Robert,
Fabulous image!
Such amazing sight leaves us spellbound,
You drew a web in the sky: how grand!
it’s in our subconscious!
It’s in our legends!
David hid in a cave behind one!
....and in our poetry!
"Oh what a tangled web we weave when at first we start to deceive.
No, it’s not from Shakespeare!
This quotation, which is commonly thought to come from Shakespeare, specifically from Macbeth, is actually from a little-read poem by Walter Scott called Marmion. It seems to mean simply that small lies or deceptions can soon lead us into all sorts of supporting lies to the point where we are in a maze of deceit and almost don't know ourselves what the truth is. Most of us can recall a situation in childhood where we attempted to cover up something, from a parent for example, and soon found ourselves having to invent more untruths to support the first white lie.