I had a bit of a reverie about a week ago where the events of my life up until now were compared to the life cycle of a butterfly. Without going into too much detail, I visualised how the different phases of my life could compare to the stages of development a caterpillar goes through before it's metamorphosis into a butterfly.

Ever since this vision, I have been seeing butterflies everywhere! And I'm not just noticing more of them - they've been hitting me in the face, I've seen the exact same butterfly tattoo on about six different people, in the exact same place (between the shoulder blades), my good friend and housemate just recieved a ring from her old workmates that is a butterfly, my Big Day Out ticket has one on it - and so on.

There have been a million other examples, and I was just wondering if anyone knew what, if anything, Butterflies are meant to represent or symbolise? It has me perplexed - I know that it means something, I just wish I knew what! Can anyone help me?

The short answer is only you know what butterflies symbolize to you.

People have different associations to objects, sensations, settings etc. This is why dream interpretation is bogus IMO. To you a butterfly symbolizes a change it seems. To me, a butterfly symbolizes summer and warmth. Symbols have no set meaning. Symbols mean what we make them mean.

BUT before someone shoots in with mind architecture and society as a 'teacher' of symbols that are almost universally reckognized, I'll say that some symbols are more self evident than others. We know that butterflies go through metamorphisis. So if you ask enough people, many will answer that this is what butterflies mean to them as well. A maggot will symbolize death and decay, etc. But you already know what you associate butterflies with. All I can say beyond that is that it looks as if you're falling for mind tricks. If you subconsciously look for one certain thing (a butterfly, a black cat, the number 911), you will find it everywhere (one of the very reasons why supersticions have lasted even until today). Your brain filters out useless information all day and what you find relevant, you remember. And so you remember butterflies every time you see them.

Hope this helps you some.

To see a butterfly in your dream, denotes your need to settle down. Butterflies also signifies creativity, romance, joy and spirituality. You may be undergoing a transformation into a new way of thinking.

Bug

Butterflys have always meant freedom to me. They flutter here and there , take there time to literally smell the roses. To be free.

When ever a person discovers a connection, learns a new 'thing,' or focuses on a particular topic, it seems to suddenly pop up every where! A phenomenon I noticed with the time 11:11. Once I considared 11:11 a special time, I believe I subconciously began looking for it; as I saw it everywhere! I always 'happened' to look at the clock at 11:11 am.pm, etc. Other examples can be named, along with certain words or phrases that you 'notice' and 'begin to see a lot.' There were times when I actually thought seeing 11:11 was some paranormal way of a force trying to 'wake me up.' I believe that these subconcious syncronicities are our brain just picking up on these 'new' topics more than it used to due to it being labled 'special.'
Anyway, butterflies are free.

I do that 11:11 thing al the time Kittin

Yeah, I know where you're coming from, it's natural to notice things more when you're thinking about them. This seems different though. You see, I always notice butterflies to some extent because a friend of mine had an aunty who passed a couple of years ago, and she said before she went that she'd come back as a butterfly. So I always think of Dawn when I see them.

Like I said though, this time it seems different. I feel like they're leading me somewhere. I've had a strong feeling for a while that I was at the threshold of a new beginning in my life, as there has been so much going on. I've come to a lot of realizations in the past few months, and I have been confused and a little aprehensive at times, but there seems to be some sort of clarity dawning within me and the whole butterfly thing has kinda made me step back and wonder what is going on.

It's hard for me to explain, but I know that these episodes are meaningful in some way. I guess that its just one of those things I'll have to figure out for myself. Thanks for the advice...

THE BUTTERFLY
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Allah's(God's) way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If Allah allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

We could never fly!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

I think that I've found my butterfly. The only problem is now I'm in for even more uncertainty and confusion! Life really is an adventure! Hopefully it all works out, I know it will, it's just hard to find the 'silver lining' with things all messed up like they are about to become!

Wish me luck...

P.S. That new beginning I talked about, it turns out that it's more like a fork in the road. I need to choose between going with what my heart wants, and what my head thinks is 'right'...

2 springs ago my backyard was swarming with monarchs. But last spring we didn't get a whole lot. I think because of the long rainy season. It's an awesome site to see. I have pictures somewhere of them. If I find them, Maybe I will post them.