Challenge 87: Butterflies Are Free

Challenge Hostess: Marilyn Wall

Title:  Butterflies Are Free

Theme:  Butterflies and Myth

Due date:  Nov. 30, 2013

Butterflies have inspired mankind for ages, not just for their beauty but also as spiritual beings, symbolic of metamorphosis, rebirth, love, hope, and freedom. 

I have had a love affair with butterflies that covers the last fifty years of my life. I began planting a butterfly garden and following their grown with photography.  I have art work of butterflies and often produce art work of my own with butterflies as my theme.

My challenge for this month is to read about the myths that span centuries. These myths are prevalent in almost every society in the world. Each culture has their own adaptation; in some the meanings are the same, some are totally different. This challenge can be represented in a realistic or abstract manner. Please post your myth along with the fiber piece.  Don’t forget, it doesn’t have to be two dimensional.  How about a doll or a piece of jewelry?

Mary Alice Monroe’s book Butterflies’ Daughter was the catalyst for my interest in butterfly mythology. I had heard about many of the butterfly myths but never explored their meanings. Her blog post below gives you one idea of these myths and the special meaning to her.

http://maryalicemonroe.blogspot.com/2010/10/myths-of-monarchs.html

Return of the Monarchs, Marilyn Wall,   30” x 40”

The local people of Angangueo, Mexico have long believed that monarchs are the returning spirits of their deceased relatives, mysteriously arriving at the same time each year, coinciding with the Day of the Dead.   Aztec tradition holds that the souls of the departed will return as hummingbirds and butterflies, this link between myth and the monarchs’ annual return spans centuries.

Resources:

Myth and Mystery in Mexico’s Monarch Kingdom:

http://goodnature.nathab.com/myth-and-mystery-in-mexicos-monarch-kingdom/

Delaware / Lenape - How the Butterfly Came to Be:

http://www.ucan-online.org/legend.asp?legend=4473&category=7

Psyche is used also as the word for “butterfly” in Greek:

http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Psykhe.html

On Wikipedia:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_symbolic_meaning_of_a_butterfly

Maraleen Manos-Jones has a book entitled “ The Spirit of Butterflies: Myth, Magic, and Art”

http://spiritofbutterflies.com/

Butterfly and Moth Symbolism List

http://www.insects.org/ced4/symbol_list1.html

Some interesting images:  http://www.theenchantedgallery.com/molds.html

Goddesses Fly Again: Butterfly Images in Mexican Myth and Textiles:

http://www.naba.org/pubs/ab97d/p14.html 

And one more thing – have fun with this!