Many consider butterflies to be among the most beautiful creatures in the world. The vibrancy of their wings and the delicate way they navigate their environments give them a distinctly striking quality that few other insects or animals share.
This may be why butterfly meanings and symbolism are easy to find in numerous cultures across the entire world. For centuries (and perhaps longer), butterflies have represented everything from love to death.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- What Do Butterflies Mean or Symbolize?
- Butterfly Meaning in Different Cultures
- Butterfly Tattoo Meaning
- Butterfly Meaning in Art
- Butterfly Meaning in Death
- Butterfly Meaning in Love
- Butterfly Meaning in Friendship
- Butterfly Meaning in Science
- Butterfly Meaning in Dreams
- Butterfly Symbolism in Poetry
- What Does it Mean if a Butterfly Visits You?
- What Emotions Do Butterflies Symbolize?
This guide will offer just a sampling of the various butterfly meanings that have existed across different cultures, nations, and movements throughout history. They indicate that, wherever you are, there’s a decent chance that butterflies represent something very important to the people from there.
What Do Butterflies Mean or Symbolize?
Butterfly meanings are abundant. What butterflies symbolize in one culture may not precisely match what butterflies represent in another culture. They do, however, have a universal resonance that crosses cultural and spiritual boundaries.
Most symbolic interpretations of butterflies have their basis in the unique life cycle of a butterfly. Butterflies begin their lives as caterpillars. When they reach a certain stage of growth they grow unseen to the world inside a chrysalis, then they eventually emerge as beautiful winged creatures.
It’s easy to understand why this type of life cycle would cause various cultures to assign symbolic meanings to butterflies. A few of the symbolic meanings of butterflies include:
- Rebirth
- New Life
- Change
- Joy
- Relationships
- Freedom
- Life after death
No matter which symbolic meaning you adopt, butterflies, and their appearance, can be meaningful for everyone.
Butterfly Meaning in Different Cultures
Butterflies are beloved the world over. The meaning of butterflies, however, can change depending on which culture or belief system answers the question of symbolism.
Native American Butterfly Symbolism
Animal symbolism plays an important role in Native American spiritualism, and the butterfly is certainly part of that.
Depending on which tribe you ask, butterflies can tend to represent beauty, transformation, balance, and metamorphosis. They can also represent sleep or dreams. For all tribes, butterflies are seen as positive, comforting symbols.
Chinese Butterfly Symbolism
Chinese culture has several interpretations of a butterfly’s meaning including a variety of ideas and emotions.
The “rebirth” of a butterfly after its metamorphosis is complete has resulted in some people considering the butterfly to represent immortality. Butterflies have also symbolized marriage, freedom, beauty, joy, good luck, and the soul.
Japanese Butterfly Symbolism
In Japan, the butterfly also has several meanings. In addition to causing good luck, the butterfly can symbolize longevity, joy, beauty, renewal, hope, and love. Some people even believe that butterflies can keep evil spirits at bay.
Greek Butterfly Symbolism
In Greek mythology, Psyche is the Goddess of the Soul and is represented in the form of a woman with butterfly wings. Aristotle used the word "psyche" to refer to butterflies, further cementing the concept that butterflies are the physical representation of a person's soul once they pass away.
Mexican Butterfly Symbolism
In Mexico, butterflies are hugely symbolic and are featured throughout the culture. For indigenous tribes, monarch butterflies were seen as sacred. The Mayan people thought butterflies were the symbol of life after death, while the Aztecs viewed them as the souls of warriors who died in battle.
Since monarch butterflies migrate through Mexico during the time of Dia de los Muertos, they have also been thought to represent the souls of the deceased returning to Earth for Dia de los Muertos celebrations.
European Butterfly Symbolism
Throughout Europe, butterflies symbolize rebirth, death, and the soul. In some areas, like Ireland and Germany, butterflies were thought to be the souls of deceased children looking for their mothers. In other areas throughout Europe, butterflies symbolized the brevity of life and the fleeting nature of youth.
