, representing the wheel of life, the eternally spiralling movement of life. Interestingly, most spiders possess eight eyes!
CHRISTIANITY In Christianity, the spider represents the Devil ensnaring sinners. Satan is the treacherous pursuer of souls, which are represented by the small flying creatures that stray into his toils, hopelessly lost the moment they are caught. The spider may carry a cross on its back, but this cross is considered to be 'upside down' and consequently 'the devil's cross'. "In ancient iconography, the spider most often represents the demon of lust and more especially its customary agent, the seductive and provocative prostitute; it is she who is represented in those jewels in whose design the spider is at the centre of the web. Sometimes a naked woman replaces the insect, recalling the fabled Amazons described by Pomponius Mela, whose chief weapons are nets in which they entangle their adversaries and then drag them to death behind their chariots. In Christian spirituality, the spider web itself represents in the first place 'vain works', such as have no value in God's eyes. 'Pray for us personally', St. Paulinus of Nola wrote in the year 405, 'that we may not be misled into weaving spider webs, accomplishing works without merit.' The delicate tissue of the spider web was also the image of human frailty; as a puff of wind, a flying cockchafer, a failing flower can tear the web, so a trifle can destroy the life or health of a human being, and nothing is more fragile than the integrity of his conscience or the duration of his happiness."14
BETRAYAL "Referring to the treacherous cruelty of the spider, which embraces other insects in order to inject its fatal poison, the European heraldists saw the insect as a symbol of traitors like Judas. In the West, the medieval heraldic science took the spider and its web as images of the dishonest judge who makes exceptions for different persons. A later echo of this idea comes from Vulson de la Colombière: 'It is the symbol of the corrupt judge and the inequality of the laws, as the wise Solon said, who compared the laws with spider webs because they hold small flies but are not strong enough to retain the big ones which pass through them; as in the same way it is the little people who are enslaved by the harshness of the law, of which the great ones of the world take no account'."15
FATE "The belief that fate could enter and influence a person's life was generally accepted in ancient cultures. It is one of the reasons the intelligent and cunning spider had a dual role in many mythologies - both helpful and deadly. The web of protection, for instance, under certain circumstances could be viewed as a spinning illusion, a web of entrapment, or a poisonous plot. Twists and turns on one's path, especially those which are wholly unexpected, were also accepted as the work of the gods, and in many cultures it was believed to be a result of a spider god twisting the threads of fate. ... The Trickster, in its spider or other manifestations, personifies the energetic power of the total psyche to overthrow the personality's best ideas about how to proceed, tricking it into taking unexpected action. ... Although feared as an upsetting, unpredictable influence, the Trickster was also considered a cultural hero and sacred creator of the world who brings to people the inspirations and energies of creativity. ... Both bad luck and good reside in the Trickster's domain. As a spoiler of plans, the Trickster often brings loss and what we perceive as bad luck, entering a situation to punish pride, arrogance, and insolence. The Trickster also chastises those who seek closure prematurely and, in doing so, cut off the creative possibilities of a situation. When the Trickster presence is felt in our life, it helps to know that this energy is aligned with an authentic push in our psyche toward expansiveness. Although the Trickster's lack of concern for our fears, the culture's taboos, or social appropriateness is unnerving and can feel punitive, its demands for a change of direction or stillness is a call for a necessary alteration of some kind. Far from being unreasonable, its energies try to align us with deeper patterns of fulfilment, presenting opportunities for growth disguised as frustration, pain, and misfortune. ... Although Western culture doesn't acknowledge this archetype known as the Trickster, except to call it bad luck, it still operates within us and our society. We tend to think we left behind this energetic pattern and its chaotic influence with the advent of our control-oriented technologies, but we didn't. We left behind only the context through which we might understand its emergence."16
THEMES Unexpected behaviour and lack of concern for culture's taboos and social appropriateness may well prove to be keynotes of the spider remedies. That spiders go with the winds of change, or even throw to the winds, is shown by a phenomenon called ballooning. When dispersing from their nest site and wishing to travel, young spiders raise their abdomen high and release an abundance of liquid silk, which dries immediately the air touches it. "This is caught by the breeze and the air currents lift it up into the sky. Ballooning spiders have been found 4,300 metres up in the sky, having attached themselves to aircraft. ... The majority of Araneomorphs disperse by ballooning to different locations. Often during mass migrations, the ground, grass and foliage of an area can be seen to be covered with masses of flocculent silk as a large population of spiderlings attempts to become airborne. This method of dispersal is unique to spiders and is the reason why spiders are often early colonisers."17 How far they will travel depends mainly on the wind. Only a few of the aeronauts will survive; many fall victim to birds, or they land in some wholly unsuitable environment.
