Scent of a Butterfly

Symbology and symbolism has always played a great role in the esoteric's sphere of life. Discuss everything about symbols here.

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Ashs92lude
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Scent of a Butterfly

Post by Ashs92lude » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:37 pm

The scent of a butterfly, very few can say they smelt a butterfly. I have, I took these pictures earlier today of some butterflies. I thought I'd share you you guys.

Anybody smelt one before? What do you guys think when you see butterflies? Is it a symbol? Is there a meaning?
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suzisco
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Post by suzisco » Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:44 pm

Your butterflies are very beautiful and different to the ones i see here in Scotland.

I always feel that butterflies remind us that beauty is all around us if we care to look but like everything its only here briefly.
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Post by Ashs92lude » Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:11 am

Thank you suzisco! Butterflies are very beautiful, you know the funny thing was, I was thinking that beauty was all around me today. I try to appreciate the things around me. While I was taking the pictures, I seen a few hummingbirds flying around chasing each other and had my pretty peacocks near by and I thought to myself everything is soooo beautiful. I should enjoy it while its here.
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Butterfly,

Post by dessa » Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:12 pm

I never even thought about it before but no I haven't caught the scent of a Butterfly but the pictures are beautiful.




Butterfly/Caterpillar's Wisdom Includes:

The power of the whirlwind
Reincarnation
Transformation
Transmutation
Magick

----------------------------------------------------

Transmutation, Dance of Joy

The butterfly is the symbol of change, joy and color.
It is the symbol of the soul.

They remind us that life is a dance,
not to take things quite so seriously.
They also remind us to get up and move.
Dance brings the sweetness of life.

Butterflies bring color and joy to your life.
Look at them and remember what joy is in your life,
if its a lot or a little, it is still joy.

They teach us that growth and transformation does not have to traumatic;
it can occur gently, sweetly, joyfully.

If a butterfly totem has shown up in your life,
make note of the most important issues in your life,
and see what needs to be changed.


-------------------------------------------------------------

The Butterfly

Throughout history the butterfly has been admired for their delicate beauty.  Most adult butterflies live just one or two weeks except for the monarch and angel wing which can live for six months or more. This is very symbolic.  It suggests that a person with this medicine will experience tremendous soul growth in their earlier years.  A difficult childhood is common.  Life lessons are revealed to the consciousness while in the womb of the mother - the cocoon stage -  and are completed when the caterpillar emerges into the butterfly and takes flight.  Butterflies are symbols of freedom and creativity. They hold the gift of transformation and soul evolution.

Butterflies have a pair of large compound oval eyes made up of thousands of individual lenses.  They can see a single image clearly and are able to perceive ultraviolet wavelengths of light.  This suggests clairvoyant abilities for those that hold this totem.

The antennae of the butterfly has small knobs on each end which is said to play a role in orientation.  When one antennae is missing the butterfly will fly in circles unable to find its way.  Those with this medicine need to stay consciously connected to spirit at all times in order to arrive at their desired destination.

The butterfly represents the process of transformation and shape shifting. When butterfly shows up, make note of the most important issues confronting you at the moment. What state of change are you at in regard to them?

To the Native Americans the butterfly is a symbol of joy. They remind us not to take life so seriously. They feed on flowers that they help pollinate, thereby further spreading beauty. They represent the element of air, quickly changing and ever moving, so gracefully.  Butterflies are messengers of the moment. They come in a variety of colors. To understand the message that the butterfly holds for you a study of its colors can be helpful.

Whenever an eco system is damaged, butterfly is usually the first to leave. They are especially sensitive to the harmony of earth. If butterfly comes to you in a hurt, trapped or ill way, you are being asked to stop disturbing the natural design of life and to flow with events in a more gentle, natural way.




----------------------------------------------------------------------


Butterfly Medicine

*Lady Stearn Robinson & Tim Gorbett/The Dreamer's Dictionary:
Social success, romantic success, and/or domestic happiness is forecast by a dream of these gaily colored creatures.

*Zolar/Encyclopedia of Signs, Omens, and Superstitions:
Widespread is the belief that the soul takes the form of a butterfly. Medieval angels were sometimes depicted with butterfly's wings. Likewise, fairies are often shown with them.

