Butterfly Stories

Whisper your secret wish to a Butterfly and it will carry your
desire to Great Spirit to be granted. Having given this sweet
creature to the Universe, your wishes will be fulfilled in return.
For the ancient Greeks, the transformation of Butterfly from pupa to
adult was a metaphor of the soul's resurrection and immortality.
Native Americans embroidered Butterflies onto their children's caps
to bring sweet dreams. Tzutujil Mayans in Guatemala speak of
simultaneous Twin Realities: the world of dreams and the world of
work. These worlds are likened to the opposing wings of a Butterfly:
the dream world is one wing, and the awake world is the other. They
believe the wings must connect at the Heart for the Butterfly to fly
and live. Real life occurs because of the interaction of the wings.
The Life is the Butterfly's Heart. Life, like the Butterfly's Heart,
is kept alive by the two opposing, mirroring twinlike wings.
Butterflies, traditionally thought to be creatures which were forms
representing the souls of the dead in transition, are held in
similar in belief to many birds and therefore to be treated with
great respect. Butterflies in many countries were mainly thought to
carry the souls of children that had died before baptism. In
Scotland (UK) the appearance of a golden butterfly near someone who
is very ill or dying represents good omen possibly indicating
recovery although there are many meanings attached to this sighting,
one being happiness after death. Three or more butterflies landing
on the same leaf or seen flying after twilight is an omen of death
according to European folklore. The color too contains symbolism
similar to many beliefs connected with birds . White butterflies are
connected with the onset of good fortune whilst the appearance of a
yellow butterfly is seen to indicate that sickness or hardship may
follow. One rather gruesome belief followed that the first butterfly
seen each year should be killed in order to ensure that the next
year would be full of positive change and good fortune.