PROVINGS •• [1] Proved in 1832 by a young doctor and an army surgeon by taking repeated doses of the tincture for several days.
•• [2] The main source is the clinical experience of von Grauvogl [1811-1887]. Aranea was one of v. Grauvogl's "hydrogenoid" remedies.
•• [3] Eccius - 4 provers [3 females, 1 male], 1965; method: three times daily 7 drops of 6x for 3 weeks.
[1-2] Simon-Brunet, The Silken Web. [3] Foelix, Biology of Spiders. [4-5] Simon-Brunet, ibid. [6-7] Widman, Cross spiders in Sweden. [8] Hieber, Orientation and modification of the web to wind and light by the spiders Araneus diadematus and Araneus gemmoides [Araneae: Araneidae]. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 65: 250-260; 1984. [9] Downer, Supernatural. [10] Nieuwenhuys, Spiders of North-West Europe. [11] Buchsbaum, Animals without Backbone. [12] Foelix, ibid. [13] Cirlot, Dictionary of Symbols.[14-15] Charbonneau-Lassay, The Bestiary of Christ. [16] Lauck, The Voice of the Infinite in the Small. [17] Simon-Brunet, Ibid.
Affinity
Nerves. Blood. Bones. * Right side.
Modalities
Worse: EXACT PERIODICITY. DAMPNESS [Cold; during rains; bathing].
Better: Smoking. Open air. Pressure.
Main symptoms
* Characteristic features of spider remedies [according to Mangialavori]:
Chilly.
Sensitive to music, noise, vibration. Like strong rhythmical music.
Strong.
Sense of time deviated. Problems with appointments.
High sex drive.
Periodicity.
Fear narrow places.
Solitary persons; problems with maintaining relations.
Sensitive persons [to touch, noise, light]. Don't like to be touched or direct contact.
Dyskinesia [most pronounced in ground-dwelling spiders]
Restless, active, aggressive.
> Tobacco.
M Confusion > SMOKING.
Confusion of head after eating.
M Fear in crowds and in narrow places.
[Spiders are solitary animals.]
M Deep despondency and longing for death, like Aur. [Grimmer]
M Restlessness / Busy.
• "I'm very nervous and treat everybody badly. I can't bear having pain; it is something that sets a limit to me and I am a very active woman. I like working and moving. I never stand still and the pain constrains me to do things I want to do and the way I want to do them."1
• "It's a very lively child, but above all very active. He's not lively and disturbing but he always got something in his hands to bustle about. He never keeps still, not even during the night. He continuously tosses in his bed and uncovers himself and then he wakes up because he's cold."2
G Cold to very bones [Calc.]; CAN'T GET WARM.
G Sensation as if bones are made of ICE.
G Marked sensitivity to cold and dampness.
Every damp day chills.
• "Cannot tolerate damp or wet weather, or damp habitations, even being on the water." [Hering]
G Spider remedies crave coffee and tobacco. [Karl-Josef Müller]
G < Night, [immediately] after lying down. [toothache; cough; asthma] G > Walking in open air.
[Compare: Fear of narrow places.]
G > SMOKING.
[headache; bitter taste in mouth; toothache; asthma].
[Compare strong desire for smoking in both Aranea ixobola and Theridion.]
G Sensation of ENORMOUS ENLARGEMENT, or numbness of parts; on waking [at night].
Sensation as if hands and forearms were greatly swollen, on waking at night from restless sleep.
Sensation of heaviness in thighs, impeding walking.
G Nerve pains with EXACT PERIODICITY.
