Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 296

The butterfly’s extraordinary metamorphosis has been a symbol in almost every culture of transformation and rebirth. For the Aztecs, the butterfly was especially associated with women who had died in childbirth. Such women were hailed with the same acclaim as warriors who fell in combat. The Aztec goddess of sacrifice Itzpapalotl was herself a butterfly goddess. Butterflies were also regarded as symbols of fire, because of the dance they do when many are swarming together, like the flames of a conflagration of colour. Among the Hopi in North America, the butterfly is one of the animals of the creator and so they perform Butterfly Dances in honour of the butterfly Kachina, with this prayer:

Now for cornblossoms we wrestle, Now for bean-blossoms we wrestle. We are Youths, in the corn Chasing each other in sport. Playing with butterfly-Maidens. Come here! Thunder will move here, We shall summon the thunder here, That the maiden plants May help one another grow up.

This song shows the close relationship between the butterfly and the process of pollination so important to the peoples of the south-western United States. Among the aborigines of Australia, butterflies are considered to be the returning souls of the dead. For the Maori however, the butterfly is a symbol of longevity and immortality. For the Greeks, the butterfly was the symbol of the soul or psyche. The story of the soul’s transformation from human to immortal status is told in the tale of Eros and Psyche. In Christian iconography, the butterfly is sometimes shown on the hand of the Christ Child as a symbol of his resurrection. For the Chinese, the butterfly is the emblem of immortality, joy and leisure. When it is shown with the plum, it signifies longevity. When it is depicted with the chrysanthemum it portrays beauty in old age. For the Japanese, the butterfly is the evanescent symbol of a vain woman, a faithless lover or a geisha who stays with no husband but is available to man after man.