Butterfly Spiritual Meaning

If you have the butterfly as your animal totem then the significant features which the butterfly symbol stands for are given below.

The symbolism of the different stages of transformation that a butterfly undertakes during its life cycle is an overwhelming subject which makes up the folklore and mythologies in different ancient cultures around the world.

The beauty of the butterfly makes its appearance after going through the various stages starting from an egg, then into the caterpillar, then into the cocoon and finally into the butterfly.

The transformation of this small creature from an egg to a butterfly is a wonderful thing. A human being will definitely go insane if he is subjected to the huge amount of energy required to effect these changes during his life cycle which is many times more than that of the butterfly.

The life cycle of a butterfly lasts for a very short period of nearly a month only. It is hard to imagine what the transformation process undergone by you through your life cycle will produce at the end. It may produce a person who is completely incomparable to the person who was there before the transformation occurred.

The transformation of the butterfly from an egg to its present state has to go through many risks and dangers posed by the surroundings. The dangers and risks faced by the butterfly during the whole transformation process is a significant lesson for us. The butterfly teaches us to face the dangers and risks in life as casually as it does.

The butterfly reposes an unflinching belief on the natural transformation process. This is a symbol of the faith on nature which it wants us to have as we go through the various changes in our lives. It reminds us that working against the forces of nature is completely futile and foolish.

The symbolism accredited to animals and represented by a butterfly can be listed as:

• Rising from the dead or rebirth.
• Change of state.
• Joy of achievement.
• Enlightenment.
• The time domains of the past, the present and the future.
• The inner spirit or soul.

It is very interesting to see that the symbolism assigned to an animal and represented by the butterfly is connected to the inner spirit or soul, as well as being connected to faith, by many ancient cultures.

Psyche, meaning “soul” in the Greek language, has the form of a butterfly in Greek mythology. Just like a woman, Psyche was in passionate love with Eros, the god of love in the Greek mythology. Eros is also known as Cupid in the Roman mythology. The hopeless love Psyche and Eros or Cupid had for each other was eternal as per the Greek mythology.

Not only the Greek mythology, but many other ancient mythologies around the world believe that the beauty and the elegance of a butterfly have a relation with the inner spirit or soul. These mythologies are:

• Mythologies of Central Asia.
• Mythology of the Aztec Indians of Mexico.
• Mythology of the Maori people of New Zealand.
• Mythology of the African people of Zaire or Congo.

The butterfly is linked to the soul in Christianity also. Butterflies are found to be engraved on ancient Christian tombs because in some Christian art, Jesus Christ is seen holding a butterfly in his hands.

As we travel in time, the different twists and turns and the various conditions transform us into better and better human beings. A butterfly goes through the changes from an egg at the start to the beautiful butterfly at the end. When this change is over, it is very difficult to distinguish it from the egg which was there in the beginning. Similarly our soul also gets transformed for the better, until at the end of the road, it has completely changed. This makes the comparison between the butterfly and our souls more befitting as both changes with time.

The gracefulness which the butterfly attains at the end of the journey makes us feel that we should also keep faith in our journey through time. This is like taking the analogy between the soul and the butterfly another step forward. We should believe that at the end of this journey and the changes occurring at the different stages of this journey, will transform our souls from our initial form depicted by the egg to the wonderful form depicted by the butterfly.

Butterfly shows up as a spirit guide when

• You find it difficult to adjust to change.
• When you find it difficult to enjoy small things in life.
• When you find yourself too worried thinking about future to enjoy present.
• You feel too much worried about the outcome.
• You find it difficult to enjoy the present.

Call on a Butterfly as a spirit guide when

• You face a drastic change in your life.
• You feel it hard to adjust to the loss that you recently had.
• You are too busy mourning the loss that losing faith.
• You want courage to enjoy good things, even though small, in life.
• You want to harness the energy of your soul.