In ancient Mexico the butterfly (in Aztec papalotl, suggestive of the Latin papilio) was one of the attributes of Xochipilli, the god of vegetation, but also symbolized flickering firelight and was associated with the SUN.
The goddess Itzpapalotl, a butterfly surrounded by STONE knives (itzli), was a night spirit associated with fiery STARS and also a symbol of the souls of women who had died in childbirth.
There is a line of Japanese poetry expressing sorrow over the lost pleasures of the past, a response to the maxim, "The fallen blossom never returns to the branch"; "I thought that the blossom had returned to the branch--alas, it was only a butterfly." (See also JOAN OF ARC.)
Feeds |
Contact