G Weakness after fever.
G Cramps, colics and twitching.
P Flickering [vision] or vertigo before headache.
Burning in eyes and heat in face during headache.
And Coldness of hands and feet.
[Headache caused by 'intellectual overwork']
P Sudden violent pains in teeth of whole upper and lower jaw, at night, immediately after lying down.
[1] Mangialavori, "I let myself go in the wind," a case of Aranea diadema, HL 2/96. [2] Mangialavori, "He's mad about ropes," a case of Aranea diadema, HL 2/96.
Rubrics
Mind
Delusion, his own voice seems distant [1]; he is falling [1]; everything seems unreal [1].
Head
Icy coldness of left temple, with stitching pain in it; sensation of coldness extends to left ear [1/1*]. Pain, < talking of others [1]. Eye Burning pain during headache [1]. Vision Colours, white objects appear bright yellow, in evening or at night [1/1*]. Face Sensation of swelling [2]; sensation of swelling of cheeks [1]. Mouth Bitter taste > smoking [1/1]; unpleasant taste after drinking milk [1/1].
Stomach
Thirst with the pains [1].
Female
Menses copious [1]; too frequent [1]; offensive, like ammonia [1; Lac-c.].
Chest
Sensation of heaviness, as if heart were made of lead, at night on awaking [1/1*]. Cutting pain through heart, as from a knife [1*]. Violent palpitation, awakening her [1*].
Back
Pain as from an iron band around shoulders and nape of neck [1/1*]. Sensation as if back were made stiff by an icy cold, sticky fluid [1/1*], extending to upper and lower limbs [1/1*].
Limbs
Pain in right thigh extending to left thigh [1*]. Tingling of soles of feet at night on awaking [1/1*].
Sleep
Sleeplessness from coldness of feet [1]. Waking from hunger [2].
Generals
Cold feeling in bones [2].
* Repertory additions; proving symptoms of Eccius [Zeitschrift für Klass. Hom., Juli-Aug. 1965].
Food
Aversion: [1]: Ice cream.
Desire: [1]: Coffee [*]; fruit; milk; sweets; tobacco [*].
Worse: [1]: Soup.
Better: [1]: Milk; smoking.
* Repertory additions Karl-Josef Müller.
Aran.
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| Aranea diadema |
[G.K. Chesterton]
Signs
Araneus diadematus. Cross spider. Garden spider.
CLASSIFICATION The cross spider belongs to the family Araneidae or Orb Weavers. At present the name Araneidae is preferred, whereas in the older literature the family was called Argiopidae. It is a large family with more than 2500 species worldwide. [In general, there are 35,300 described species of spiders!] In Europe 17 genera with 50 species are known.
EVOLUTION "Of the millions of animal lifeforms that have made an appearance on Earth, nearly 99 per cent of these have faltered and vanished: amongst the successful stayers are the spiders. Around 360 million years ago, they crawled out of the ocean and they have been diversifying in form and habit ever since. Their ability to fill a plethora of niches and to keep apace of the development of insects, their major food source, has assured them a place in the animal kingdom today. Their story is the universal story of survival and the universal mechanism of adaptation. ... Their ability to adapt to changing environments throughout the ages has resulted in their penetration into many different types of habitat. They are found in the scorching heat of deserts, the steamiest of tropical jungles, amongst the ocean rocks and coral reefs, as well as on the snow-capped summits. The majority of spiders are exclusively terrestrial."1
ADAPTABILITY Because spiders are able to postpone their emergence until conditions are favourable, they are often one of the first forms of life to reappear in areas after devastation. Spiders usually avoid competition by occupying different niches in a single habitat.
DISTRIBUTION Despite their great adaptability, their distribution over the Earth's surface is not even. As to the number of individual spiders and the number of different species, spiders are far more abundant in tropical regions. Also, their diversity and abundance diminishes with increasing altitude. In general, spiders require high humidity, shelter, and insects.
