Symbolism of the Ethereal Butterfly

Butterflies develop through metamorphosis, a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape.  Thus in many cultures the shape changing butterfly is a symbol of transformation,  transition, and resurrection associated with the soul mind or ego.

In Greek myth, Psyche (which literally translates to mean “soul”) is represented in the form of a butterfly. Befittingly, Psyche is forever linked with love as she and Eros (the Greek god of love, also known in Roman myth as Cupid) shared an endlessly passionate bond together – both hopelessly in love with the other. 

 
From egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to egg laying the butterfly completes a remarkable transformation of forms in just a few weeks time. Throughout that short lifespan ants, birds, lizards, parasitic flies and parasitic wasps, praying mantis, rats, toads, snakes and wasps have this species on their menu.

While in the larval stage a caterpillar with many eyes and legs will shed its skin many times as it grows. Following each shedding the caterpillar can become a different colour or present a significant change in appearance from they way they looked before.

In embracing the symbol of the butterfly we are also holding to the essence of our vision to transform this world back into the sacred; regenerating joy, beauty and peace, beginning within our homes, rippling outward with each wave of our wings initiating a new cycle where freedom rings loudly through concerted efforts creating the world in celebration; united.  We as a people collectively opt to make the necessary metamorphosis to peace.

Why am i talking about the butterfly? Because i went for three nights without sleep, in order to see what manner of dreams my unconscious would spew out in its exhaustion. I woke up two times in between dreams and essentially had a trilogy dream. And a recurring symbol, theme or motif was the butterfly.

I have been listening to Marilyn Manson for quite some time now and in his song Tourniquet there is a scene where he is in a cocoon and by the end of the video he has emerged from it a new creature. That is what i believe is cause 1 for the dream. The 2nd possible cause of the butterfly in my dream is the fact that one of my favorite films is Silence of the Lambs.

The killer in the film, Buffalo Bill, as outlined by the brilliantly minded forensic psychologist Hannibal Lecter is a serial killer who murders overweight women and skins them so he can make a "woman suit" for himself not because he is simply a sick person, but that he is looking for a means to transform himself and find away to achieve his goal of revealing his true self, and that it just happens that his will has manifested into an alter ego that of a transvestite. Obsessed with seeing his transformation come to fruition, Buffalo Bill keeps and raises colonies of butterfly in his house and leaves their cocoons in his victims throats as an unconscious representation of his desire to be reborn anew.

I myself am looking for a means of transformation so it seems to make sense why my mind created this trilogy.


As for dreams? Dreams are part of the subconscious. Therefore hard to transfer to the conscious. More vivid dreams are a bit easier to remember. The situation or concept of the dream maybe easier to understand because we understand the concept of the dream consciously. That is only if we remember to quickly write it down. During sleep time, the unconscious mind needs to stay active so I think dreams just came about as an evolutionary mechanism of training the brain to stay active even in deep sleep.

I think I'm slowly scratching at the surface of my unconscious, that which controls so much of my life. I will reflect on my dreams in the following form.

Cycle I: The Heirophant

Cycle II: Inauguration of the Worm

Cycle III: Disintegrator Rising