Rats, spiders and flies
Published: Wed, 09/25/13
It is said that we are only ever a few yards from the nearest rat,
that may be true and it is probably also true that we are only ever
a few inches from the nearest spider. Sorry if you are
arachnophobic and I have just ruined your day, but early the other
morning I noticed a spider's web covered in dew and showing up
in the rays from the rising sun. It wasn't an especially big
or complex web but it was perfectly created and well positioned for
its intended purpose of catching small flying insects. I expect it
would only last a day and the same spider would probably spin
another web, just as beautiful the next day and the next. Spiders
are everywhere but we only really notice them when we have reason
to see their webs, most of the time these amazing structures of
microscopically thin threads are virtually invisible. Of course it
is the difficulty of seeing the web that makes it an effective
trap, if spider's webs were dayglo orange and had to display
notices saying 'Beware sticky trap ahead' it would rather
defeat their purpose.
The amazing thing about spider's webs is that while a fly or
similar creature will fly straight into a web and be trapped before
becoming an arachnid dinner, the spider can both create the web and
run around it in complete confidence, when did you last see a
spider fall off its own web? Mind you having eight legs probably
does help. So we have a creature that is a master of creating and
using the web as a source of food and many other creatures for whom
the web means a (literally) sticky end.
Perhaps it is no surprise that the web of Wyrd is spun by Verdandi
whose significant animal is the spider. The implication of this is
that we are all centred in our own web which connects us from our
past through to many potential futures. The web also connects us
to the rest of creation as the lines reach out from where we are.
We are at the centre of our own web, we cannot be anywhere else.
The question for each of us is simply this: Am I a spider who can
confidently navigate my web and spin whatever connections I need as
and when I need them? Or am a I hapless flying insect which is
struggling to escape from what seems like a trap in which I am just
going to die slowly and horribly? It is all the same web, just a
very different perception.
The purpose of Stav training is to learn to see the web clearly and
to be able to navigate your web with confidence. It isn't
easy, but it is possible. The runes are keys to the web which is
why Stav is knowledge of the rune staves. The martial training is
a very effective way of manifesting the web physically and learning
how to manipulate it. Check out http://www.iceandfire.org/ where
I expand on this theme and suggest how you can learn more about
Stav.