Perhaps of all the superstitions associated with butterflies, two are best known.
These moths supposedly contain the souls of dead people, who for one reason or another lingered on earth, as well as the souls of children who died unbaptized or cursed. That is why, from time immemorial, they tried not to offend these insects, so as not to accidentally offend the deceased.
In ancient Egypt, the soul leaving the body was compared to a butterfly flying out of a chrysalis. In Burma, it was believed that "vin-like-pya", that is, a butterfly soul, flies out of the body during sleep, meets the butterfly souls of other people and animals, and returns when the sleeper wakes up. To this day, Burmese children are taught that it is impossible to suddenly wake a person up, because “vin-like-pya” may not have time to return and the person will die.
In the Solomon Islands, the dying call the whole family together and announce it. what kind of living creature they intend to reincarnate (usually a butterfly). That is why after death, having noticed a butterfly near the house, people say: "This is the father" or: "This is the mother" - and give the insect a gift. In other exotic countries, locals believe that the spirit of the deceased, having gone through a cycle of transformations in the underworld, is reborn in the guise of a butterfly and only in this guise dies forever.
In addition, in many cultures, the butterfly symbolizes the transitory nature of joy. So, the ancient Romans believed that butterflies were flowers that were picked off by the wind. Psyche in ancient Greek mythology was represented as a young girl with butterfly wings. In Japan, the ritual "butterfly dance", which expresses the joy of life, traditionally opens solemn processions and holidays. Locals consider this insect a symbol of female fussiness and the craft of geisha, and a pair of butterflies symbolizes marital happiness.
In China, before the wedding, the groom still gives the bride a live or jade butterfly as a symbol of unchanging love, abundance, joy and summer. The Chinese word for butterfly is a homonym for plum and seventy. From here. perhaps there is a metaphor for beauty in old age. The butterfly depicted with a plum symbolizes longevity and beauty, with a chrysanthemum - beauty in old age, with a feather - longevity.
Butterflies were considered symbols of the souls of the fallen warriors among the Aztecs, they were sacrificed to some Mexican deities. The fluttering insect belonged to the inhabitants of the sky and was ruled by the rain god Tlaloc. For all the peoples of Central America, butterflies symbolized a rich fertile flora. They were treated with care. because they saw in them the souls of the dead, which again return to earth. The American Napaho and Apache tribes performed a ceremonial butterfly dance. to ask the gods for a good harvest.
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Russian folk beliefs often mention the night moth. rather than a butterfly, as a creature into which the soul of a deceased person is reincarnated. Such a moth must come to the commemoration. In some areas, until recently, these insects were called "ghosts", and there was even a ban on killing them.
It is universally considered a bad omen if a butterfly or a black moth flies into a house - this portends a serious illness or the death of one of the household within the next month. However, if you saw a black moth on the street, then you will soon receive an important letter.
There is a legend about that. that at the moment of the death of the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov, a terribly large pan-velvet moth flew into his window and began to beat against the glass, rustling in panic. If a butterfly that has flown into the house is dark in color, you should expect bad news or the loss of something valuable. A gray or black butterfly with a thick and long body is a harbinger of a serious illness or death of a loved one. In some cases, it means divorce, especially if the couple has been in a quarrel for a long time.
In order not to provoke trouble, it is recommended to release a butterfly that has flown into the house. This must be done carefully so as not to harm the insect. And if before that you squeeze it between your palms and whisper your cherished desire, then it will certainly come true in the shortest possible time.
If a butterfly flew in and flew back out the window in a matter of seconds, then this is a sign that the life of one of the family members can dramatically change, both for the better and for the worse.
A beautiful butterfly circling in the street above a person is a harbinger of good news. If she sat on her head, this predicts him an upcoming trip or a pleasant meeting with old friends. A butterfly sitting on the right shoulder foreshadows a quick meeting of guests, and one who decides to rest on the left one warns a person about meeting his enemy.
In Eastern Europe, the superstition associated with day and night butterflies is darker in nature. According to the legend of Bulgarians, Serbs, Poles and Croats, the soul of a witch appears in the guise of a butterfly, leaving its body during sleep. Such a butterfly can suck the blood of sleeping people at night, like a vampire.
Residents of Serbia in the past specially caught a night butterfly that flew into the house, singing its wings, breaking its legs and letting it go with the words: "Come tomorrow, I will give you salt." This was done with the expectation of identifying a witch in one of the neighbors in the morning by the burns and wounds on the body.
And if indeed the next day someone came to ask for salt, this person was identified with that evil soul that flew into the house in the form of a butterfly, and was declared an accomplice of the devil.
In a number of cases, the butterfly also acted as an independent assistant to the witch, fulfilling her will. Thus, the Bulgarians believed that the witch let large red butterflies on the livestock, which sit on cows or sheep, crawl over them and take their milk.
Previously, such butterflies were hunted everywhere. Basically, children acted as hunters, but there were periods when the entire adult population of the village chased after the red "witches' minions".
According to another belief, on St. George's Day, large butterflies with black wings, which the witch magically brings out of a large egg, fly through the fields at her order and damage crops to ruin the future harvest. Therefore, knowledgeable people early in the morning on this day lay out protective amulets in the form of crosses on their fields.
In the past, the inhabitants of Poland believed that the shape of a moth takes on a "snake" - an evil demon that enters the house through the window cracks at midnight and, sitting on the sleeping people, presses on their chest, trying to strangle them.