Praying Mantis Magic

I just love praying mantises. I think they’re lovely, and I have a ton of them around where I live. I usually spot them in the garden tucked into the wildflowers, but they’re just as likely to appear on my garage door, the porch steps, or even the hood of my car.

Bright green praying mantis on a wooden fence — I had a little friend visit my fence the other day. Image by Patti Wigington 2024.

The praying mantis is a beautiful insect can also be deadly if you’re another praying mantis. The female sometimes eats her male partner after they mate, so many people associate the praying mantis with aggressive sexual power. But I’m willing to overlook the post-coital cannibalism of the praying mantis, which seems to happen mostly in a laboratory setting.

From a magical perspective, they’re also connected with finding one’s way. Since I often see them sitting perfectly still, for me, they serve as a reminder to stop and think, self-reflect, and ponder the world around me before I make my next move. These little critters tell me it’s time to take a breather, and listen to my intuition. Like a compass, the mantis can be associated with finding new directions, re-orienting yourself, and gaining your bearings when you’re lost, either physically or emotionally.

Author Craig Reid at the National Wildlife Foundation says, “The 1,800 species of mantids in the world have long been popular cultural and mythological figures. Europeans thought the insects were reverent to God because they seemed to be praying. In Arab cultures the mantis was thought to point toward Mecca. American folklore held that mantids blinded men and killed horses. Africans believed they brought good luck to anyone they landed on. In France, people swore the mantis could point a lost child home.”

Finally, I just learned the other day that praying mantises molt – and if you’ve never seen an empty mantis shell in the wild, it’s a creepy af sight to behold! But honestly, I’m fascinated by this, because to me, that means transformation – which gives our little mantis friends even more magical meaning.