Ants might annoy us when they get in the house, but they have a deeper meaning than this. Learn ant spiritual meaning through folklore and the powerful messages they bring in dreams and as a spirit animal.
Is there anything as annoying as ants in the kitchen except maybe ants swarming your picnic? These tiny creatures might be frustrating, but believe it or not, they hold deep spiritual meaning. From ancient Greece to modern times, people have respected ants for their virtues, and ants came to represent powerful spiritual truths. Join SpiritualBlossom to learn all about the spiritual symbolism of ants. Learn some fun facts about ants as well as whether the seemingly aggravating insects are useful or not. Discover some fascinating folklore about ants and what they tell us in dreams and as a spirit animal.
What is an Ant?
Ants have been around for at least 140 million years and there are at least 22,000 different species of them. They are insects that are found all over the globe except on some islands like in Hawaii and Greenland and then Antarctica. Ants are especially abundant in hot climates. They form enormous colonies that have between about 100,000 members although super colonies can consist of hundreds of millions of ants. They are organized in three classes of ants, those being queens, males, and workers. The queens and males are responsible for reproduction and the worker ants are responsible for all the caretaking of the colony.
Ant colonies are complex underground structures consisting of nurseries for the young, farms for growing fungi to eat, trash spaces for dumping waste, living spaces for the ants, chambers for queens, and well-developed tunnels connecting everything. Their structures can plunge as far as 25 feet beneath the ground, and are so well built, they can last for decades. Ants are known for being difficult to get rid of, and it’s not because they are the toughest creatures on earth. It’s because they are adaptable, eat a wide variety of foods, work hard so they never have to worry about going without, and they can modify the available habitat to suit them. They stick together to defend their colony, and they can overcome much larger insects and animals with the sheer power of their numbers.
Are Ants Useful?
Some people fight battles with ants in their homes and gardens and might think of them as nothing but nothing but pests. They outnumber humans by 1.5 million to one and the total mass of ants on the planet is believed to be equal to the total mass of human beings on the planet. No wonder they can seem overwhelming! However, ants are a useful species despite how annoying they can be. Experts say we can’t live without ants. Their underground work on their homes redistributes nutrients in the soil and aerates it considerably. All the shifting of food adds nutrients to the soil and raises nitrogen levels to healthier numbers. They manage to distribute seeds, saving some from extinction, and they prey on pests that are not beneficial. Read about another beneficial insect, the praying mantis here: Praying Mantis Meaning, Lore, and Symbolism
The Meaning of Ants
Besides all these ecological benefits, ants are spiritually symbolic. Ants have been around since before human beings, and people have always learned lessons from them. Ants symbolize teamwork, loyalty, and they also symbolize endurance.
Teamwork
Ants have complex ways of communicating with one another, and while a lone ant can occasionally be seen scouting for food, more likely, there are more ants nearby that “lone ant” you can’t see. In times of floods, ants stick together, forming clumps of themselves to survive drowning , resembling a raft. Humans try to push these “rafts” of ants underwater, but they float back to the surface. Ants are organized in a female dominated society, with a queen or multiple queens in charge. The queen mates with males, and will save the sperm in pouches future generations of queens can use to fertilize eggs. Each worker ant divides up tasks of searching for and producing food, defending the colony, construction of the colony, and raising the young. Imagine how successful we can be if we cooperate as well as ants do? Read about another team player, the bee here: What is the Spiritual Significance of Bees?
Loyalty
A myth from ancient Greece extolls the loyalty of ants. The story goes that the goddess Hera was angry because an island was named Aegina after one of her husband, Zeus’ lovers. Hera sent a plague to kill all the people on the island. The king, Aeacus was the love child of Zeus and his mother, who the island was named in honor of. He prayed to Zeus for help repopulating his island with people, so Zeus transformed the ants on the island into humans. They were said to be as loyal as ants were and strong and powerful. Ants are fiercely loyal to the members of their own colony. They defend each other from danger, staying to fight instead of running away to save only themselves. Their whole lives are devoted to supporting their colony and they do their jobs diligently.
Endurance
Ants seem tireless the way they carry things that are much larger than they are over great distances. Part of their secret is they are naturally built for this. They can carry things 100 times heavier than they are and can endure weight 5,000 times heavier than them. Part of their endurance comes from their strength in numbers. A single ant can only carry so much but an entire ant colony can move up to 50 tons of dirt in a single year. Ant’s skeletons are on the outside of their bodies, protecting them on the surface. Some ants seem to be impossible to drown. Ants can hold their breath and depending on species, ants can hold their breath long enough to survive underwater for 24 hours or up to two weeks. Read about Water Zodiac Signs here: What are Water Signs?
Dreams about Ants
Ants are spiritually significant in many ways, and they also bring spiritual messages in dreams. When you dream of ants, the dreams could mean any of the things ants symbolize, but the details of the dream can reveal a deeper meaning.
Dreams About Ants in the House
A dream about ants in your house indicates some sort of invasion. You might feel that your privacy is invaded or that someone is trying to take over and make your decisions without your permission. When you dream about ants in your house, the universe indicates that you need to get someone out of your personal space immediately. Read about magical protection here: Magic for Self-Defense
Dreams About Killing Ants
Dreams about killing ants indicate struggles. In the dream, you kill the ants, and they die. If very large ants are attacking you, it means a major threat is eating at you. If a lot of ants are all over you and you are killing them all, it means you feel attacked from many different directions and are feeling overwhelmed by it. No matter what the details of this dream are, the dream is telling you to fight for your rights and you will be victorious over your foes. Read about what to do in uncomfortable situations here: What Should I Do if I Am Uncomfortable?