In Northern Europe, to see a butterfly flying at night was considered to be an omen of death. In Great Britain, should one wish a favorable year, you must kill the first butterfly you see. According to a Glouchestershire belief, however should the first butterfly you see in the year be a white one, you will have bad luck. In Ireland, seeing a butterfly nearby a corpse was an omen for eternal well-being for the deceased. In Scotland, too, it is considered fortunate indeed for a golden butterfly to be seen near a dying person.

To see 3 butterflies together is as lucking as seeing 3 magpies, says a Nottinghamshire superstition. Pink butterflies are said to pormise lifelong happiness.

If on a given day the first butterfly you see is yellow, this foretold an illness; should it be white, good luck. To see three butterflies together on a flower was said to bring misfortune.

Among the Blackfoot Indians, there is a belief that dreams are brought to us by butterflies. Hence, a mother would often embroider the sign of a butterfly on a piece of buckskin, which she would tie to her baby's head when she wished him to sleep. The Zunis of New Mexico believe that, when white butterflies are seen, warm weather may be expected. Should they fly from the southwest, however, rain is on the way.

In parts of the United States, a butterfly in the house is a sign of a wedding to be. In Maryland, should a white butterfly come into the house and fly around you, it is said you will die. In Louisiana, however, such is taken as an omen of good luck.

Some country folk believe that, if a butterfly flies in one's face, it indicates cold weather. Others say a yellow butterfly will bring weather that will turn the leaves yellow in a single week.

*Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Butterfly exemplifies renewal and rejuvenation. May refer to an ability to bounce back after specific setbacks or disappointments.

*Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs:
This is a powerful sign of a new beginning on a higher plane. Just as the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, it can mean emerging in beauty and new awareness, signifying a time of rebirth and transformation. Among the ancients, the butterfly represented the soul and even life itself. Are you in a time of rebirth? A "social butterfly" is someone who flits here and there without ever making a real commitment to a relationship. Does this apply to any aspect of your life? A butterfly can also signify joy and bliss.

*Jamie Sams & David Carson/Medicine Cards:
Transformation. The power that Butterfly brings to us is akin to the air. It is the mind, and the ability to know the mind or to change it. It is the art of transformation.

To use Butterfly medicine, you must astutely observe your position in the cycle of self-transformation. Like Butterfly, you are always at a certain station in your life activities. You may be at the egg stage, which is the beginning of all things. This is the stage at which an idea is born, but has not yet become a reality. The larva stage is the point at which you decide to create the idea in the physical world. The cocoon stage involves "going within": doing or developing your project, idea, or aspect of personality. The final stage of transformation is the leaving of the chrysalis and birth. This last step involves sharing the colors and joy of your creation with the world.

If you look closely at what Butterfly is trying to teach, you will realize that it is the never-ending cycle of self-transformation. The way to discern where you are in the cycle is to aks yourself:
1) Is this the egg stage: Is it just a thought or idea?
2) Is this the larva stage: Do I need to make a decision?
3) Is this the cocoon stage: Am I developing and doing something?
4) Is this the birth stage: Am I sharing my completed idea?

By asking yourself these questions, you will discover how Butterfly is relating to you at this moment. When you understand where you are, the symbol can teach you what to do next to continue in the cycle of self-transformation. If you have found the position through which you are cycling, you will see the creativity of Butterfly.

Using the air, or mental powers, of this medicine is done with ease. As an example, if you have been feeling exhausted and have asked how to heal your fatigue, take notice of the colors you have been drawn to recently. Does your body feel better in green? Could this mean that you need to eat more green vegetables? This type of thinking is an inspiration from Butterfly medicine.

Butterfly can give clarity to your mental process, help you organize the project you are undertaking, and assist you in finding the next step for your personal life or career. The main message to be obtained from drawing this symbol is that you are ready to undergo some type of transformation.

Contrary: If you have drawn Butterfly reversed, your lesson is a simple one. There is a need for change in your life that you are not recognizing. This could be a possible need for freedom, for a vacation, or for a new job. You may believe that change is too difficult, and you may rule it out to preserve the comfort of old habits. But in ruling out any possibility of change, you are saying that the courage of Butterfly has been lost. Why does Butterfly represent courage? Because there is a totally different world outside the cocoon, where the known realities of the chrysalis are no longer applicable. This new world demands that you use your newfound wings -- and fly!

