As the name implies, we will tell you about what the butterfly symbolizes in different cultures around the world. And also we will give a little general information about this insect. Happy reading.
Butterflies are one of the most beautiful creations of nature, appeared over a hundred million years ago. To date, science knows about 25,000 different species of lepidoptera insects.
Perhaps the most typical butterfly image is the monarch butterfly, which has orange wings with black innervations and white spots.
Blue Butterfly – Meaning
The habit of life of this butterfly is very interesting: every year, before the intense cold of winter, it migrates en masse from southern Canada and the northern United States to California and Mexico, traveling at a distance of almost a thousand kilometers.
Butterfly ants eat eggshells from where they hatch, and then the larvae feed on the same plants they are born on, and milkmaid, which is almost their only food.
The butterflies that emerge from pupae in late summer and early fall are different from those born earlier in the summer, as they have to be prepared for this long trip.
The first individuals arose during the Cretaceous period. The area of distribution covers almost the entire globe. The habitat of butterflies is the territory from the tropics to the Polar Regions.
The abundance and species diversity of insects is simply overwhelming. Unique wing patterns are formed by flat scales that tightly cover their surface.
There are several curiosities about butterflies. For example, they only come in three colors. The lifespan of butterflies varies by species and is highly variable, as some live only two or three days, while the longest can live for about 9-10 months.
Butterfly tattoos are one of the symbols preferred by women, especially younger ones. And the fact that its meaning has a lot in common with this stage of life, also because of its shape and its colors, are most attractive to them. Do you want to know all about the interpretation of these tattoos?
Butterflies are capable of transformation, initially representing a larva in the form of a caterpillar, then a living cocoon. Some types can spin strong yarns that have been used to create fabrics from airy gauze to dense, luxurious satin.
Butterflies, along with dragonflies, are one of the most beautiful insects. However, there are several stages to go through before you can become such beautiful and ethereal beings.
They are born as caterpillars or worms, and after deep transformation they become those precious creatures. It is estimated that there are about a thousand different types of butterflies, so you have many designs to choose the one that best reflects you and your tastes.
This is why, and above all, the meaning of butterfly tattoos is change, evolution and transition to adulthood.
It may be due to its shape, the subtlety of its flight, or its vibrant colors, but it has always been associated with butterflies, especially in Japanese culture. Butterflies have a very short life in which they suffer. That is why they serve to reflect the transition stage, just like young people do.
Caterpillars feed mainly on plants. There are also carnivorous species that feed on animal food, wax, wool and feathers. Adults have proboscis to collect nectar for food. Some lepidoptera are able to travel long distances during intercontinental flights to reproduce offspring.
For the ancient Greeks and early Christians, the butterfly is the representation of the soul. This is a concept that is associated with most creatures that have the ability to fly since. The butterfly is considered a symbol of transformation.
Among other things, it symbolizes happiness, beauty, impermanence, the ephemeral nature of nature and renewal.
The metamorphosis of butterflies is symbolized as: a chrysalis is an egg that contains potential being. The butterfly that comes out of it is a symbol of resurrection or may represent an exit from the grave. The stages of this insect mean, respectively, life, death and resurrection, that is, Christian metamorphosis.
After laying eggs, the adult dies. The offspring, after passing through the stages of transformation, returns to the habitat of the arrived butterflies. Folk beliefs and legends connect insects with the other world. The ability to transform symbolizes immortality and the possibility of rebirth.
This refers to metamorphosis, therefore, to the transformation that people go through life, not only physical, but also social. The blue butterfly is considered by many to be the butterfly of luck. Colorful butterflies are messengers of joy and happiness.
They are messengers of death, and they also have the meaning of the soul of a child who died by being baptized or symbolizing a reincarnated witch.
It symbolizes new life, by analogy with the flowers of spring, the predominant color of which is yellow. This time, the white butterfly symbolizes calmness, peace. Since the butterfly is a reference to renewal, for spiritualists it symbolizes reincarnation. Reincarnation is the return of a soul to another body, a new life.
In ancient times, people of different peoples of the world showed respect and admiration for amazing insects. Myths and legends of the countries of Asia, Mexico, and Slavic peoples represent the butterfly in the image of the human soul and strictly forbid their killing.
This god wore an emblem called the “obsidian butterfly”, which symbolized the soul or breath of life that escapes the mouth of a dying person. The butterfly in the middle of the flowers represents the soul of a dead warrior on the battlefield.
Balubas and Luluas of Kasai, central Zaire, also associate the butterfly with the soul. For them, a person follows the cycle of a butterfly from his birth to his death.
The Aztecs represented them as the embodiment of the souls of warriors who died a heroic death. The Burmese, on the contrary, considered these insects to be the souls of living people who are currently in a dream to remove themselves from the bustle of the world.
Meaning in the Bible for the butterfly is present in the images of the infant Christ, embodying the possibility of the resurrection of the soul and its repeated rebirth. Christians believed that the souls of babies who had not undergone the rite of baptism were embodied in butterflies.
Blue Butterfly – Symbolism
Childhood is associated with a small caterpillar. At maturity, a large caterpillar and, as it grows, turns into a pupa. The cocoon is the tomb from which her soul emerges, the shape of which is a butterfly.
In addition, your tomb will be associated with a cocoon, from where the soul will emerge in the form of a butterfly. Finally, Iranians and some Turkish people from Central Asia believe that the deceased may appear at night in the form of a butterfly.
In Irish mythology, the butterfly symbolizes the soul, freed from its fleshly shell, as in Christian symbolism. In the fairytale court, Etienne tells about the God Mithra, who for the second time marries the goddess Etain and, with jealousy, his first wife, turns her into a puddle of water. After a while, the pond gives birth to a caterpillar, which turns into a beautiful butterfly.
