Butterflies

Some of the symbolism of the butterfly is expressed in the following verse, which first appeared in the September 1985 edition of Emerge:

Butterflies

For reasons unknowable to man
There is sometimes a darkness
Which descends on us
A darkness which seems cruel and containing.

So it is with the caterpillar
Who spins his silk dark and containing
The darkness where he is transformed.

The darkness is a birthplace of courage
And courage is the lifeforce of change
As life is fed in a womb.

Be still and fear not the darkness
Rest as the caterpillar does
The darkness is the beginning of a butterfly
Which emerges from the cocoon
Into light and fullness of life.

So the butterfly is a symbol
Of our hope for new life
Of our hope for wholeness and health.