*D.J. Conway/Animal Magick:
The name butterfly is given to a large group of Lepidoptera, which includes moths. These insects are found in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes around the world. Most of them fly only during the daylight hours and usually feed on the nectar of flowers; moths fly at night. Colorful dust-like scales coat the wings. They have a knob, or enlargement, at the tip of their antennae; this physical trait distinguishes them form moths.

The butterfly is a Chinese symbol of immortality, leisure, and joy; if shown with a chrysanthemum, it depicts beauty in old age; with a plum, long life. A jade butterfly was believed by the Chinese to be an emblem of love. In Japan this insect represents much the same thing, with a pair of butterflies meaning married happiness. However, it can symbolize a false lover or vain woman. The Japanese say that a pure white butterfly can contain the oul of someone who has died.

The labyrs, or double-axe, of the Bronze Age and Crete may well symbolize a butterfly. This axe probably came from the original hourglass-shape of the Goddess, who symbolized death and regeneration. The Greek, Germanic, and Slavonic words mora, mara, and morava mean both "nightmare" and "butterfly." The Death Goddess of Lithuania (More) and of Ireland (Maro or Mara) may well be connected with this Mediterranean interpretation.

In Greek art, the butterfly symbolized the psyche, or soul, and represented immortality. The Horae, who were goddesses of the seasons, were sometimes shown with butterfly wings.

In such widely-separated places such as Cornwall, Mexico, and Siberia, the white butterfly is said to be a spirit of the dead. The Celts firmly believed that the soul could occupy either a butterfly or a fly.

Certain Native Americans believed that the butterfly had power over the whirlwind, causing it to appear and disappear by the flapping of its wings. Xochiquetzal, the love goddess of ancient Mexico, was pictured as a human-headed moth or butterfly.

Superstitions: In Siberia they say that if you kill a butterfly, you kill a witch. The people of Devonshire believed that if you killed the first butterfly you saw each year you would have good luck. In Scotland, a golden butterfly near a dying person was considered to be a good omen of eternal happiness; much the same was believed in Ireland. If the first butterfly you see in the year is yellow, you will become ill. Three butterflies on a leaf are unlucky. A butterfly flying at night is an omen of death. If a black moth flies into a house, someone will die. However, if it flies at you from the darknes, an important letter is on the way.

Magickal Attributes: Reincarnation, magick, beauty, love. Transformation of the personality and life. Understanding where you are in the cycle of your life and using it to the fullest. Divination concerning future events that have a bearing on your cycle of life and rebirth.

*Patricia Telesco/The Language of Dreams:
Personal growth, especially spiritual. In classical Greek and Roman philosophy, the butterfly's transformation mirrored that of the every evolving soul.

Esoterically: Reincarnation, which may be literal or figurative. If you see yourself emerging from the cocoon, this speaks of a new, beautiful beginning, and astounding positive changes.

The question of personal identity and uniqueness. In China, there is a story of the sage Hsuang Chou who dreamt of being a butterfly. During the dream, he had no awareness of Hsuang Chou, only the butterfly. When he awoke, this experience left him wondering. Was he really Hsuang Chou, or actually a butterfly dreaming of being Hsuang Chou?

In China, the butterfly also symbolizes a happy union, usually a marriage. An excellent portent for any type of partnership, especially if the butterfly is formed out of jade.

Missives from beyond: The Hopi Indians believe that butterflies carry the sould os the departed.

Swallowing a butterfly: In Ireland and ancient Greece, this signified pregnancy.

The ability to rebound and rejuvenate after a major setback. If seen in its caterpillar form, it means you're entering a stage of positive transformation. If the creature is flying, you may soon receive news from friends afar. For a young woman, thise foretells happy love.

*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
The Butterfly is a very spiritual bug and represents the presence of good spirits. Butterflies signal change, metamorphosis, balance, harmony, grace, peace, beauty, and spirituality. They are a good sign.

*Brad Steiger/Totems:
The Greek word for bouth "soul" and "butterfly" is psyche, and it was once believed that human souls assumed the form of butterflies while they searched for a new incarnation. Throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, butterflies have maintained their standing as a symbol of the soul and rebirth.

To the Chinese, the butterfly is a symbol of joy and conjugal happiness. A Chinese bridegroom would endear himself to his new wife by presenting her with a jade butterfly, which represented the union of their souls.

