Totem Tuesday: Butterfly Medicine

Butterfly Medicine 

by Felina Lune Kavi

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”

Keywords:  Transformation, Renewal, Inner Growth, Evolution to Higher States of Consciousness, Courage, Making the Impossible Possible, Soul Journeys, Psyche, Memory, Discovering Bliss, Joy After Struggle, Reincarnation, Immortality, Life Cycles, Grace, Movement, Releasing the Past, Elevation from the Mundane, Lightness of Being, Changing Perspective, Inspiration

Butterfly is the only living being capable of entirely changing its genetic structure during the process of transformation.  The transmutation of Caterpillar to Butterfly that occurs within the chrysalis is nothing short of amazing.  Because of this process of dramatic change, Butterfly Medicine assists us in the many changes we undergo throughout our lifetimes and gives us the courage to do so. 

Of all my personal totems, Butterfly (specifically the Monarch) has assisted me the most through times of struggle.  As it is with many who have this totem, these struggles are deeply internal (within the chrysalis)…and almost imperceptible to those around us.  There may be a hint of something dramatic occurring within, but what is often shown to others is the result rather than the process.  Those of us with this totem may seem to have changed drastically many times throughout our lives so that those who knew us in one stage of growth may have a hard time recognizing us if they weren’t present for the times of transformation.  Likewise, we can be very introspective and private in going about our business until we reach our full potential and show our colors to the world, effectively becoming that ‘social butterfly’ that everyone recognizes in us.

The transmutation that occurs from Caterpillar to Butterfly is symbolic of evolving into higher consciousness.  We begin, like the caterpillar, focused on accumulating, consuming, and growing larger…often destroying much of what is in our path.  Then something shifts within us and we become singularly focused on the necessity of searching within rather than outside of us for what we need…just as the hormonal changes in the last stage of the Caterpillar make it stop eating and start ‘wandering’, searching for a safe place to form into its chrysalis stage.  During this soul searching stage, we struggle with releasing who we were to create what is necessary to become our more evolved Self.  

Within the chrysalis, too, the Caterpillar’s genetic structure completely dissolves into a sort of ‘primordial soup’ from which the Butterfly emerges.  There is still memory in the Butterfly of the Caterpillar it once was, as studies show, but the life and purpose (as well as the physical composition) evolve into something completely different.  New wings form to elevate them beyond the mundane, the mouth parts change so that their only source of food is liquid (mostly nectar, suggesting that they have learned to take in the sweetness of life), and they become pollinators (suggesting a higher purpose of sharing the gifts that life has to offer with others). 

It is important to know that people with this totem must be allowed the time it takes for them to grow and change.  Helping a Butterfly out of its chrysalis may seem like a noble act, but the Butterfly's wings will not be able to fully form for flight.  It is the struggle that is required of the Butterfly in order to force fluid from its body to its wings to make flight possible.  You will find in people with this totem that they don't often ask for help when it seems they need it.  Butterfly Medicine teaches self-reliance in order to achieve the freedom they desire.  Those who love a person with this totem learn to practice patience and trust their process...in time, they always come out of their 'shell' in a beautiful display of color and bliss.

While we delight in the beauty of these creatures, we sometimes forget that so many odds are stacked against them.  Not only are they pretty low on the food chain, even inclement weather can be fatal to the Butterfly.  They can only travel when the weather is perfect for their body temperature and they must find shelter when faced with predators or even raindrops.  Those that migrate, such as the Monarch, seem to face an impossible journey with many obstacles to overcome before they can come ‘home’.  Yet, every year, large groups of them do find their way to their destination, though the numbers have been dwindling in recent years.  Because of this, Butterfly Medicine teaches the wisdom of making the impossible possible…a focus and inner knowing that pushes us onward even through the harshest realities of existence. 

Many Mayans believed that the soul would take the form of Butterfly and, at night during sleep, would take flight to go on journeys and return before they would wake.  What dreams they had were memories of those soul journeys, which was why it would often feel so real as if they were actually there.  Likewise, the Butterfly was a symbol of the Greek Goddess Psyche (which is the Greek word for ‘soul’)…who, according to Greek mythology, was a mortal woman that was granted immortality for the labors of love she performed in order to be with her beloved Eros.  Butterfly is also a symbol used by Christians to symbolize the resurrection of Christ.

Butterfly Medicine reminds us to enjoy life and to live it with grace and lightness of being.  Their movements are often compared to a dance…even as the hanging caterpillar sheds its skin to reveal the chrysalis, the whole process is much like dancing.  Butterfly Medicine encourages movement and joyful expression.  People with this totem often love to dance or at least seem to light up a room, encouraging others to do the same.

A Butterfly not only smells with its antennae and tastes with its feet, but its eyesight is also very specific to its needs.  Butterfly does see some colors, but can also see beyond what we humans can see.  It can detect ultraviolet light in the flowers it is drawn to and in the wings of other butterflies to attract them to the right mates.  People with this totem also tend to have senses that draw them to exactly where they need to be and whom they need to meet.  They are able to see a person’s beauty and potential beyond their physical reality and delicately coax it out of them.

If Butterfly is one of your totems, these and many other lessons will be prevalent in your life.  Butterfly will encourage you to refine your mastery of this medicine.  If you see a butterfly, but it is not one of your totems, respect it as a messenger for that time.  You may need its medicine for what is happening then or what is coming up in the near future.  Whether Butterfly is your totem or not, all humans mimic this creature in a way.  We are always at some sort of stage of activity which can be associated with the stages of transformation Butterfly goes through in its life cycle.  The egg stage is the beginning of all things, where ideas are born.  The larva stage is the point where we decide to bring the idea to the physical world.  The chrysalis stage involves going within and developing it, while the butterfly stage brings it, fully realized, to share with the world.  Whatever stage of transformation you or your idea may be going through, Butterfly can give you the inspiration and courage to get there while adding lightness and grace to the journey.