The Spider as a Dream Symbol

There are practically no communications of any value concerning the significance of the spider as a symbol, although every psycho-analyst must have come across this symbol in patient's dreams. Freud mentions a case in which a spider represented one aspect of the mother, namely, an angry mother, of whom the child was afraid. It is not clear, however, why the spider should stand for just these characteristics in the mother. It might be because spiders catch and kill smaller insects; for such creatures, small animals, etc. often represent children in dreams. But there are numbers of other living creatures who prey on smaller defenceless ones; why, therefore, is the spider chosen particularly to symbolise the wicked mother? The spider is one of those dream symbols the meaning of which we think we know—at least in one sense — yet without knowing why such significance is attributed to them.

In practice, however, we find that this significance of spiders neither fits all cases, nor goes far enough—we are already familiar with the ambiguity of symbols. We shall search our literature in vain for further information on the point. Stekel ('Die Sprache des Traumes', S. 135) mentions the spider as a phallic symbol, it is true, but the dreams he quotes are interpreted in such a superficial manner that no further enlightenment is to be obtained from this author. In one only of the dreams quoted are the long legs of a species of spider (Phalangium) interpreted as phallic symbols; yet this spider does not spin a web. It is therefore uncertain what significance is to be attached to those spiders which do not have long legs and which spin webs.

In these circumstances it is expedient that we should carefully register each example independently. Several dreams of one of my patients at different periods of the treatment enable me to contribute something to the explanation of dreams of spiders.

The first dream occurred a few days after the beginning of the treatment. One result o