In the butterfly's unique lifecycle from dead and dried chrysalis to vibrant and soaring entity, the early Christians found a ready symbol of the resurrection of the human soul and the resurrection of Christ. Certain Christian sects, however, perceived the lovely, but fragile, butterfly as a symbol of the transient and perishable nature of the flesh.

In the Dakota tradition, the butterfly was a living fragment of the rainbow, a beautiful creature that floats with soundless wings above wild flowers on sunny currents of air.

If the butterfly is your totem animal, you are probably a very lively person with rather exotic tastes who loves beautiful and colorful expressions of clothing, decor, art, poetry, music, and self. Although you are a high-energy person, you are also a visionary, so you have little difficulty in settling down in a uiet place in nature or in your own whome and going deep into the Silence of meditation.

The butterfly totem will aid you in achieving depths of inner and outer exploration far beyond the ordianry. As a symbol of personal transformation, your spirit helper will hover ever-near to assist you in all those changes within yourself and within your environment that are necessary for you to attain the highest levels of enlightenment.

Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Transmutation and the Dance of Joy
Probably no animal or insect has come to represent the process of transformation and shapeshifting more than that of the butterfly. For those with this totem, the process of metamorphosis should be studied closely. With butterflies and moths there are always four distinct stages of change. (The cocoon is only spun by the moth, and not by a true butterfly, for the chrysalis stage).

When butterfly shows up, make note of the most important issues confronting you at the moment. This is probably why butterfly has shown up. What stage of change are you at in regard to them. To determine that, you may have to examine and determine what you wish the outcome to be, and how best to accomplish it.

The butterfly is a powerful symbol in myth and religion. In early Christianity, it was a symbol of the soul. In China, it was used as a symbol of conjugal bliss and joy. In the Hopi tradition, unmarried girls of the butterfly clan wore their hair in the shape of butterfly wings. In Indian lore are stories of how butterflies come when called by the children of the Nez Perce tribe.

To the Native Americans, the butterfly is a symbol of change, joy, and color. The colors of the butterfly should be examined for its significance and to help you understand its role within your life. Prior to a workshop on fairies and elves recently in Florida, I was performing a meditation at a nearby nature center in preparation for the workshop. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by approximately a ozen black and yellow butterflies (Zebra heliconius). There were even several in my lap.

This was very significant to me for several reasons. First, there has long been an association in folklore of a relationship between those of the Faerie Realm and butterflies. The black and yellow was even more significant. In traditional angelology, these are colors often associated with the archangel Auriel in her guise of overseeing the activities of the nature spirits. It was a wonderful indication of the energy that would accompany me to my workshop.

Butterflies appear to dance as they light upon flowers and such. They remind us not to take things quite so seriously within our lives. They awaken a sense of lightness and joy. They remind us that life is dance, and dance, though powerful, is also a great pleasure. Butterflies can be reminders to get up and move, for if you can move you can dance. Dance brings the sweetness of life back. This is further exemplified by the fact that butterflies actually have taste receptacles on their front legs. They taste flowers by walking upon them.

Butterflies bring color and joy with them. When butterflies come into your life look at how much or how little joy is within your life. Lighten up. Look for change. Don't forget that all change is good. Butterfly medicine reminds us to make changes when the opportunities present themselves. Transformation is inevitable, but butterfly will help teach you that growth and change does not have to be traumatic. It will teach you that it can occur as gently, as sweetly, and as joyfully as we wish.

The process of metamorphosis:
Change is inevitable in life, an dlife only becomes more difficult and dangerous on many levels when we resist its natural flow. Change ensures growth. We have to shed the old before we can come into the new. Metamorphosis is the magic inherent within insects. It is the magic of life that they can teach.

Biologically and psyiologically, humans recognize that there are changes--childhood, puberty, adulthood. Change should occur on other levels and it necessary at other times. Everything we create in life has to go through stages. These align with the four stages of insect metamorphosis. All insects and thus all ideas and creations begin as eggs. The eggs hatch into caterpillars which feed and spin cocoons. From a cocoon comes its final expression of life--usually with wings.

In the egg stage, there is the fertilizaion process. We give birth--to an idea, an activity, a new quality, or something. From the egg stage comes the larva. In insects, the egg becomes a caterpillar in this stage. The caterpillar feeds and works to strengthen itself and achieve its foundation. Ideas and creativity need to be worked with, shaped, formed, developed, and honed. When this is accomplished, when the caterpillar has laid itself a new foundation, the stage of chrysalis begins.

