June 23, 2012
Gossamer White Praying Mantis
A dream: In this dream I came upon my cat Flash trying to jump up to capture and then eat a big beautiful white praying mantis. She was resting on some crawling rosemary in front of the house. I was focused when the praying mantis spoke to me,
“Do not be concerned with me and what the cat is doing!”
I was concerned because I witnessed our cat eating a few praying mantes over the summer. She whispered to me,
“I am a huntress too. We both hunt for food. Which is a wild part of our nature.”
I then realized the truth of what she said. She was not afraid of my cat nor was she afraid of death.
“I know your cat. He has been hunting in this garden for many seasons, as my family has. Didn’t you see one of my babies eat a butterfly?”
I had to agree with her. Yet, I was not pleased with that.
A breeze blew on us and she spread her white gossamer wings and flew away. I awoke remembering this dream.
The Crystal Bowl
When we first moved into our house, I was amazed how the pesticides used created such an imbalance with the insects, birds, and wild animals in our garden. It took me many years to reach a balance there that I have today. We once had an avalanche of crickets and black widows galore. Yet with time I befriended the praying mantis.
This is a short story about my first encounter with a praying mantis. Mantis has helped in the balance of our garden without pesticides.
One day while dusting the house, I dusted a big crystal bowl on the kitchen table. It was usually filled with fruit and vegetables. I looked outside the French Windows and saw a big golden praying mantis resting on a white plastic chair. She was gazing in the house at me. Every day throughout the summer praying mantis would come to visit on the chair. I did not know the focus of this mantis’s gaze. I thought maybe me.
I soon found out what it was. A few weeks later I dusted the crystal bowl and reached behind it. I heard a loud screaming shriek. Looking with amazement I found a praying mantis there. I looked around and saw that the door was open from the back garden. She came into the house to be near the crystal bowl.
The light of the multifaceted crystal must have fascinated this mantis. This is only the beginning of my many experiences with the praying mantis from my garden. I think our life together, on this planet, is about nature and the changing seasons. She shows me the cycles of life, death and rebirth and affirms that I have nothing to fear.
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