THE BUTTERFLY: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. The Japanese say that a pure white butterfly can contain the soul of someone who has died. 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 Mediterranian interpretation. In Greek art, the butterfly symbolized the psyche, or soul, and represneted immortality. The Horae, who were goddesses of the seasons, were sometimes shown with butterfly wings. In such widely-seperated places 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. SuperstitionsIn Serbia 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 darkness, an important letter is on the way. Magickal AttributesReincarnation, magick, beauty, love.Transformation of the personality and life. Understanding where you are in your cycle of life and using it to the fullest. Divination concerning future events that have a bearing on your cycle of life and rebirth. ChantBeautiful creature, wings lit by the Sun,Help me to know when this life is done A new life awaits from the Spirit above, My soul shall renew through the magick of love. |