A cocoon is woven around itself by the caterpillar, and a mummy like pupa forms within. In this stage there is a reorganization of the caterpillar's cells even though there is the appearance of lifelessness. Sometimes individuals need to back off, after laying a foundation, and then go deeply within so that creation will be able to come forth strong and in new light. There are points in the creative process where we must be passive and let things take a natural course. We do what we must, and then let it move on its own. This is reflected in the chrysalis stage.

From the chrysalis comes yet a new and final form--a winged insect. The fact that it has wings in its final stages is very significant, and all of the symbolism associated with wings apply to insects as well as birds. The adult only comes out of the cocoon in the warmth of spring--again reflecting the ability to go within and determine the best time to set the new creations in motion on a higher level. Wings are the emblem of the adult insect and thus the adult creation. Flight now becomes a way of life for however long the adult survives.

The antennae:
The antennae of insects vary in size and shape. They are usually larger in those insects with poor eyesight. With their antennae, they can feel, smell, tasete, and determine temperature. They can also use them to create sounds. The antennae have numerous tiny pegs upon them which serve as receptors.

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Post by Ashs92lude » Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:15 am

Hello dessa,

WOW Dessa, thank you very much for the interesting and detailed information on the beautiful butterflies. :smt003  I did not know there was soo many various beliefs. I found your information very useful and enjoyable.

ooo the scent of a butterfly is very nice, just like a bottle of perfume. If you ever get the chance try to slowly get closer to the butterfly and smell it. (Better if it is a bigger butterfly) Just something to think about and treasure about nature. It is very different.

Ash
He that respects himself is safe from others; He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.

dessa
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Scent of Butterflies

Post by dessa » Sun Sep 28, 2008 5:13 am

Ash,

Thanks for your kind words, glad you found the information useful or interesting.

It sounds like a lovely expericne lol though if it is like a perfume not so sure I want to catch the scent, I am allergic to perfumes

I loved the pictures you posted there was something so peaceful and there was such a great feeling just from looking at them.

dessa

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Post by Ashs92lude » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:19 am

Your welcome dessa. Thank you for the comments and information!  :smt003
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Post by dessa » Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:47 am

I usually find it interesting when encountering such issues, wondering what message they may be sharing, ie such as butterfly when it comes up, and then I have to try to figure out what issue I may need to fit the idea of cycles with, and see where I might be in a project or transition.

Actually as much as I know of Crow medicine, it has come up for me for a series of days, and while I think I got a piece of the message LOL Crow can be a trickster, and so I haven't caught the whole thing.

I think though that some times Butterflies are not about the various messages that the different things I mentioned said, but just there to remind us of those peaceful things, cause many who see a butterfy tend to stop take a moment to take a break and stop and watch it, and most will have relaxed a bit of the tension that most live with constantly.

LOL So even with all those who seem to have written about this alot, for me Butterfly sometimes means stop and smell the roses, see the connections in nature, the connections that we all have to all that is, let go of the stress and tension which most of it is needless anyway.

I mean it is not that a butterfly, birds in the trees are greater than, yet when they go with the flow of nature, they are taken care of so sometimes it is about us taking a step back, and just saying ok, let me go with the natural flow its all good.

Maybe that is why I found the photos to give me such a lovely feeling.

There is a very STRONG energy that comes through to me from those photos one that is very positive and beautiful, your soul sounds awesome, hope you know it.

THanks for the sharing.

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Post by Ashs92lude » Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:21 am

ooooh thank you dessa! :)  I am very delighted to know that the photos made a positive impression on you. Thank you :smt003 ... your soul also sounds very special :smt023 and thank YOU for sharing.   :smt098
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Post by dessa » Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:51 am

I actually have come back to the post to kind of get the nice calming energy that seems to  come from the photos, when things are getting busy around here.

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Post by Ashs92lude » Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:12 am

oh that is great! If I come across more beautiful nature scenes I will be sure to post them and let you know. :)

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Post by dessa » Sun Oct 05, 2008 5:12 am

Thanks, I had a friend who had a magazine out of Australia, that had some great stuff in it one of the articles was about Manatees, and there was something about the image of the Manatee, something about that could calm me over the most difficult days, there is such a loving energy in the Manatee.

dessa

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