Here in Ohio, although we are not yet out of September, the days have grown shorter and, at least for the moment, there is a touch of autumn chill in the morning air. And, as they do every autumn, spider webs have begun to appear everywhere, indoors and out. As always, I welcome them, and find myself musing upon the fear of spiders that seems so widespread, a fear that is completely irrational, since very few species of spider are actually dangerous and those species are rare if not non-existent in this part of the country. The source of arachnophobia, like all phobias, is inward, not outward: the key to it is not in nature but in mythology and art, the products of the imagination rooted in the unconscious.
September 30, 2022
September 30, 2022
September 30, 2022
Here in Ohio, although we are not yet out of September, the days have grown shorter and, at least for the moment, there is a touch of autumn chill in the morning air. And, as they do every autumn, spider webs have begun to appear everywhere, indoors and out. As always, I welcome them, and find myself musing upon the fear of spiders that seems so widespread, a fear that is completely irrational, since very few species of spider are actually dangerous and those species are rare if not non-existent in this part of the country. The source of arachnophobia, like all phobias, is inward, not outward: the key to it is not in nature but in mythology and art, the products of the imagination rooted in the unconscious.