In Russia, night moths are considered the souls of deceased loved ones who, after 40 days, fly into the sky.
Since the Paleolithic era, the insect has been a symbol of the Great Mother, personifying everything positive and good, beginning and end, life and death. They are most often found in women, because they are delicate and feminine designs. Butterflies are graceful animals, have colorful wings and can have many meanings.
The main reason for the great demand for this type of tattoo is the connection between man and butterfly, which has existed for centuries and has been depicted in the mythologies of several ancient civilizations.
There is a widespread belief that butterflies are physical symbols of the human soul, and just as a butterfly is attracted to a flame at night, the human soul turns to heavenly truths.
In the middle Ages, there were gloomy images of butterflies, especially those associated with the insect – the lilac hawk moth. Panic horror was fully justified, because according to the signs, a meeting with this type of insect foreshadowed a quick and inevitable death. For the image, the moth was nicknamed “Dead Head”.
Combined with a dreary squeak, the hawk moth for a long time brought chilling terror to impressionable people.
When analyzing a butterfly scientifically, its metamorphosis is one of Nature’s great mysteries. These insects have the ability to switch from caterpillars to flying creatures, and this is something “magical”. In fact, many people are inspired by metamorphosis and believe that butterflies will never develop without the power of God.
A butterfly tattoo on a woman usually represents a free spirit. Like butterflies, a woman blooms, and a girl becomes a woman with a gift creating a new life. Regardless of which part of the body is tattooed, it serves as a portal to release and attract the energy of life, the essence of the human soul. The butterfly tattoo is a talisman that concentrates the power that is found in all women.
Buddhists have a special respect for beautiful insects, thanks to the legend of the Buddha’s conversation with a butterfly.
Japan is filled with deep-rooted traditions to associate the symbol with happiness in married life, mutual love. It was according to the Japanese custom that the newlyweds were given butterflies and released into the sky.
The types of women who choose butterfly tattoos are as varied as the types of butterfly wings. These women can be creative, charming, patient, considerate, intelligent and in harmony with nature. The colors that can be used on butterfly wings are as varied as possible, making the design highly customizable. Each woman can choose the type and color of the butterfly according to her style.
In Greece, the belief is that a new human soul is born every time a butterfly emerges from its cocoon. Already in Ireland, people believe that butterflies are the souls of the dead awaiting passage through purgatory. In Chinese and Japanese culture, the butterfly has been used for centuries as a symbol of joy and happiness.
In China, there is a tradition to present a live or jade butterfly as a gift from the groom to his chosen one. The gift has a deep meaning and embodies deep and unchanging feelings of love. Images of these insects in Chinese art are represented by various combinations with plum, chrysanthemum, or feather, embodying longevity and beauty.
Butterflies are also associated with the Holocaust. The concentration camps had special places for children, and the walls of these barracks were covered with butterflies. The children, knowing that they would die, decided to leave a message of hope. Although their bodies did not survive, their souls would be immortal in the form of butterflies.
As you can see, a butterfly is more than just drawing and getting a tattoo with something that can have many special meanings. The butterfly is considered a symbol of transformation, happiness, beauty, impermanence, ephemeral nature and renewal, but there are countless meanings attributed to butterfly symbolism.
Ancient Chinese civilizations envisioned winged insects as the embodiment of summer, abundance and immortality of the soul. Proverbs emphasize the connection between these creatures and family happiness, presenting the image in the form of an unusual Chinese Cupid, bringing people love and harmony in relationships.
Feng Shui philosophy presents the moth as an image of joy and well-being in love. It is believed that painting the walls of the bedroom will bring a new energy of romance to married couples or single people. Beautiful and harmonious images are performed with a pair or group of butterflies.
Superstition has accompanied black butterflies since antiquity. For the Egyptians, when someone died, his spirit left his body in the form of a black butterfly. In Europe, even today, many believe that the black butterfly is the soul of a child who died without being baptized. For other northern peoples, witches become black butterflies.
Conclusion
Feng Shui butterflies should be in every home, as they are the embodiment of joy and love. It is best if they “fly” in the bedroom.
For single people, this talisman will bring new love relationships into their lives, and for a married couple, it will help bring fresh energy of romance and passion. Which perfectly allows you to diversify the relationship between husband and wife.
To do this, it is best to decorate the room with a couple or a group of butterflies, since love is possible only in a couple. The number of these “winged beauties” only intensifies their influence. But here, too, it is important not to overdo it.
The main thing is that such “decorations” fit into the interior and look beautiful and harmonious. There may be cases of the image of one butterfly, in which case it will attract joy to your home.
Feng Shui butterflies located in the bedroom are recommended to be placed above the bed.
So that you fall asleep and wake up always in a good mood, looking at these fluttering beauties. Play it beautifully, as if they flew into your room through a door or window and are circling on the wall or ceiling.
As a rule, such compositions add romance to the bedroom interior. Butterfly bedding also works.
Or you can place them in the southwest sector of the house. This, as we know, is the sector of love and relationships in Feng Shui. This location of butterflies promises the owners of the house, not only harmony in personal relationships, but also has a beneficial effect on communication with people in general.
A charming butterfly is the very insect whose appearance in the vast majority of people is associated with the arrival of spring, captivating youth, renewal and rebirth of nature.
But such unanimity did not always reign: in different epochs, the ideas of what the butterfly symbolizes were very different among individual peoples.
Among the Aztecs, the butterfly was one of the attributes of the god of vegetation, spring and love. Since ancient times, peoples of different countries have associated butterflies with higher secrets, with love, soul, and rebirth.