Butterflies and Rainbows

Butterflies and Rainbows are symbols of renewal. As members of the animal kingdom, butterflies are arguably among the most beautiful. They are often colorful, and many have markings that ward off predators, such as large spots on the wings that can be confused with the eyes of an owl.

Butterflies also have different stages of development. Starting as eggs, they hatch as caterpillars, then hibernate as chrysalis, only to emerge as delightful and beautiful insects. Like the butterfly, humans have similar stages of development where we crawl around for a while, then go through learning and discernment, only to emerge as fully actualized human beings. I like to think I am in that beautiful butterfly stage, but I may still be hibernating. Emerging from the chrysalis has been equated in human terms as a rebirth from one stage of life to another.

I completely understand that metaphor as someone on my fourth job pivot and second marriage. As someone who is not a fan of pain, I never considered getting a tattoo until after I met and married my second husband, who had several. After marriage, we designed matching tattoos that symbolized our rebirth as a couple as a pair of intertwined butterflies. The butterflies will forever be a part of us and remind us of our rebirth from independent and single to intertwined and beautiful.

Rainbows in the Abrahamic faiths are symbolic of God’s/Allah’s promise to Noah that once he emerged from the flood, God would never cover the Earth with water again. Even if you do not subscribe to a religious understanding of the rainbow metaphor, the secular world uses it similarly as a sign of beauty and renewal. One cannot see the beautiful prism of color after a rain shower and not feel that the air and Earth have been washed clean. The LGBTQIA+ has opted for the Rainbow flag as its symbol of unity in a community that has been marginalized by sexuality and gender expression. I will say more on that in later posts.