Egyptian Butterfly Symbolism
Egyptian paintings are filled with symbolism and pictures that tell detailed stories of life in ancient Egypt. Butterflies are featured throughout in numerous positions, but most often flying with wings outstretched. This can be seen to symbolize life, freedom, rebirth, and the transcendence of the soul.
Christian Butterfly Symbolism
Both the beauty and life cycle of a butterfly can serve to represent the Christian life.
Though the Bible never mentions butterflies, many Christians have found the butterfly to be an apt symbol for the personal and spiritual transformation they experience through new life in Christ.
Butterfly Tattoo Meaning
Butterfly tattoos can symbolize a number of ideas. Someone choosing to get a butterfly tattoo may not have the same reason for doing so as someone else getting a similar tattoo.
For example, some people associate butterflies with addiction recovery. They may perceive the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly as a symbol for their journey from addiction to recovery.
Others may choose to get butterfly tattoos if they have recently lost someone close to them. Because many interpret butterflies as signs that the soul lives on, they may take comfort in getting a tattoo that serves as a permanent reminder that the soul of their lost loved one is still with them in some capacity.
(Check our guide on grief tattoo ideas for more examples of tattoos to get after losing a loved one.)
The color of a butterfly tattoo can also change the meaning for a person getting the tattoo. Some consider a blue butterfly tattoo to be a symbol of good luck. This may be because, in most parts of the world, the appearance of a blue butterfly is a rare sight.
Purple butterfly tattoos can symbolize support for or acknowledgment of someone who’s struggling with an illness that may be primarily unseen, such as fibromyalgia.
Those who choose to get yellow butterfly tattoos may do so because a yellow butterfly represents happiness and joy.
White butterfly tattoos can symbolize purity and innocence. This type of tattoo may be gotten in honor of a child who passed away.
Butterfly tattoos have several potential meanings, and those listed here are just a few examples. If you’re considering a butterfly tattoo, but you’re not sure which type to get based on the meaning, you may want to discuss your idea in greater detail with an experienced tattoo artist.
Butterfly Meaning in Art
As in culture and religion, the butterfly has frequently been featured in artwork around the world. From ancient Egypt to the Reniassance to modern art, butterflies can be found in every type of artwork from portraits and landscapes to statement pieces and abstract works. And just as with cultural meanings, butterfly portrayals can mean many things. Here are just a few meanings you'll find in art.
- Brevity:Butterflies have an incredibly short lifespan, and some European artists incorporated them into their paintings to suggest the theme of life's brevity.
- Eternality: In many European paintings, like Maria van Oosterwyck's vanitas paintings, butterflies are a symbol of the impermanence life and the eternality of the soul.
- Marriage: In Japanese paintings, butterflies tend to symbolize the change from girlhood to womanhood, and marriage.
- Change: Van Gogh created an entire series of paintings based around the butterfly and the concept that people have the power to change their lives into something for the better.
- Rebirth: Frida Kahlo’sSelf Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbirddepicts her with a crown of butterflies. This has been seen as her representation of a symbol of rebirth harkening back to a bus accident where she nearly died as a youth.
Butterfly Meaning in Death
Butterflies are one of many symbols of mourning or death. The symbolic relationship between butterflies and death may vary somewhat from one culture to another.
Generally, though, the beautiful wings of the butterfly tend to represent the immortality of the human soul. Once the butterfly sheds its physical form by emerging from the chrysalis, its soul persists, as if flying away to a happier place.
This interpretation of a butterfly’s meaning may be why some consider the appearance of butterflies to be signs from deceased loved ones. Some feel that if they see a butterfly shortly after a loved one has died, it’s a message telling them their loved one’s soul still lives on. This is among the many reasons that merely seeing a butterfly can give someone hope during a difficult time.
Butterfly Meaning in Love
Some specific cultures have clearly defined symbolic interpretations of butterflies regarding romantic love. For example, evidence suggests that pre-colonial Tswana people associated butterflies with romantic love, while the Chinese may associate butterflies with love when they see two butterflies flying together. In Japanese culture, butterflies can suggest happiness in marriage.
