BUTTERFLY, THE SOUL IN CELTIC FOLKLORE

And the old gods shone as they created the fields we walk through today, the seas we sail and the mountains we climb. And that glow, so subtle and beautiful, in Celtic culture is represented by the butterfly. "Dealan-dhe" in Gaelic refers to the glow of the gods. But everything is intimately related, linked to each other....

Dealan-dhe also means 'butterfly' or in a more modern interpretation 'electricity'. The glow of the gods, the electricity that represents the creative spark of life, and the butterfly that in Celtic culture is a symbol of the soul of the deceased. Souls that sometimes fly aimlessly, souls that have undergone a transformation when passing from one world to the other one. And now, when they have undergone their most important transformation, when they have obtained their wings, they shine more brightly than ever. For Celts the butterfly is a symbol of transformation and rebirth. It represents the soul of a person, its light and its wings allow it to fly to cross to the Other World.

In Ireland it was forbidden to kill a white butterfly as they believed it was the soul of a dead child. In Scotland, if a golden butterfly landed near a deceased person, it meant that the deceased would have a place in heaven. In England, they believed that the person who killed the first butterfly he saw would have bad luck for a year.

Perhaps this little one, which I found perched on an apple blossom the other day, found her way. I'm sure it hasn't been easy, perhaps she is a soul flying to a better place. I just hope she enjoys the journey...

"If we ask the caterpillar if the metamorphosis hurts, she will say yes. But then...she will be able to fly "...

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