Spiders have long been considered lucky in parts of Europe and in the United States. In Japan, the opposite is true and spiders are often killed on sight. These days, spiders are associated with Halloween and one of the older superstitions about spiders claims that if you intentionally kill a spider, a whole coven of witches will make your life miserable.
Killing a Spider
The rule is to never kill a spider. If you find one in your home, either leave it alone or capture it. If you kill it, it will bring bad luck into your house. If you kill a spider outside, it will bring rain, according to one superstition. In Christian folk mythology it is said that a spider spun a web over the sleeping baby Jesus in order to protect him and that is why it is bad luck to harm a spider.
Walking Into a Web
If you accidentally walk into a spider web, you will soon meet an old friend or make a new friend. Other superstitions simply state that walking into a spider web by accident is luck.
In Your Face
If a spider drops down onto your face, it is bringing you some good luck. Don’t kill it or your luck will go away.
On Your Clothes
If a spider suddenly crawls across your clothes, money is coming your way.
Unfaithful Lover
See a spiderweb on the front door? It means your lover is being unfaithful to you.
Headaches
While there are many superstitions telling how spiders can bring you all sorts of good fortune, this one tells us that if you let a spider run across your forehead, you will suffer a headache.
Amulets
In ancient Rome, spider amulets were worn by business people to attract more money and business. Little spiders are still called money spiders by many old timers.
Gold
In Spain it was believed that anywhere there was a huge bunch of spiders are crawling about, gold was nearby.
Gambling
Spiders bring good luck to gamblers and card players. Never brush a spider off of someone who is gambling. To do so is to brush away his luck.
Sources:
The little giant encyclopedia of superstitions. (1999). New York: Sterling Pub.
Thomas, Daniel Lindsey, and Lucy Blayney Thomas. Kentucky Superstitions. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1920. Print.
Webster, R. (2008). The encyclopedia of superstitions. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
