What do butterflies symbolize?
April 15th 2008 05:18
Maybe they stand for new beginnings. It went through metamorphosis after all. From a hairy little caterpillar, it cocooned itself and became a beautiful butterfly. A new life, a new outlook, new wings to explore the world. Sorta like Ugly Duckling becoming a beautiful Swan.
I grew up with the belief that butterflies are souls from departed loved ones. Creepy really. If I walk into a butterfly farm, I'd be fine. I'd appreciate them for their natural beauty. But if I'm walking down the road and a butterfly flits across me, I'd freeze. Superstition is that it's a loved one coming to visit.
Beware of the black butterfly, the elders shared. That means someone close to you is going to die. I hate black butterflies.
And so to me, butterflies aren't that cute. I grew up looking at butterflies as signs of our mortality. All because of the superstition!
Butterflies are beautiful, dainty little creatures. What do they mean to you?
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I guess in literature/culture, they symbolise death and rebirth, or change, but for me personally they symbolise my irrational fear of something that 99% or more of the world likes.
Comment by Mia
Butterflies symbolise fragility to me. I was once told that they can only live for 3 days before dying. So I always see them as evidence that beauty and happiness may be short-lived but are all the more to be cherished as a result.
I never knew black butterflies existed, I would have thought them to moths. I can't stand moths. I once saw a documentary about old French superstitions which classified animals as either being associated with God and good or the devil. Butterflies and moths were not in the same class. Neither were toads and frogs.
My malaysian friend has told me of the connection between butterflies and the deceased. In the days after death, the arrival of a white butterfly/moth signifies the departure of the soul from the body. Or something like that. He has seen and waited for the white butterfly along with many other family members whilst guarding a body in a room in a house.
In the city where I live there is a particular route taken by a certain white species of butterfly. I don't know where they are headed but I used to work along the way and it was amazing to see hundreds upon hundreds of these white butterflies all fluttering down the street in the same direction. You wouldn't even notice unless you looked.
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raven: Interesting poetry!
cheryl: That's right. I hardly see butterflies now too. In the older days, there were butterflies in the city. Now I don't think they can exist with all the pollution.
Irene: Wow, that's quite scary. Steer clear of meadows then! I understand a little bit of how you're feeling. I can't bring myself to like them because of what they symbolize. Even if they are harmless!
Mia: The flutter of white butterflies sounds beautiful, but it would probably give me the creeps!