aleecat | "If you wish to live and thrive, Let a spider run alive. " (Reply)

Early Superstitions:
1507
When a man fyndeth a spyder upon his gowne it is a synge to be that daye ryght happye.

1594
If a spinner creepe uppon him, hee shall have golde raine downe from heaven.

1662
When a Spider is found upon our clothes, we use to say. Some money is coming towards us. The Moral is this, such who…. Imitate the industry of that contemptible creature… may by God’s blessing weave themselves into wealth and procure a plentiful estate.

1732
Others have thought themselves secure of receiving Money, if … by chance, a little Spider fell upon their Cloaths.

1780
Small spiders termed Money-Sinners are held by many to prognosticate good luck if they are not destroyed or injured or removed from the person on whome they are first observed.

1816
A spider descending upon you from the roof is a token that you will soon have legacy from a friend.

1923
If a big black spider comes into the house it is a sure sign of death

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General: [top]

An old saying about grass spiders: when there is dew on their webs in the lawn in the morning, it will be a beautiful day.

All spiders except tarantulas are omens of good luck. The larger the spider, the bigger the rewards.

If you see a spider climbing the wall you will have your dearest wish come true.

If you see a spider spinning a web you will have an increase in your income due to hard work.

When spiders spin their webs 'fore noon,
Sunny weather's coming soon.

If a spider crawls into you pocket, you will always have money.

If a spider hangs over your head, you will get a letter.

If a spider builds its web across your door, you can expect company.

If you walk into a spider web, you will meet a friend that day.

Kill a spider, bad luck yours will be
Until of flies you've swatted fifty-three.

If you step on a spider, you'll bring on rain.

Superstitious people probably don't kill spiders because it has been unlucky since a spider spun a web over baby Jesus to hide him from Herod.

A spider with syrup cures fever.

Seeing a spider run down a web in the afternoon means you'll take a trip.

A spider is a repellent against plague when worn around the neck in a walnut shell.

Seen running over clothes - a new set of clothes

Finding a spider in the morning - Sorrow

Finding a spider at midday - Anxiety

It is unlucky to kill spiders because a spider spun a web over baby Jesus to hide him from Herod.

A spider in the afternoon is a sign of a gift; But a spider in the evening will all hopes uplift.

If you find a money spider and don't kill it you'll gain loads of money.

Finding a Spider on the Wedding Dress is a Omen of Good luck!

If a spider drops down in front of you from the ceiling and dangles, do not kill it. If the spider hangs and then goes back up to the ceiling, you are due for a run of good luck. If, however, the spider dangles and then drops, it foretells the sudden loss of a loved one or some other personally catastrophic event.

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Russia: [top]
Russian omens and superstitions about spiders:

Spiders hide when bad weather is in prospect and vice versa.
In winter, if spiders actively weave their webs, run backwards and forwards, fight with each other and hang on new threads, it means that there will be a cold spell in nine to ten days.
In winter, if spiders hide, there will soon be a thaw.
In summer, spiders do not build new webs or destroy old webs in the face of rain or storm.
In summer, if spiders build new webs or restore old ones, this forecasts a change to better weather ("doing the spiders' best" means a fine weather).
In summer, if there are no spiders in sight, it will inevitably be raining; if there are a lot of spiders in sight, one should expect fine weather.
Discovering a spider on clothes betokens a profit.
If a spider descends from the ceiling in front of someone, there will be a sudden guest or unexpected good tidings (a letter, money, reward, promotion, etc.).
If one comes across a descending spider in the morning, there will be sad news.
If a black spider descends from the ceiling, one will get good tidings or letter.
If a red spider descends from the ceiling, one will get troublesome news.
If a spider drops onto someone's head, that person will get a present.
If a spider drops onto a hand, this betokens a money profit.
If a spider drops onto the table during a meal, this signifies that the household has got a new secret enemy.
If a spider drops onto a threshold, someone will die.
One who crushed a spider will be pardoned from forty sins, since spider webs curtain over the icons.
If a white spider has its dwelling above a bed, there will be luck.
If a black spider has its dwelling above a bed, there will be misfortune.
If one eats a spider, one will suffer from dropsy or tumor in the stomach.
If one dreams about a spider, there will be a litigation.
If one dreams about killing a spider, it betokens a loss of money or a precious thing.
Sheep eat the poisonous "tarantulas"; other animals either die or suffer from lengthy illness when bitten by these spiders.

Russian omens and superstitions about spider web:

In summer and autumn, if a flying web sticks to a man, he will get rich.
In autumn, spider webs flying forecast fine weather.
If spider webs creep, there will be a lengthy spell of fine warm weather.
If there are lots of webs in spring, the next autumn will be a good one.
If there are lots of webs in autumn, the next spring will be a warm one.
If one dreams about cleaning a house from spider's web, this signifies changing a habitation.
Web is considered one of the best wound-healing means if put on a freshly wounded place.

Info: http://www.bio.pu.ru/win/entomol/Kipyatkov/arachno/folk.shtml

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USA: [top]
New Orleans:
Never kill a spider in the afternoon or evening, but always kill the spider unlucky enough to show himself early in the morning, for the old French proverb says:

"Araignée du matin--chagrin;
Araignée du midi--plaisir;
Araignée du soir--espoir"

(A spider seen in the morning is a sign of grief; a spider seen at noon, of joy; a spider seen in the evening, of hope).

from http://www.spiderzrule.com/superstitions.htm