What do Spider Tattoo and Spider Web Tattoos Mean?

Spider tattoo meanings represent power, mystery, bravery, and growth, as well as entrapment, sensuality, and seduction. 

The webs these creatures spin historically link with prison tattoos and the passing of time, but also concepts of connectivity and creation in modern application.

Arachnid body art is attractive to all kinds of collectors, straddling the divide between old-school American style and contemporary realistic 3D tattoos.

The black widow is popular for guys who seek femme fatales in their life, while the earthy tarantula provides a great basis for a realistic and 3D spider symbol. Of course, there are always Spiderman tattoos for iconic comic book ink, or different designs aligning with tribal tattoo art.

The following article breaks down spider and spider web tattoo meaning in a way that will help you make your next ink decision with clarity and authority.

1. Spider Tattoo Meanings

Spiders have been used symbolically for generations to represent power, mystery, and growth. A primarily nocturnal creature that is often venomous, the spider can easily represent bravery in the face of that which goes bump in the night.

Spider tattoos can range from positive reflections of health and wealth to negative connotations connected to secrecy and bad luck. 

Spider symbolism is also connected with creation (think of them conjuring webs from nothing), feminine power, transmutation and deceit, and entrapment. 

2. Spider Web Tattoo Meanings

The overwhelming association for spiderweb tattoos is with gang members and prison tattoo culture (more on that below). However, the spider’s web has become increasingly popular in more aesthetically pleasing contemporary tattoo art.

Spider web tattoo design often symbolizes the various “webs” of human existence. Webs of lies, webs that trap, webs of inter-connectivity – a web tattoo design can represent some or all of these or none of them. 

While spiders – commonly the black widow spider or tarantula – are often implemented in this kind of tattoo, they’re not necessary for every spider web design. Their size and complexity vary drastically, but the eye-catching style of a spider’s web remains intact at any proportion.

In contemporary spider webs make useful filler for joining up American traditional tattoo style designs or used in tattoo dreamscapes linked to Native American tattoo art.

3. Tribal Web Tattoo and Native American Spider Designs

The spider and spider’s web are powerful animal totems in ancient Native American communities. 

They often make for tattoo ideas including manifestation of their web, which can be considered great protective shields or implemented within the context of dream designs.

Tribal style spider tattoos are incredibly popular because they generally use heavy black ink that corresponds brilliantly to creative traditional concepts from a range of cultures.

4. Spider Webs in Prison and Gang Tattoos

Unfortunately for many, cobweb ink has a different meaning linked with drug addiction, barbed wire, and a life of crime.

The spider web tattoo is usually a criminal tattoo signifying the process of doing time in prison. 

One meaning of the spider web symbolizes being trapped and tangled as an inmate in the prison system or having cobwebs form (physically, mentally) due to inaction, inactivity (or drug addiction) that comes with spending time in a cell. 

For Hispanic gangs and prison inmates – such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), the Nortenos (Number 12), Surenos (13), and Latin Kings (3 or 5 pointed crown) – the cobweb tattoo combines with other iconography or markers such as the teardrop tattoo to amplify prison tattoo messaging, rank, and gang allegiance.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, who track body art symbolism in white supremacy groups, to be a bona fide white supremacist one must have killed another minority prisoner to earn a spider web tattoo, while there’s a similar horrible connotation found in the Russian prison system.

5. Tarantula Tattoo Meanings

Tarantula tattoo designs are versatile. This large and furry Arachne is recognizable on sight, and well known for crafting its own dwelling close to the dwellings of humans.

It can be used to represent artistry, passion, and devotion to the things that matter.

With many stylistic options to choose from, tarantula tattoos can be placed in a variety of locations, and utilize various design techniques. 

There are also a great number of options for accenting designs such as elements from nature, intricate cobwebs, and evocative shading concepts that can help create more depth and drama for tarantula-themed ink.

