Butterflies have long occupied the minds of people. The miraculous winged creature, into which the by no means attractive caterpillar turned, served as the source for many fantasies that have turned into legends. Almost no culture has spared the butterfly, and for many peoples this insect is a symbol of often similar phenomena and character traits.
Soul
The ancient Egyptians, and after them the Greeks and Romans, believed that the butterfly is the personification of the soul. According to mythology, the ancient Greek goddess Psyche, who is the personification of breath and soul, often appeared in front of people in the form of a butterfly. This beautiful insect was associated not only with abstract souls, but most often with the souls of dead people. This is exactly the interpretation the Japanese give to the appearance of the white butterfly. But in ancient Mexico, the obsidian butterfly symbolized women who died during childbirth.
The butterfly was not always only the soul of the deceased, who came to visit living relatives and friends. In some cases, insects by their appearance foreshadowed the imminent death of one of the family members and even a war.
Rebirth
Initially, the butterfly is born in the form of an ugly caterpillar, which then pupates and freezes. At first glance, life in a cocoon stops, but after a while a beautiful winged creature appears from it. Such metamorphoses occupied the minds of ancient people, therefore the butterfly is often associated with rebirth in the upper world or the resurrection of the soul.
This interpretation was given to this insect by Christians, sometimes depicting the infant Christ on icons holding a butterfly in his palm. The ancient Egyptians had a similar meaning. Embalming their dead, they painted on the walls of the sarcophagus the cycle of the rebirth of a butterfly, reminding the dead with their pictures how to act.
Butterfly wings are also often possessed by the soul, which God places in the body of Adam.
beauty
In the countries of the East, the butterfly most often symbolized beauty. In China, the interpretation of the image of this insect depended on what other objects were next to it. A butterfly depicted next to a chrysanthemum means beauty in old age, drawn next to a plum - beauty and longevity, an insect sitting on a bird's feather is a wish for long life. Also in China, a wonderful tradition is still preserved: the groom, before the wedding, gives his chosen one a live or jade butterfly, as a recognition of the bride's beauty and an assurance of his love.
In Japan, a lonely fluttering butterfly symbolizes a young beautiful girl. But a pair of insects frolicking over the meadow has a different meaning. Two butterflies are associated with a married couple and promise family happiness to the one who sees them.
