What is a Spiritweb?

[Shardholder of Craft]

I have heard someone mention it and I am wondering if anyone can tell me what it is. It wasn't in the Coppermind wiki.

[Ari he/him]

It's a noun used in a throwaway fashion in the Alloy of Law Ars Arcanum, which presumably refers to some part (or even the whole, perhaps) of a person's spiritual aspect.

[Argent he/him]

I've always thought of it as "spiritual DNA" - a term Brandon himself has used multiple times. If I understand it correctly, spiritual DNA defines your "magical traits" much like the regular DNA defines your physiological ones. The Spiritweb decides what kind of magic you can fling around (e.g. full Allomancy, partial Allomancy - being a Mistborn, and so on), as well as how well you can fling it.

[Arcanist Lupus he/him]

I've always thought of it as "spiritual DNA" - a term Brandon himself has used multiple times. If I understand it correctly, spiritual DNA defines your "magical traits" much like the regular DNA defines your physiological ones. The Spiritweb decides what kind of magic you can fling around (e.g. full Allomancy, partial Allomancy - being a Mistborn, and so on), as well as how well you can fling it.

Also, I think it also has other aspects as well, like the Spiritual aspects that can be stored with Feruchemy (Connection, Identity, and Fortune). I believe that these are also part of your Spiritweb.

[Chaos he/him]

I'm moving this in General Theories, because it's hard to discuss this without having spoilers.

[Odium's_Shard]

I've heard that some aspects of a Spiritweb are Spiritually genetic, ie Allomancy, and are implanted on your Spiritweb either directly or indirectly by an aspect of a Shard, lerasium being a good example. Maybe the method of transgression of as magical system depends on the Shards intent? Ie:

Allomancy: Genetic, to promote preservation of humanity?

Feruchemy: Genetic, and also cannot access another's stores however (has anyone ever put a theory on this yet?) so while genetic, Ruin is determined to make it inefficient? Or maybe it isn't Ruin, and just to do with the Spiritweb of the individual or the nature of Feruchemical stores.

Hemalurgy: Clearly destructive, gained only from (inefficiently, some is lost save in Atium, a god metal) killing another person using metal. Is this how Vin got hers (I can't remember. Was it her Seeker sister's death by the earring?)? If so, it could be implanted on the Spiritweb in this fashion. Maybe implying that Hemalurgic traits could be hereditary (if someone ever got that close to a Hemalurgical "construct" in such a manner without being ingested, crushed or Pushed out of the window by the tip of their breast implant..)?