Dreams About Ants Biting You
If you dream about ants biting you, it means you are feeling attacked. A bite pierces your skin and can injure you. Dreams about ants biting you are putting you on notice to defend yourself. Maybe a peer is trying to diminish your accomplishments for their own benefit, and the dream is reminding you not to allow it. Standing idly by during an attack can be interpreted as consent to the attack. So, love yourself enough to stop the attack!
Dreams About Ants on the Wall
Dreams about ants crawling up the wall indicate persistence. Ants might be built to walk right up a wall, but are we? It depends. What walls stand in your way, and how can you get around them? Just don’t quit. Be like the ant and conquer whatever that wall represents to get to your goal! Read about another tiny insect, the ladybug here: Ladybug Spiritual Meaning, Lore, and Symbolism
The Ant Spirit Animal
When the ant is your spirit animal , it teaches you all its gifts. The ant spirit animal teaches you to be loyal to your team and to work with them to accomplish more than you ever could on your own. It teaches you that sometimes doing a job for the sake of your community, even if it is not your favorite job, is very important. The ant spirit animal teaches you to use your talents and skills to the best of your ability and not to let things intimidate you. If a tiny ant can carry something 100 times its size, so can you!
Can Ants Hurt Us?
Believe it or not, despite how tiny ants are, some ants can cause harm, but it varies by species. Your regular run of the mill anthill usually won’t cause any harm, but some species of ants can. Carpenter ants are a species of ants who dig through wood and hollow out trees. Unfortunately, they can get into the structure of your house. They can create a lot of damage as they hollow out the wood in your house to make nests. They are attracted especially to wood that is damp and they thrive in dark places. So, they love to create nests behind dishwashers and behind leaking pipes.
Another kind of ant that can cause harm is the fire ant. They are known to bite, and they release venom when they do it. They don’t just bite, they also sting while they bite. Insect bites and stings can cause death, so keep your allergy medication on hand and go to the hospital if you get bit by a fire ant if you are allergic. Another dangerous ant is the yellow crazy ant, native to some parts of Africa and Asia. It is one of the most invasive ant species on earth and there will be thousands queens in a colony that can be as large as 20 million ants per hectare. They eradicate local creatures and plants, and this encourages overpopulation of insects.
Coexisting with Ants
There will probably never be a time when the earth is completely without ants, but that doesn’t mean you have to be overrun with them in your house. Still, there are ways to get them out of your way without killing them. Unless you are dealing with something like yellow crazy ants, or carpenter ants, there are ways to redirect them and allow them to live in peace. Conventional products used to kill ants will poison waterways, leaching into drinking water, and can harm pets and children. Keep things clean and keep food put away to keep ants out and redirect them when you see them. You can also use non-toxic products to keep them away.
Keep Things Clean
Ants are drawn to food, and anytime there is some out, they are attracted to it. Clean up after spills and watch for accidental crumb drops. Pick up around your pet’s bowls when your pet drops a piece of their food and wipe down surfaces and the floor after a spill with dish soap and water, vinegar, or lemon juice and water to take away the smell from food. When you find ants, sweep them up, and put them outside instead of killing them. After removing ants, use dish soap, vinegar, or lemon juice to clean up behind them. Ants leave scent trails to guide them back to food sources, so clean that up.
Redirect
An easy form of eco-friendly ant removal is to remove whatever attracts them. Most ants hunt for food. To ant proof your house, keep all food in tightly closed containers, and off the floor. Anything that can be refrigerated should be, and anything else should be out of reach. Ants have powerful senses of smell, so if a package is left open, it is possible they will find it. Pet food bowls can be set in a pan of water to keep ants away and there are products like pet food bowls on platforms to deter ants. There are also ant proof bowls that make it harder for ants to reach the pet food.
Use Non Toxic Deterrents
Don’t reach for the toxic kill sprays to get rid of ants. Instead, use things that are environmentally friendly. Cinnamon and used coffee grounds repels ants, so sprinkling some of either in the areas where they are entering the house will keep them away. A drop of peppermint oil does the same thing. Ants dislike vinegar and lemon juice, so wiping the areas where they enter with either of these can repel them. Ants abhor citrus peels and will flee from them, so save the peel from your orange and place it where the ants are seen to repel them.
Tiny, and sometimes annoying, but powerful, the seemingly insignificant ant teaches great spiritual truths. They teach us to work with our team because sometimes the sheer strength of numbers accomplishes great things. They teach us to be loyal, and they teach us to be strong, enduring things that seem much more powerful than we are. Most species of ants make the planet healthier, and we can remove them from our homes without harming them. May the power of the tiny ant invigorate you and inspire you to accomplish great things. So Be It.
Would you like to know more about the special role animals play in your spirituality? Get a reading started to find out today: Online Psychic Readings. Make sure to read all of our articles about the spiritual meaning of different animals here: Articles & Media
About the Author: Lady Saoirse has studied magic and lore for most of her life but started walking her own Magical Path after being spiritually reborn in the desert. Today she is a High Priestess for The Temple of the Goddess, she is a psychic advisor and spiritual counselor, she shares her gifts as a Psychic and Content Writer for Mysticsense and SpiritualBlossom, and she writes for The Green Egg Magazine and PaganPages.Org emag.