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| Aranea diadema |
SOLITARY Of the 35,000 or so described species of spiders, only about 40 species in 16 families are known to exhibit some kind of social behaviour or group living. Yet none of these 40 species is truly social in the manner exhibited by ants, termites, wasps or bees. They never exhibit a reproductive division of labour, nor the evolution of different castes suited for special tasks within the nest. Spider species living together on a permanent basis are extremely rare. Most of the approximately 40 species are only periodically social. Some species form web colonies, although each member retains its individual snare, while in other species the temporary social bond is linked with brood care. Web spiders are solitary. "The evolutionary origins of sociality in spiders must probably be sought among the solitary web spiders, since their threads certainly play a central role in communication between individual spiders. It even seems that their webs needed to be irregular, because only several individuals can use those simultaneously. Among the freely roaming wandering spiders we find very few social species, probably because the 'connecting wires' are lacking."3
COURTING Courting is not without peril. The male must convince the female of his good intentions by sending the correct set of vibrations through her web; if not, he can well end up as her meal. "The male uses the female's sensitivity to web vibration to his advantage. He remains on the perimeter of her snare, well away from the sticky threads, and plucks at the spokes in a lively manner to entice her from the centre of the wheel. Should she accept his advances, the two meet and both display great excitement, waving their limbs and touching one another."4
MATING By olfactory organs on their palps, males pick up scents [pheromones] exuded by females during the mating season. Unlike insects, male spiders have no penises. "Their reproductive organs, located ventrally on the abdomen, consist of testes connected by a tube to a small opening. The male spins a small 'mat' of silk onto which he discharges his sperm. The sperm on the silk mat is then siphoned up into the bulbous tarsi reservoirs of his palps. These tarsal appendages have tubes within the palpal bulbs, known as emboli and during a successful mating they will be inserted and discharged one at a time into the female's egg or genital tube [depending on her physiology] for fertilisation of her eggs. ... The sperm is then stored [for as long as 10 months on occasions]. With this more evolved structure, the female can control the fertilisation of eggs. In her own time she lays her eggs, like a string of pearls, and as they pass down the egg tube, they are fertilised by stored sperm from the sperm pocket."5 Cross breeding in spiders is impossible because the shapes of male and female genital structures are species specific.
METAMORPHOSIS Cross spiders appear in abundance from late summer to early autumn due to the mating period. "The males die shortly thereafter. Some weeks later the females produce eggs spun into sacs. During the winter the eggs hatch and blind, much incomplete prelarvae are born inside the egg sac. After moulting for the first time they become larvae and dwell inside the sac until their next moulting. The larvae are similar to adult specimens but without poison. After a third moulting period the larvae become nymphs [spiderlings] that prey upon their weaker siblings. Following spring the nymphs hatch from the sac and leave it as soon as they are able to feed themselves. Spiders this size need at least two, sometimes three, overwinterings to mature. This is depending on the climate. Cold winters make them grow slower. Females can live for five to six years when kept indoors."6 Araneus females leave their egg sac unattended. The newly hatched spiderlings are afforded no protection by their mother. Packed up in a ball-like structure, they remain together for several days and then disperse.
MOULTING Due to their external skeleton of chitin, spiders have to moult to be able to grow. A few days before the actual moulting process starts the cross spider hangs from a silk thread, during which period it is totally uninterested in eating. When the time for the moulting has come the carapace opens at the sides. The opening continues backwards until only the legs, palps and the sternum are attached to the old skin. After releasing the sternum the most difficult part remains, and that is freeing the legs and the palps. If a leg is caught the spider can tear it off by the joints, but if that is not possible the spider will be caught in its old skin and die. A torn off leg can be replaced during the following moult, this leg, however, is never as moveable as the original leg. The spider can also lose much of its vital fluids if a leg is torn off at the wrong place. Directly after extracting legs and palps the spider hangs still for some time, usually for an hour or two, while stretching and bending its legs while the new exoskeleton hardens."7
SILK Spiders produce up to seven types of silk. A commonly produced silk is called dragline and is used as a safety line. Dragline silk is known for its exceptional properties of tensile strength and toughness. The way spiders process their silk has a striking resemblance to the way some man-made fibres are spun. The silk starts as a liquid, secreted by a gland. It is then squeezed through a tapering, tubular duct and exits via a spigot. In the cells lining the narrow end of the tubule water is extracted, thereby converting the liquid into a solid thread.
