What was the last work of art you remember seeing?

Yesterday I came across a black widow spider in my garage. I was spraying out an old aquarium to house the goldfish our neighbor gave us and realized I'd blasted a large black spider. I pulled her out of the tank with a stick, and realized she was a black widow. My daughter came to look and said, "It's a nice spider."

I wish I had not freaked out. I watched her for a while to confirm she was in fact a very poisonous lady spider, then I stepped on her. I never squish spiders. But I feared for my three-year-old. Later I studied black widows, looking for the message she might have offered me, and learned they are shy spiders who rarely bite. I should have tucked her back behind the garage and not worried about her. But I didn't.


Last night I sat in meditation at my altar to apologize to her spirit and to meditate on the message of black widow. Over my altar I've hung a painting I did in college of Artemis standing before a full moon, bow in one hand. The message that came to me, gently as the black widow, was that I need to embrace my warrior spirit. I need to become the lady spider concious of my web and my actions. While I feel I am aware of my power, I am also afraid of it. I was told it is time now to embrace my power without fear, with greater courage.


I plan to make a warrior mask to mark this next phase of my life (I've encountered several other blaring messages from the Power that Be to wake up, so spider was only one of a long strong of calls), and to read Chogyam Trungpa's book Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior in full.

Thank you spider. Thank you Artemis.