Some Americans have a similar interpretation of butterflies. It’s not uncommon for American weddings to involve the release of butterflies into the air after the ceremony is complete. In general, transforming from a caterpillar into a butterfly can also represent the transition from being single to being in a committed marriage.
Butterfly Meaning in Friendship
There is no set traditional butterfly meaning that involves friendship. However, some people have come to associate butterflies with friendship in various ways. For example, a blue butterfly might symbolize that someone is a “true blue” friend.
Others point out that the life cycle of a butterfly reminds us that our existence here is impermanent. While our souls may live on after death, the reminder that life doesn’t go on forever could also serve as a reminder to maintain close bonds with our friends while we are still in each other’s lives.
Butterfly Meaning in Science
In science, unlike art, drama, spirituality, and poetry, the natural world is taken at face value. It is interpreted for its literal meaning, dissected, studied, analyzed, and observed. So when it comes to the meaning of butterflies in the scientific world, its meaning comes down to one concept: the cycle of life.
The cycle of life can be wonderfully explained by observing a butterfly. There are clearly defined stages and a lifespan. If careful, even the backyard observer can watch a butterfly go through the entire cycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to beautiful butterfly. After the butterfly lays its eggs, it dies, and the whole cycle starts over again.
So, too, is the human cycle of life. We are born, grow up, reproduce, and pass away. Each generation takes the place of the previous one, and so the cycle of life goes on.
Butterfly Meaning in Dreams
Has a butterfly appeared in your dreams lately? It could mean several things. Because butterflies are often associated with change, transformation, new beginnings, and rebirth, dreaming of them could mean change is coming. It could also mean you're about to transform into a better version of yourself.
Be on the lookout for good changes in your life and get ready to spread your wings!
Butterfly Symbolism in Poetry
Just like in art, butterflies in poetry have been used to symbolize rebirth, transformation, eternality, and the brevity of life. It has also been used to symbolize victory and new life. In much literature, butterflies bring hope and are seen as symbols of happiness or good whenever they are introduced.
Two of the most well-known poems that focus on the butterfly and all it represents include Emily Dickinson's "From Cocoon Forth a Butterfly" and Thomas Wentworth Higginson's "Ode to a Butterfly."
What Does it Mean if a Butterfly Visits You?
The meaning of a butterfly's visit can change depending on your personal beliefs surrounding this beautiful creature of flight.
Some people believe that a visit from a butterfly means that their recently deceased loved one is letting them know their soul lives on beyond the grave. Other people see a butterfly and view it as a sign that good change is coming in their life. Still others view a butterfly's visit as a timely reminder that life is short and they should make their time on earth count.
What Emotions Do Butterflies Symbolize?
Butterflies often symbolize joy and happiness thanks to their bright colors and flitting pattern of flight. They can also symbolize the emotions associated with change and transformation such as empowerment, control, and confidence.
Butterfly Meanings: A Symbol Across Many Cultures
Remember, this guide is just an introduction to the symbolic meanings butterflies have in different cultures and parts of the world. If you’d like to delve more deeply into the topic of butterflies and their resonance with both individuals and groups, consider reading our guide on poems about butterflies and death.
Sources:
- “Butterfly.” University of Michigan, Websites.umich.edu.
- “Butterfly Tattoo Meanings: Not just a beautiful tattoo.” TATT MAG, Tatt Mag, 7 February 2021, Tattmag.com.
- Ellis, Sam. “What Does A Butterfly Symbolize In The Bible?” CATHOLICS & BIBLE, Catholics & Bible, 14 October 2020, Catholicsbible.com.
- Peregrine Johnson, Sharon. “Butterfly Lore.” Baylor University, Baylor.edu.
- “The butterfly: a symbol of romantic love in Setswana culture.” Your Botswana, YB Partnership Ltd., Yourbotswana.com.
- White, Kate. "A Brief, Fluttering History of Butterflies in Art."Art History,ArtNet, 18 March 2022, News.artnet.com.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a-history-of-butterflies-in-art-2085638 - Zak, Dan. “Butterflies were symbols of rebirth. Then they started disappearing.” The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 8 March 2019, Washingtonpost.com.