WEB All cross spiders make round webs that are big in relation to the spider. In the centre the web is denser. Due to its size - males measure 8-10 mm, females 10-15 mm - Araneus is one of the most spotted spiders. It has a black to pale beige colour, with the typical cross marking on its back. It weaves a circular web with a sticky fluid on the threads in woods, heaths and gardens - often near water. The web, which often has a diameter of 30 or more centimetres, is [re]constructed nearly every day just before sunrise. If it is damaged by weather conditions [wind and rain] or by a large prey, the spider to conserve protein eats it. The cross spider sits in the middle of the web and waits for prey. The slightest tremor of the web induces the spider to drop on to the victim caught in the web, paralyzing it with a poisonous bite while wrapping it in silk. Bright warning colours of bees and wasps don't deter the spider because of its poor eyesight.
WEB STRUCTURE In weaving its web, Araneus diadematus first lays down a set of radiating spokes and some framework threads. Working from the inside out, it then lays down a temporary or 'auxiliary' spiral linking the spokes. A permanent sticky 'capture' spiral laid from the outside in supersedes this. A few final tweaks at the hub, and the spider has finished its job. Research has shown that light has no effect on the web structure of the cross spider, whereas in response to wind a significant reduction in the surface area of the web was demonstrated. The latter probably is to avoid web damage. 8
FOOD Catching prey in sticky snares is not merely a matter of luck and awaiting one's opportunity. There are web weavers who "incorporate sheets of ultraviolet silk in their webs that, to the fly, look like glistening escape routes. The flies are trapped as they make their getaway. Some spiders have refined this basic design by constructing an inconspicuous web beneath the ultraviolet lure to catch any escapees. There are even spiders that entice insects directly with an abdomen glowing with reflected ultraviolet light. Some spiders attempt a different approach, weaving into their webs ultraviolet designs that mimic the honey guides of flowers."9 Catching many harmful insects, spiders play a very important role in our ecosystem. "In a study, the Panamese wheel spider was observed for a year. It consumed an average of 1.63 insects [= 0.089 g] a day. A study in Great Britain estimated an average of 130.8 spiders living in a meadow per square meter. If we extrapolate this to Holland with 15 million habitants on 36150 square kilometres [4.4 human beings per hectare], we can make the next calculation: spiders living on one hectare consume 116.4 kg of animal material every day. At that rate, the spiders will finish off all humans living in Holland in three days!"10 Spiderlings of A. diadematus sometimes eat their webs. The reason is that the web is covered in pollen grains, which serve as a source of food for the young spiders in the absence of insect prey. This provides a temporary solution, for the spiderlings are only able to moult when they have consumed animal prey.
DIGESTION The pre-digested, liquefied tissues of the prey are sucked up by means of a muscular sucking stomach, aided by the squeezing action of the pedipalps and the sucking action of the pharynx. Beyond the sucking stomach the digestive tract gives off several pairs of pouches, which increase the digestive and absorptive surface, in a large digestive gland, which branches extensively and occupies most of the spider's abdomen. This gland is the main organ of digestion and is capable of taking up very large quantities of food at one time, storing it, and then gradually absorbing it. This enables spiders to go for long periods without taking food, though they must have water quite often. 11
COLDNESS Spiders have developed several adaptations to survive such adverse conditions as cold, dampness, flooding, and lack of food. About 85% of the spider fauna overwinter in the soil, mainly in leaf litter. During this time most spiders assume a rigid posture, with the legs drawn close to the body so that the exposed body surface is kept to a minimum. Most Araneus species can withstand temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, even in unprotected locations. "It is not quite clear how these spiders achieve their remarkable resistance to cold. It is known that the spider's haemolymph contains glycerol, which acts as an antifreezing agent, and that the glycerol content is markedly higher in winter than in summer. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the glycerol alone can account for such resistance to cold, since it has been found that this chemical lowers the freezing point of the spider's haemolymph by only 1 degree C. The freezing point [or melting point, to be more precise], however, is not equivalent to the much lower undercooling point [i.e., just before ice crystals are formed] that is measured in live spiders. This is apparently due to certain proteins of the haemolymph, which can lower the freezing point by 20 degrees C."12
POPULARITY When in 1965, 80,000 American school children were surveyed as to which animals they disliked most, spiders finished second to snakes. In British surveys in 1950 and 1988, spiders were also the second most unpopular animal - below the snake in the first survey and the rat in the second. This most probably is a conditioned response since humans usually express a duality in their reactions to spiders. Spiders are feared as well as respected. In medieval Europe, for example, the cross spider was considered sacred on account of the cross marking on its back.
