The Butterfly

On lovely spring days, you may see plenty of bugs mingling about the plants and flowers. The most common one you may notice is the graceful butterfly. Butterflies travel from flower to flower, sucking up nectar and collecting pollen. Their pollen transfers help plants seed and populate. But while they are essential to nature, they’re also essential to magick. Butterflies have made appearances in many cultures and religions due to their beauty, grace, and spiritual guidance. If you’re surprised by how much magick this small bug carries, you’re not the only one. By the end of this article, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the power of the butterfly and how you can use it in your magickal daily uses. 

Butterfly Symbolism Around the World 

Here are a few insights into how the butterfly is seen in different cultures and incorporated into day-to-day life. 

Wiccan

The butterfly’s symbolism in Wicca is based mainly on representing life. As the caterpillar becomes a chrysalis, it undergoes a significant transformation. When it emerges, the plain shape of the caterpillar is replaced with the beauty of the butterfly. For us, this transformation can represent how we grow and change through life. We constantly make spiritual changes to recede into our inner minds and emerge as wiser, more aware, and better people. 

Native American

Native Americans hold animals in high regard as they believe each has a spiritual mission. In the butterfly’s case, it represents joy and change. Their positive image is a sign of resurrection and the miracle of transformation. Other tribes have labeled the butterfly as a way of communicating with departed loved ones. Native Americans draw comfort from the butterfly, so if it’s their spirit animal, they carve a totem of it to have the butterfly’s hope and positivity. 

Celtic 

For the Celts, the butterfly is a symbol of rebirth and the soul. This symbolism helps the Celts make better decisions when given a second chance. One must take responsibility for their actions by improving themselves with each struggle life throws at them. The Celts also believed that the butterfly represented the soul. For example, when someone passes, the butterfly swoops down to collect the soul and take it to the afterlife. 

Butterflies in Folklore 

Butterflies appear in many different folk tales. Here are three of the most well-accepted interpretations of the butterfly in folklore. 

Irish Legends 

Irish legends say that the butterfly is the soul of a human being. It’s considered bad luck to kill a butterfly since the soul would be released and not taken to the afterlife. The Irish also associate butterflies with the fire of the gods. The Irish keep an eye on flying butterflies as they may disappear before your eyes when they travel into the next world. 

Greek and Roman Folklore

For the Greeks, butterflies were also seen as carriers of the soul. Most likely, in the sense of passed souls still residing in the land of the living. Butterflies also brought good luck, especially to weddings and marriages. 

The Romans also saw butterflies as carriers of the soul and as symbols associated with transformation. For the soul, if a butterfly lands on a deceased person, it collects their soul. For transformation, they are symbols that anyone can change with hard work and determination. 

The Chinese and Japanese 

In both Chinese and Japanese cultures, the butterfly represents pure happiness and joy. Many drawings, paintings, and manuscripts use the butterfly to represent happiness or positive moments meant to lift spirits from a negative rut. If you see a butterfly appear in one of your favorite Japanese or Chinese shows, you can be sure that good news will follow.

Butterfly Omens 

Butterfly omens can help direct you in life should you need extra guidance or to show you that there is always positive energy in your life. Here are some examples of butterfly omens. 

In Dreams 

There are several reasons why a butterfly may visit you in your dreams. The primary reason could be that there’s soon going to be a significant change in your life. Change is inevitable, just like the struggle of life. The dreamer has to go with the flow instead of trying to run away from it. Often, the change that the butterfly will bring will have positive results, even if it does not seem like it in the beginning.

The butterfly can also express your inner passion for getting outside and being social. You could be unintentionally cocooning yourself and need to blossom and get out with others. It highlights your need to emerge from your cocoon to venture out and see what the world has to offer. 

Encounters 

If a butterfly flies past you, it could sign that the universe wants you to venture out and grow. The butterfly is telling you that you should soon experience someone coming to help you or provide reassurance if you are experiencing hardships. 

Be aware that the butterfly expresses tremendous transformation, and by running into one, you may soon become aware of what areas in your life you need to alter to change into someone better. Your soul requires metamorphosis; you just need to allow it.

The butterfly helps plants grow and thrive with their pollination, but they also help us thrive. The butterfly is a messenger from spirits, a guide to those departed, and a bringer of good luck for those most in need. They are aids that need to be appreciated and honored to help them thrive. Their lives may be short, but they leave behind a wealth of knowledge and happy people they have helped. You can use the butterfly in your magick by using images of butterflies or butterflies who have naturally passed away. So long as you are respecting the butterfly, you can use its image to help your magick. Spread your wings and go forth positively towards helping yourself and those around you like the butterfly does.