Praying Mantis symbolism and meaning
The praying mantis is a slender and grotesque insect with a pair of legs that resemble a praying person’s hands. The word ‘mantis’ is Greek for prophet Grecians thought that the insect resembled the priests and priestesses in praying posture.
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Seen as magical and holy, or demonic and devouring, the praying mantis attracts ambivalent symbolism. Most cultures believe that the praying mantis luck symbol brings good omens.

However, certain mantis character and traits have also brought negative connotations to this insect. The female mantis devours her mate during copulation.

praying mantis
This has brought about a comparison with the black widow spider that kills its mate. During harvesting, it is believed that if a fat female mantis is found, then the harvest will be plentiful, but if a small male mantis is caught, there will be a lean harvest.


In most cultures, stick bugs and praying mantises are considered rare yet good omens. Praying mantises are especially valuable in America as they exterminate Japanese beetles.

A mantis was called the Prophet, and a very ancient superstition obtains even today, that whenever a praying mantis appears, it is a good omen. The wenet, or praying mantis, is an important Asmat lineage symbol that appears on shields, drum handles, and other carved objects. (1)

Praying Mantis Native American symbolism
Connecticut’s state insect, the praying mantis, is a beneficial insect that feeds on harmful insects such as moths, grasshoppers, aphids, and caterpillars.

All insects, including cicadas and praying mantises, are sacred to the Native Americans who knew and believed that the insects came before man when the Earth was created.


In fact, many of the Native’s stories and legends talk about the creation of the earth due to Grandmother Spider. That is why; you see paintings, inscriptions, symbols, and carvings in rocks, cave paintings, jade artwork, jewelry, and headdresses have these symbols of insects.

praying mantis
Natives believed that praying mantises were symbols of wealth and good fortune – they even stood for success and large families. These insects also represented the cycle of life, death, and resurrection.


Since the praying mantises looked like ‘praying human hands,’ they were believed to be the symbols of the Great Spirit and were often used in ceremonies, medicine, totem animals, and healing. Since mantises arose suddenly out of the ground, the Native considered them the symbols of rebirth and resurrection.

Many of these insects were placed in the mouth of dying humans for a smoother passage to the after-life. The tribes also used these insects to predict the weather and the harvest. They also listened carefully to the sounds made by these insects when they left on their hunts. (2)

Praying Mantis Eastern Symbolism
Humans may not think too much of them, but, in reality, insects like praying mantises are actually supporting this world and its ecosystem.

A praying mantis can help in pollination and even aids in recycling and composting of organic matter. The Asmat of New Guinea likened the symbol of the female praying mantis – who decapitates her mate after mating- as a symbol of headhunting and also ancestral lineages.


The Zuni tribes believe that insects like praying mantises are wise, sacred, and powerful. In China, Poet Lo-Hung-Hsien of the T’ang Dynasty wrote of the mantis: Man, by nature, is never satisfied and resembles a snake attempting to swallow an elephant.

praying mantis
In life, moreover, the praying mantis pounces on a cicada. The Chinese relate that the mantis will even stretch out its feelers to stop a cart and regard it as a type of greed and pertinacity.

In Japan, the praying mantis (kamakiri) is an emblem of bravery and a symbol of autumn. When used in a seasonal context, it is often portrayed with the gourd vine, chrysanthemums, autumn grasses, and the cricket.

Its associations with courage and military are also well known. This weird and fragile insect, resembling a thin stick with four, long angular legs, is an emblem of military courage in both China and Japan because it always advances and never retreats.

Praying Mantis Christianity symbolism
What other insects can have greater meaning and symbolic importance than the one that has legs which resemble praying human hands?

If you have been wondering about the praying mantis spiritual meaning, then naturally, its spiritual significance is to always keep your focus on God. Early Christian symbology adopted the popular belief in the praying mantis’s power of divination.

The praying mantis is also rather fearsome in appearance and is carnivorous. It probably accounts for many noxious insects in the course of a season. The female mantis is known to kill her mate post copulation.


praying mantis
Based on this, early Christian art and even artists like Picasso used the praying mantis symbol to symbolize life and death, love and hate, ecstasy, and pain. These themes became rather important in early Christian Art.

The Mantis was also the God of the Hottentot. The insect named after this God, praying mantis, adopted a praying attitude. In general, the word mantis is Greek for a soothsayer and this was given due to significance.

This is because the South Africans gave a lot of respect and veneration to this insect. So much so; that they fell to their knees and prayed when they saw one. If by accident, they killed one, they were believed to be ‘unfortunate’ for the rest of their lives. (3)

Praying Mantis Celtic symbolism
Praying mantis meaning is varied in Celtic symbolism and mythology. It can mean courage, persistence, cruelty, voracity, and greed camouflaged by a hypocritical attitude of prayer or religiousness.

It also means female viciousness, which probably stems from the fact that female mantises gorge down their male counterparts after intercourse. To the Christians, the symbolism of the praying mantis is prayer and adoration.

To the Greeks, it stands for divination. In Ireland, the people related Asmat art and its symbolism – especially the praying mantis designs – to headhunting practices.


praying mantis
Not surprisingly, a host of European folklore and magical superstitions are associated with mantids. The word mantis means soothsayer. This is because an insect would be able to ‘divine’ by pointing its praying hands or even answer questions or desires.

The insect is a stranger to the British Isles but is found in warmer parts of Europe. It has a slender shape and a beautiful green color. In its sitting posture, it is considered to hold its front legs in the gesture of praying.

In Europe, there was superstition associated with this insect that a child or traveler who had lost his way could seek help from the praying mantis – the insect was to be taken into the hand and the traveler was to follow wherever the insect pointed. (4)

Praying Mantis Medicine
Praying mantis medicine will come to you when you are experiencing some changes and difficulties in your life. The insect is asking you to listen closely to your Inner Voice and have a clear vision about your future.

This is an ally that will transform your life when you listen closely. This insect medicine is asking you to add color and music in your life.

Just as the mantis changes its color to camouflage itself, it wants you to use color when you undergo a transformational phase in your life. When a praying mantis jumps in your life, you must observe the transformational jumps in your life too.