SYMBOLISM The spider is associated with the moon. Lunar goddesses are seen as 'weaving' the cosmic veil, enmeshing the human destiny in its threads. Since it holds sway over the whole phenomenal world [for all phenomena are subject to growth and death], the moon weaves the thread of each man's destiny. Accordingly, the moon is depicted as a gigantic spider in many myths. The spider's life of weaving and killing, creating and destroying, is an allegory of the ceaseless alternation of forces on which the stability of the cosmos depends. This continuous sacrifice symbolizes the means of man's continual transmutation throughout the course of his life. Even death itself merely winds up the thread of an old life in order to spin a new one. The spider sitting in its web is a symbol of the centre of the world, and is hence regarded in India as Maya, the eternal weaver of the web of illusion. 13 For the Greek the spider was an attribute of Athena as a weaver of the world and of Persephone, Harmonia and of the Fates, the Moirai, as spinners of destiny. Clotho, the first Fate, presided over birth and drew from her distaff the thread of life; Lachesis, the second Fate, spun life's thread and determined its length; Atropos, the eldest of the three Fates, severed the thread of life. The two section spider body, in conjunction with its eight legs, gives it a figure eight kind of appearance, representing the wheel of life, the eternally spiralling movement of life. Interestingly, most spiders possess eight eyes!
CHRISTIANITY In Christianity, the spider represents the Devil ensnaring sinners. Satan is the treacherous pursuer of souls, which are represented by the small flying creatures that stray into his toils, hopelessly lost the moment they are caught. The spider may carry a cross on its back, but this cross is considered to be 'upside down' and consequently 'the devil's cross'. "In ancient iconography, the spider most often represents the demon of lust and more especially its customary agent, the seductive and provocative prostitute; it is she who is represented in those jewels in whose design the spider is at the centre of the web. Sometimes a naked woman replaces the insect, recalling the fabled Amazons described by Pomponius Mela, whose chief weapons are nets in which they entangle their adversaries and then drag them to death behind their chariots. In Christian spirituality, the spider web itself represents in the first place 'vain works', such as have no value in God's eyes. 'Pray for us personally', St. Paulinus of Nola wrote in the year 405, 'that we may not be misled into weaving spider webs, accomplishing works without merit.' The delicate tissue of the spider web was also the image of human frailty; as a puff of wind, a flying cockchafer, a failing flower can tear the web, so a trifle can destroy the life or health of a human being, and nothing is more fragile than the integrity of his conscience or the duration of his happiness."14
BETRAYAL "Referring to the treacherous cruelty of the spider, which embraces other insects in order to inject its fatal poison, the European heraldists saw the insect as a symbol of traitors like Judas. In the West, the medieval heraldic science took the spider and its web as images of the dishonest judge who makes exceptions for different persons. A later echo of this idea comes from Vulson de la Colombière: 'It is the symbol of the corrupt judge and the inequality of the laws, as the wise Solon said, who compared the laws with spider webs because they hold small flies but are not strong enough to retain the big ones which pass through them; as in the same way it is the little people who are enslaved by the harshness of the law, of which the great ones of the world take no account'."15
