Butterfly: Transformation

For us humans, Butterfly is one of the most powerful and inspiring symbols of the animal world. This being knows exactly when it is time to leave the comfort and confinement of its cocoon and fly into the world.

We are often not so certain. Though the cocoon of our thoughts and fears is confining it's also safe and familiar. We are afraid of what may be outside of it.

Butterfly medicine can help by allowing us to discern our degree of readiness. The four stages of its evolution parallel the development of our realities from thought to manifestation in the outer world.

The egg stage corresponds to an idea, concept, or desire which has just formed. You may, for example, read about a career which interests you, and feel drawn to the idea of it.

In the larva stage you make a decision to learn more about it. You send for information; you speak to people who are in that field. You are beginning to build a foundation for your idea to become a reality.

In the cocoon stage you begin to "make-believe." You read as much as you can about the career. You imagine yourself practicing it.

In this stage you may also find your fears coming up. "I'm confortable where I am." "I know how to do it." "What if this is a terrible mistake?" One by one, you address these fears. They may not go away, but you decide to move through them.

Then comes the butterfly day. You take your first giant step in the physical world to live the reality you've been imagining.

When Change is a Surprise

Not all change feels so deliberate. You may feel that circumstances are forcing you into a new way of being. You didn't decide on a new career at your leisure; you got fired.

You may not recognize the developments which have been going on inside you and preparing you for change. At such moments, no matter how tumultuous life is, you can benefit by reviewing your recent life. Did you ever say, "I wish I didn't have this job"? Did you ever dream of a fulfilling career? Can you recognize that, on some level, these wishes are now being fulfilled?

With the help of Butterfly you can realize that being catapulted out of the cocoon can be an opportunity. You begin to discover the strength in vulnerability and the power of trust. No more than you does a butterfly know whether it can fly, but it opens its wings in perfect confidence, and discovers that their delicacy allow its graceful flight, its dance in the air.

When we understand that transformation can be as natural as breathing, when we take ourselves lightly, when we trust in our own untried wings to support us, we learn the message of Butterfly: that life itself is a joyous dance.

Butterfly is one of the Wild Earth Animal Essences. Butterfly images are available in power stones and jewelry.