Momma Bear
Magic
The Ethereal Butterfly
I am fascinated by butterfly. The symbolism of transformation couldn’t be clearer. To change from a plump caterpillar to a winged butterfly is not a small shift. But what makes this different than the transformation from polliwog to frog is that the evolution here goes from something that is fat and sturdy to something ethereal and delicate. The change is from earth to air. She is able to be free from expectations regarding this change. Butterfly takes us from the body to the dream. In Irish folklore, they are known for being ability to pass easily between this world and the next. It is said that if you catch a butterfly without harming it, and whisper a wish to it, Butterfly will take the wish to the one who can grant it. Butterflies need heat to be able to move. When you see them resting in the sunshine, they are warming up their wings so they can fly.
If butterfly has lighted upon your day, change to a more vulnerable state may be in order. Handle with care, and perhaps your greatest wish will come true.
The Magic of Butterfly
Significant Qualities
Freedom
The struggle to get out of the chrysalis is a fundamental part of the rebirth of butterfly. When helped with that emergence, the butterfly is not strong enough to fend for itself. Freedom is something that must be achieved by one’s own effort. And once yours, you can fly freely above the barriers that previously held you back.
Transform
Butterfly has the gift of embracing change with grace. She can grow and expand in ways that are unexpected.
Joy
Colorful creatures who dance on the wind, Butterfly reminds us of the sweetness of life. These pretty insects bring joy and a lightness of being to the world. They don’t have time to take things too seriously.
Dreams
Among many cultures the Butterfly carries dreams or wishes upon her wings. She can be understood as a soul who disperses inspiration with optimism.
Trust
There is a faith or trust that butterfly has when undergoing change. By releasing expectation, anything becomes possible. Butterfly trusts in the natural state of change.
Time
Day: Afternoon
Month: Varies
Season: Spring
Sabbat: Beltane
Moon: Unknown
Planet: Venus
Celestial: Butterfly Cluster in Scorpio
Magic
Chakra: Brow, Crown
Tarot: Death
Rune: Unknown
Archetype: Magician
Gods: Psyche, Ītzpāpālōtl, Etain, Chamunda
Nature Spirits: Fairy
Symbols
Stone: Labradorite, Citrine, Kunzite, Apophyllite
Herb: Buddleia, Lavender, Fennel
Element: Air
Number: Unknown
Direction: Unknown
Gender: Feminine
Color: All
The Science of Butterfly
Myrmecology
Latin Name: Plebejus melissa (Melissa Blue Butterfly)
Family (Family): Lycaenidae (Gossamer Winged Butterfly Family)
Other names: Karner Blue
Group name: A kaleidoscope, flight, or flutter of butterflies
Female: Butterfly
Male: Butterfly
Baby: Larva, Caterpillar
Type: Insect
Size: 22–35 mm
Weight: hard to weigh
Life expectancy: Caterpillar 3-4 weeks, Pupate 8-11 days, Butterfly 1-2 weeks
Sustainability: Endangered in the North Eastern US
Behavior
Shelter
Butterflies cannot fly when they get too cold. To escape the cold, rain, or wind they will seek shelter in the undersides of leaves, deep in tall grasses, or nestled into the nooks and crannies of rocks or tree.
Range
For the Melissa Blue Butterfly there is an Eastern population that can be found from southern New Hampshire and central New York west to Wisconsin. There is a Western population makes their home in the Intermountain West from Canada to Baja California. There are also scattered populations in upper Midwest.
Diet
One of the butterfly’s first tasks as an adult is to assemble its mouthparts so that she can eat. Using her feet to taste the world around her, the taste receptors help her identify the proper plants and key nutrients needed for survival. Her diet will be completely liquid, and is sucked up through the proboscis that she has assembled. She will drink flower nectar from Yarrow, Astragalus, Delphinium, Cinquefoil, Cress, Goldenrod, Locoweed, Verbena, and others. In order to get some of the minerals that she needs, she will also drink urine, tears, and mud.
Mating
The male butterfly has one job, to mate. This is his primary focus in his brief lifetime. To attract a female, he will perform a courtship dance, often fanning his pheromones in her directions. If the female is receptive to his attentions, she may join the dance. The mating takes place when they join their “ends” together, and the male passes his sperm to the female. Her eggs will be fertilized when they pass through the sperm as she lays them.
Reproduction
The Melissa Blue butterfly will usually lay two broods of eggs, the first in late May or early June and the second in July. Her preferred plant is the beautiful lupine plant, where she will affix her eggs upon the stem or underside of the leaflet. The eggs hatch in roughly 8 days into little caterpillars, who eat at night and rest under their plant during the day. Often they will be attended by ants, who dine on their sweet secretions. When it is time to form the chrysalis, the caterpillar will burrow under the host plant in the soil, protected by the basil leaves.
Predators
Butterfly’s predators include birds, spiders, lizards, small mammals and even other insects.
The Folklore of Butterfly
Proverbs and Sayings
African Proverb
No matter how big the butterfly may be, it cannot be called a bat.
Korean Proverb
Butterflies come to pretty flowers.
Traditional Proverb
Nothing in a caterpillar knows it’s going to be a Butterfly.
German Proverb
Proverbs are like butterflies; some are caught and some fly away.
Traditional Proverb
A cockroach cannot give birth to a butterfly.
African Proverb
It’s those ugly caterpillars that turn into beautiful butterflies after seasons.
Rabindranath Tagore
The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
I dreamed I was a butterfly,
flitting around in the sky;
then I awoke.
Now I wonder:
Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly,
or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?