Butterfly Meaning and Symbolism

Types of Butterflies and their Meaning

Monarch: Seeing this orange butterfly could be a signal from your guardian angel. It also teaches that life is short so you shouldn’t underestimate its value and remain forever grateful.

Red Admiral: With black wings, orange bands, and white spots, it signifies hidden secrets of things that appear otherwise from outside.

Tiger Swallowtail: Yellow with black stripes, it represents intuition, inspiration, vulnerability, inner beauty, and consciousness.

Mourning Cloak: As the name suggests, it signifies grief, loss, and death.

Ulysses: It reminds you not to get disturbed by any random events occurring in your life and look straight ahead at your goals.

Spiritual Meaning of Different Colors of Butterflies

White: Symbolizes spiritual growth and wisdom, helping you to follow the right path. If it is the first butterfly you spot in summer, there could be a greater possibility of rains during the season. It is also regarded as carriers of good luck and divine power. Seeing two white butterflies fluttering around you could symbolize the beginning of a romantic liaison.

Yellow: A symbol of hope, guidance, as well as a bright and sunny summer, a flying yellow butterfly is likely to bring happiness and affluence. Also, it is an indicator of a child’s departed soul who is resting in peace after death.

Black: Although rarely seen, it may predict thunderstorms and lighting. Encountering a black butterfly signifies the end of a relationship, idea, or job.

Brown: Considered to be a sign of a new beginning. A big/small brown butterfly coming inside your house or room may bring ominous news.

Blue: Symbolizes a carefree life sans responsibilities and stress. A blue butterfly with wings edged in black is considered as a wish granter that may fulfill your desires and make you happy.

Purple: Indicates that you will be coming across an important person soon who will show the path of enlightenment. Seeing a purple butterfly when you are ill can help in healing. It also relays a message that faith, courage, and patience are the keys to success.

Having it as Your Spirit/Totem Animal

If a butterfly is your totem animal, it applies that you are adaptable to different environments. You can manage easily with meager resources, preventing unnecessary wastage.

You take everything lightly, observing any situation from a whole new perspective. In fact, you ease the tension in people around you.

Like the bright colors displayed by a butterfly, your personality reflects vibrancy and liveliness. This makes you a good communicator as well.

A staunch learner, you derive lessons from every phase of your life. You are a maker of your destiny.

Your inner strength does not allow others to victimize you and take advantages. Since you believe in yourself more than anyone, controversies do not upset you.

What Does it Mean When You See a Butterfly

When it Lands on You

It spiritually symbolizes faith, reminding you to identify your characteristics and stop suffering from low self-esteem and energy. However, if it is a white butterfly, you will have abundant wealth.

When it Follows or Flies around You

While some believe it may bring news of a dear one’s death, a butterfly hovering around you may symbolize metamorphosis occurring in your life.

Prophetic Meaning of a Dead Butterfly

Finding a dead butterfly is considered an ill omen, and sometimes believed to symbolize death. You will probably soon fall severely sick or lose someone close to you.

What Does it Mean to Dream about a Butterfly

A butterfly attacking you	Reveals the ill intentions of a person whom you admire
Butterfly going into your mouth	Your unpleasant past will open the doors of new opportunities for you
Eating a butterfly	Promise of a luxurious life as a result of your talent
Butterfly entering your house	Sign of an expected monetary gain
Killing a butterfly	Symbolizes your ability to return a tit-for-tat to sweet-talking people
A giant butterfly	Longevity, happiness, and spirituality
Three butterflies sitting on a flower	Possibility of a natural calamity
Lots of butterflies	A feeling of being tied down in your waking life, with a desperate wish to get free; a huge change is possibly coming

Dream Interpretation of Different Colored Butterflies

Black	Death and destruction
Green	Love, prosperity, and fair financial dealings
Red	A necessity to let out your anger and frustration to get mental relief
Golden	Symbolic of your cheerful personality
Grey	Symbolic of your erratic mood swings

Its Spiritual Significance in Various Cultures and Religions

Bible and Christianity

A butterfly is symbolized in the bible as a holy spirit that can transcend the ordinary and reach the heaven. Butterflies hold a special religious significance for Catholics during Easter as they denote restoration similar to the resurrection of Christ. As a Celtic animal symbol, it depicts the same. The Christ has also been demonstrated holding a butterfly on many ancient Christian tombs.

Native American Culture

According to an interesting tale, some children who refused to walk threw few pebbles into the air that turned into butterflies, and they began to chase them. The Fancy Shawl Dance of Native Americans has been inspired by butterfly dance that tells the story of a woman who after losing her mate in a war removed her wings and wrapped herself in a cocoon to stay isolated from her tribe. When everyone coaxed her to cheer up, she carried her wings and cocoon to a faraway place. However, she became joyful after spotting a beautiful stone while moving across a field and opened up her wings again. After returning to her tribe, the people celebrated her arrival dancing.

The Navajo have accepted the butterfly as a symbol of happiness and rebirth. In fact, God Quetzalcoatl first appeared as a chrysalis and then burst into a rainbow of colors to emerge as a butterfly.

Aztec Culture

Here, Itzapapalotl, represented by an Obsidian butterfly (clawed butterfly) is a divine soul that features on the Aztec calendar who can take several forms. The galactic butterfly is a part of Hunab Ku and Milky Way symbol.

Mexican Culture

Here, a special occasion called The Days of the Dead is celebrated every year when monarch butterflies migrate from the North America to welcome the spirits of the departed souls.

Jewish Culture

In Hebrew, a butterfly is known as tziporet kramim that has been mentioned in a text written by Elchanan Levinski in 1895.

Islamism

The followers of Islam believe a butterfly indicates that a person is nearing its end.

Greek Culture

According to Greek mythology, Psyche is represented as a butterfly that fell in love with Eros sharing a passionate bond forever.

Turkish Culture

In Turkey, a butterfly as a spirit animal reminds you that friendship should be made with like-minded people.

Chinese Culture

In Mandarin language, hu-tieh is called butterfly that means 70 years, relating it to a longer life. As a part of Feng Shui, keeping towels embroidered with butterfly ensures a happy marital life.

Vietnamese Culture

In their culture, a butterfly stands for longevity since the characters for butterfly and long age have the same pronunciation.

Egyptian Culture

The butterfly has often been portrayed in ancient Egyptian art, symbolizing the immortality of the human soul.

Japanese Culture

The Japanese presume that following a butterfly will help to solve any problem. A symbol of springtime as well, it signifies womanhood and marriage. Taoism parables have described how the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) would dream of turning into a butterfly

Paganism

In Wiccan culture, a butterfly as a totem guide denotes light, joy, and color. If one observes the color of butterflies closely, many mysteries of life will be unlocked.