Creator of the World and Mother to the Sun,

Neith of Ancient Egypt wove meaning and life from nothing.

Time passed, and her strength was woven into

Babylonia’s goddess Ishtar, whose political power, beauty, and fertility

Demanded the protection she gave in war and combat.

Her brazen strength woven indeed by her arms passed to

Arachne, she with a keen mind and deft fingers which tpleased and angered

The gods as she wove stories and emotions into lives and history.

Each has embodied the spirit of the spider,

A creature tiny, mighty, multifaceted in talent and patient with time.

Magical to some, reviled by many, she reflects exceptional strength

Drawn from within

Extending forward

Connecting

Pleasing

Glimmering in sunlight

Trapping those blinded by various forms of the dark.

Silken strength within these three females now persists in today’s women.

Whether in sewing shops, fashion industries, churches, civic centers, schools,

A strength emerges and grows, quiet yet powerful

In the weaving of new life, new communities, new possibilities.