FATE "The belief that fate could enter and influence a person's life was generally accepted in ancient cultures. It is one of the reasons the intelligent and cunning spider had a dual role in many mythologies - both helpful and deadly. The web of protection, for instance, under certain circumstances could be viewed as a spinning illusion, a web of entrapment, or a poisonous plot. Twists and turns on one's path, especially those which are wholly unexpected, were also accepted as the work of the gods, and in many cultures it was believed to be a result of a spider god twisting the threads of fate. ... The Trickster, in its spider or other manifestations, personifies the energetic power of the total psyche to overthrow the personality's best ideas about how to proceed, tricking it into taking unexpected action. ... Although feared as an upsetting, unpredictable influence, the Trickster was also considered a cultural hero and sacred creator of the world who brings to people the inspirations and energies of creativity. ... Both bad luck and good reside in the Trickster's domain. As a spoiler of plans, the Trickster often brings loss and what we perceive as bad luck, entering a situation to punish pride, arrogance, and insolence. The Trickster also chastises those who seek closure prematurely and, in doing so, cut off the creative possibilities of a situation. When the Trickster presence is felt in our life, it helps to know that this energy is aligned with an authentic push in our psyche toward expansiveness. Although the Trickster's lack of concern for our fears, the culture's taboos, or social appropriateness is unnerving and can feel punitive, its demands for a change of direction or stillness is a call for a necessary alteration of some kind. Far from being unreasonable, its energies try to align us with deeper patterns of fulfilment, presenting opportunities for growth disguised as frustration, pain, and misfortune. ... Although Western culture doesn't acknowledge this archetype known as the Trickster, except to call it bad luck, it still operates within us and our society. We tend to think we left behind this energetic pattern and its chaotic influence with the advent of our control-oriented technologies, but we didn't. We left behind only the context through which we might understand its emergence."16
THEMES Unexpected behaviour and lack of concern for culture's taboos and social appropriateness may well prove to be keynotes of the spider remedies. That spiders go with the winds of change, or even throw to the winds, is shown by a phenomenon called ballooning. When dispersing from their nest site and wishing to travel, young spiders raise their abdomen high and release an abundance of liquid silk, which dries immediately the air touches it. "This is caught by the breeze and the air currents lift it up into the sky. Ballooning spiders have been found 4,300 metres up in the sky, having attached themselves to aircraft. ... The majority of Araneomorphs disperse by ballooning to different locations. Often during mass migrations, the ground, grass and foliage of an area can be seen to be covered with masses of flocculent silk as a large population of spiderlings attempts to become airborne. This method of dispersal is unique to spiders and is the reason why spiders are often early colonisers."17 How far they will travel depends mainly on the wind. Only a few of the aeronauts will survive; many fall victim to birds, or they land in some wholly unsuitable environment.
PROVINGS •• [1] Proved in 1832 by a young doctor and an army surgeon by taking repeated doses of the tincture for several days.
•• [2] The main source is the clinical experience of von Grauvogl [1811-1887]. Aranea was one of v. Grauvogl's "hydrogenoid" remedies.
•• [3] Eccius - 4 provers [3 females, 1 male], 1965; method: three times daily 7 drops of 6x for 3 weeks.
[1-2] Simon-Brunet, The Silken Web. [3] Foelix, Biology of Spiders. [4-5] Simon-Brunet, ibid. [6-7] Widman, Cross spiders in Sweden. [8] Hieber, Orientation and modification of the web to wind and light by the spiders Araneus diadematus and Araneus gemmoides [Araneae: Araneidae]. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 65: 250-260; 1984. [9] Downer, Supernatural. [10] Nieuwenhuys, Spiders of North-West Europe. [11] Buchsbaum, Animals without Backbone. [12] Foelix, ibid. [13] Cirlot, Dictionary of Symbols.[14-15] Charbonneau-Lassay, The Bestiary of Christ. [16] Lauck, The Voice of the Infinite in the Small. [17] Simon-Brunet, Ibid.
Affinity
Nerves. Blood. Bones. * Right side.
Modalities
Worse: EXACT PERIODICITY. DAMPNESS [Cold; during rains; bathing].
Better: Smoking. Open air. Pressure.
Main symptoms
* Characteristic features of spider remedies [according to Mangialavori]:
Chilly.
Sensitive to music, noise, vibration. Like strong rhythmical music.
Strong.
Sense of time deviated. Problems with appointments.
High sex drive.
