Bird Gods in Ancient Europe 



the spider foretells clear weather or storm by 

 its peculiar ways of acting ; nearly everywhere 

 it is a symbol of luck. Spiders foretold their 

 fate to the Thebans when, on the death of 

 Philip of Macedon, they dared to revolt 

 against Alexander the Great. The spider can 

 make itself invisible by rapidly vibrating its 

 web. Its marvellous ingenuity, patience and 

 spirit ; its courage and powers of disappearance 

 and prophecy marked it from the earliest ages 

 as a symbol. Its most prominent marking, 

 the cross, must have become at remote epochs 

 a sign for the creature and for its wonderful 

 trait, spinning. 



The shell gorgets in American mounds were 

 probably useful as well as decorative. Hence 

 the prevalence of the cross on early thread bob- 

 bins and spindle whorls round about the earth, 

 also on embroideries, woven and plaited cups, 

 dishes and baskets, useful objects that were 

 copied afterwards in pottery or stone, which 

 copies have come down to us in the lands 

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