What are some of the myths associated with butterflies?
Well, that may be another important reason why people can have such a deep attachment to butterflies, because for such a long time we have associated butterflies with the human soul. The Greeks used the word psyche for both butterfly and soul. The Egyptians put butterflies on their tombs and sarcophagi. The Aztecs thought butterflies were the returned souls of warriors and sacrificial victims. Across cultures and races, across time, we have seen the butterfly as a symbol of spiritual transformation. We die, we metamorphosize, and we are resurrected. As Pope Gelasius I said in the fifth century, when he compared the life of Christ to that of a caterpillar, Vermis quia resurrexit! The worm has risen!