Periodicity.
Fear narrow places.
Solitary persons; problems with maintaining relations.
Sensitive persons [to touch, noise, light]. Don't like to be touched or direct contact.
Dyskinesia [most pronounced in ground-dwelling spiders]
Restless, active, aggressive.
> Tobacco.
M Confusion > SMOKING.
Confusion of head after eating.
M Fear in crowds and in narrow places.
[Spiders are solitary animals.]
M Deep despondency and longing for death, like Aur. [Grimmer]
M Restlessness / Busy.
• "I'm very nervous and treat everybody badly. I can't bear having pain; it is something that sets a limit to me and I am a very active woman. I like working and moving. I never stand still and the pain constrains me to do things I want to do and the way I want to do them."1
• "It's a very lively child, but above all very active. He's not lively and disturbing but he always got something in his hands to bustle about. He never keeps still, not even during the night. He continuously tosses in his bed and uncovers himself and then he wakes up because he's cold."2
G Cold to very bones [Calc.]; CAN'T GET WARM.
G Sensation as if bones are made of ICE.
G Marked sensitivity to cold and dampness.
Every damp day chills.
• "Cannot tolerate damp or wet weather, or damp habitations, even being on the water." [Hering]
G Spider remedies crave coffee and tobacco. [Karl-Josef Müller]
G < Night, [immediately] after lying down. [toothache; cough; asthma] G > Walking in open air.
[Compare: Fear of narrow places.]
G > SMOKING.
[headache; bitter taste in mouth; toothache; asthma].
[Compare strong desire for smoking in both Aranea ixobola and Theridion.]
G Sensation of ENORMOUS ENLARGEMENT, or numbness of parts; on waking [at night].
Sensation as if hands and forearms were greatly swollen, on waking at night from restless sleep.
Sensation of heaviness in thighs, impeding walking.
G Nerve pains with EXACT PERIODICITY.
G Weakness after fever.
G Cramps, colics and twitching.
P Flickering [vision] or vertigo before headache.
Burning in eyes and heat in face during headache.
And Coldness of hands and feet.
[Headache caused by 'intellectual overwork']
P Sudden violent pains in teeth of whole upper and lower jaw, at night, immediately after lying down.
[1] Mangialavori, "I let myself go in the wind," a case of Aranea diadema, HL 2/96. [2] Mangialavori, "He's mad about ropes," a case of Aranea diadema, HL 2/96.
Rubrics
Mind
Delusion, his own voice seems distant [1]; he is falling [1]; everything seems unreal [1].
Head
Icy coldness of left temple, with stitching pain in it; sensation of coldness extends to left ear [1/1*]. Pain, < talking of others [1]. Eye Burning pain during headache [1]. Vision Colours, white objects appear bright yellow, in evening or at night [1/1*]. Face Sensation of swelling [2]; sensation of swelling of cheeks [1]. Mouth Bitter taste > smoking [1/1]; unpleasant taste after drinking milk [1/1].
Stomach
Thirst with the pains [1].
Female
Menses copious [1]; too frequent [1]; offensive, like ammonia [1; Lac-c.].
Chest
Sensation of heaviness, as if heart were made of lead, at night on awaking [1/1*]. Cutting pain through heart, as from a knife [1*]. Violent palpitation, awakening her [1*].
Back
Pain as from an iron band around shoulders and nape of neck [1/1*]. Sensation as if back were made stiff by an icy cold, sticky fluid [1/1*], extending to upper and lower limbs [1/1*].
Limbs
Pain in right thigh extending to left thigh [1*]. Tingling of soles of feet at night on awaking [1/1*].
Sleep
Sleeplessness from coldness of feet [1]. Waking from hunger [2].
Generals
Cold feeling in bones [2].
* Repertory additions; proving symptoms of Eccius [Zeitschrift für Klass. Hom., Juli-Aug. 1965].
Food
Aversion: [1]: Ice cream.
Desire: [1]: Coffee [*]; fruit; milk; sweets; tobacco [*].
Worse: [1]: Soup.
Better: [1]: Milk; smoking.
* Repertory additions Karl-Josef Müller.
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