The Spinner

Some thoughts about spinning, inspired by this old postcard. Spinning was a magical act ~ think how often it appears in fairy tales (like Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin).

Fairy tales are remnants of old mythologies, often girls' initiation stories whose roots are lost in the mists of time. Spinning was connected with coming of age for young women, and you can see that in the old stories if you look.

Spinning and weaving (like baking) are transformative, turning one thing into another, and at least in European mythology these tasks were nearly always performed by women. Spinning is sometimes associated with the moon, which measures the months and pulls the tides.


The Three Fates in Greek myth were portrayed as spinning our lives and our fates.

Clotho spins the thread, Lachesis measures it out, and Atropos cuts it! In Greek mythology even the gods feared the Fates (usually called the Moirai). In Norse mythology the Norns are very similar.

On the third night of a child's life, the Moirai were supposed to come and determine a child's destiny. Sound familiar from The Sleeping Beauty? Three fairy godmothers?


One more spinner who often shows up in mythology and folklore all over the world:












Neith, the spinner of destiny, to the Egyptians. Arachne, whose weaving rivaled that of the goddess Athena, to the ancient Greeks. Anansi the trickster in West African stories, who is also the bringer of rain, the king of stories and the giver of gifts such as agriculture. From the Native Americans, Iktomi the wise/foolish god of the Lakota and Ojibwa dreamcatchers (ever notice that they are like spiderwebs?) Spider Woman or Spider Grandmother in Hopi mythology is the creator of all life. In the Southern U.S. it is good luck when a spider weaves her web in your house or garden (not the poisonous kind of course!)

That's a lot of stuff from just thoughts about a lady at her spinning wheel! Spinning stories, spinning lies, spinning thoughts into words, measuring our time and destinies ~ girls and goddesses and sleeping beauties and brides spinning straw into gold ~ maybe all this meandering will inspire someone's art.