6. Spiderman (and Spider Woman) Tattoo Meanings

Spiderman tattoos are some of the most popular comic book and Marvel tattoos, in all sorts of different variations

His unwavering morality, quick thinking, and witticisms transfer over to the men and women who flaunt his designs.

Skilled artists can make it look like the flesh is being torn away to reveal his unmistakable red-and-blue costume underneath, or lift inspiration directly from the graphic novels. Some of the snazziest Spiderman tattoos are actually just remakes of a chosen favorite panel. Even the text bubbles can be included to unleash a direct statement 

Also, if maniacal enemies are what you prefer, remarkable foes like Venom, Elektro, Green Goblin, and Dr. Octopus can be combined with the perilous Peter Parker to make badass neo-contemporary ink with personal symbolic meaning.

7. Black Widow Spider Tattoo Designs

The other style of spider tattoos popular with everyone favoring eight-legged creature ink – from the Gothic Lords of Darkness to the progressive insect lover – is the iconic black widow tattoo.

Its visual allure – the slender body, and bright scarlet pattern against the black on its back – align with the black widow’s use as a prop for describing seduction and sensuality to create an irresistible spider idea for both men and women.

8. American Traditional Spider Tattoo Designs

Few images are as visceral as the spindly spider, and few tattoo styles are as bold as those drawn in the traditional hand. When the two are fused together, the results are truly impressive, if not downright creepy.

The time-honored traditional style of tattooing calls for a strong drawing hand, using bold, heavily weighted outlines, and solid but restrained use of color. Common colors used in traditional style tattooing include red, yellow, green, and of course, plenty of black.

While spider tattoos are done in other styles, photorealism, for example, may convey a more realistic depiction of the eight-legged creature, the strength of traditional style is unmatched for its sheer toughness.

9. Webs Tattooed in Hard to Get Places

The symbolism of any tattoo is, of course, ultimately dependent on the mindset of the person receiving the tattoo. For many ink advocates, adding a spider web tattoo into the mix may simply be a matter of preference and filling space rather than having any deep symbolic meaning.

An example of this comes when individuals get tattoos in difficult and painful spaces, such as on the patella, armpit, neck, or elbow tattoo.

For many ink lovers, the stylized cobweb tattoo offers a cool alternative and different meaning to more common pieces in these areas, providing a good opportunity to alternate inked skin with negative space and cut down on the significant discomfort.

An intricate spider web tattoo is useful for the tattoo enthusiast looking to showcase complexity in their ink choices, and due to the difference between black spider ink and negative space, can be excellent designs on hard to ink areas such as the elbow, patella, armpit, and neck, or as a joining image in a sleeve tattoo.

10. Realism Spider Tattoos

Some collectors enjoy scaring the pants off people passing by implementing highly detailed recreations of various spiders in realistic tattoo designs.

Many of the most dynamic spider tattoos demonstrate the tattoo artist’s talent by including highly detailed work in the thorax, legs, and mouthparts.

Because drawing a recognizable spider is relatively simple, artists generally like to do a lot of work to ensure that their spiders stand out.

Attention to detail and complexity in recreating the spider’s image comes in handy or can be employed with 3D principles to mimic movement or resting on the skin.

11. 3D Spider Tattoos 

3D spider tattoo ideas bring arachnids to life on the skin. 

No matter the kind of spider species, these well-etched images come alive through visual trickery that makes them look like they’re in motion on the skin. 

A successful 3D tattoo is achieved by making the artwork look like it’s a part of your body or as if it’s hovering over the top of it by magic. 

Tattooists well versed in creating 3D pieces can create a wearer’s 3D ink by the application of line work, shading, color, and space manipulation to literally add that extra dimension needed to make it come alive. 

By dint of their hugely impressive visual connection to real spiders, if you get a 3D spider tattoo in a visible space you will draw reactions from others, whether it’s interesting curiosity or abject fear. This connection makes them popular images for areas such as the forearm, hand, foot, and neck.