Hello,
Because we don't sell spider webs in our shop, i have merged this into the thread on "Herbs and Roots LMCCo Doesn't Carry" -- but do note that when it comes to spider, we do carry tarantula exoskeletons.
Spiders have different meanings in different cultures and thus in contemporary terms, they have varied meanings as cultures mingle in the United States. See
http://luckymojo.com/spider.html
That being said, i do not think it is a good idea to ask questions like "would a hoodoo rootworker do this [behaviour]?" because posing theoretical questions in that form may all too easily result in distortions of fact, as interviewees seek to please their interviewers.
This phenomenon, in which the informant "pleases" or "ameliorates" the collector, is well known to folklorists and anthropologists, and therefore one of the first things a newcomer to the art of collecting folk-lore is taught is how to ask a question.
Let me explain:
First, i am going to expect that you understand now why we do not use this structure
"Would a hoodoo rootworker use spider webs to snare a reluctant lover?"
But note too that
"Would you use spider webs to snare a reluctant lover?"
is equally improper. Perhaps surprisingly the following two questions are also non-starters:
"How do hoodoo rootworkers use spider webs?"
"How do you use spider webs?"
In fact the only right way to ask the question is like this:
"In my country we have spiders. You have them too?"
Listen to and record the reply.
"Can you tell me about spiders?"
Listen to and record any replies, no matter how many, whether or not folk-lore or folk-magic is mentioned. If no folk-magic is mentioned and the interview subject is a folk-magician, inquire a bit more deeply:
"Do you find any uses for spiders or spider webs in your work?"
Listen to and record any replies.
Now, following these methods, you may not demand a reply to a theoretical question -- but you will learn about the folk-magic of the person you are interviewing and, by extension, abut that person's culture.
Having collected folk-magic in this way for about 50 years i can tell you that no African American practitioner has ever told me that he or she used spider webs for attracting lovers. This does not mean that such a belief could not exist, but as time goes on, it appears less and less likely that i will ever hear such a belief.
Rather, what i have been told about spider webs by African American rootworkers divides into two tendencies --
(1) There is the practical folk-medical use of spider webs for binding bleeding wounds (found among European Americans and Native Americans as well).
(2) There is the use of spiders and their webs as exemplars of generalized and non-species-specific arthropods and reptiles (insects, spiders, snakes, lizards) employed as "vermin" in Crossing recipes.
Good luck!
