Fate and Transformation

Every single one of us is a Worm.

We deserve nothing but Death and torture.

As Worms, we are to be associated with rot and Disease.

But there are those who can shed themselves of their Disease.

They are called Caterpillars.

Indistinguishable from the Worm, yet they are the only ones filled with Disease who can build for themselves a Cocoon and enter the Pupation period.

Our daily ritual of Sleep is sometimes viewed as Pupation. When we Dream, our Minds seem to roam Free, like that of a Butterfly.

In Christianity the cycle is different.

The Caterpillar's constant crawling and chewing is similar to normal earthly Life where people are often wholly preoccupied with physical needs. The Cocoon resembles a Tomb and emptiness, and can suggest the empty shroud left behind by Jesus.  Thus, a Butterfly represents the Resurrection into a new condition of Life that is Free of any material concerns.

But it can also mean:

• Egg - Our Birth
• Caterpillar - Our Life
• Cocoon - Our Death
• Butterfly - Our Rebirth

We are all fated to Die. Some earlier then others. But sometimes it comes to us in the most devastating form. A Gnostic depiction of the Angel of Death shows him stepping on a Butterfly underneath his heel. White Butterflies were once believed to be the Souls of Dead children in Ireland, and thus it was forbidden to crush them. The ancient Greeks depicted man's soul as a winged person.

The Butterfly represents the frailty of human Life.

We can be here Today and gone Tomorrow.

But in Death there can be Change.

In mythology the Butterfly is rarely distinguished from the moth, so since the moth is naturally drawn to a flame, both are related to Fire. Fire is the element of Transformation.

In ancient Central America the god of cosmic Fire, Xiutecutli, is symbolized by a Butterfly.

In Greek mythology Psyche (Greek for Soul or Mind), the bride of Cupid, is represented by a Butterfly, who glimpsed the True nature of her mysterious Sleeping lover using Firelight. This led to her eventual downFall, and many Trials, ending in her beautiful Transformation.

From a Worm.

To a Butterfly.

Do you understand?