April New Moon Butterflies
The beauty of struggle and transformation.
Spring Greetings, Earth Lovers!
Have you seen any butterflies yet? I certainly hope so as they’re starting to flutter around and emerge as the season progresses towards summer.
(Photo by Leah Kelley from Pexels)
This newsletter will be short and sweet you can get back to enjoying the sunshine and those much-coveted longer daylight hours.
Seeing as this is the first New Moon of the springtime on April 11th, and it is in the first astrological sign of Aries, it seems only fitting to focus on a part of nature that represents true, beautiful transformation.
I’m dedicating this one to butterflies—whose beauty and grace have the power to inspire us all. Let us be captivated by the story of the butterfly which serves as a powerful symbol of metamorphosis through struggle.
The Story of 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 Life'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. Remember nature needs no help, just no interference. There are processes of life, things we all go through. The struggles are a part of our journey and are preparing us for what awaits. They are preparing us to fly.
This story touches me deeply, particularly now as I am going through a rough patch in my own life. Sometimes I find it helpful to hear stories such as these to better understand how my life relates to other creatures in the natural world.
I hope it serves as a way for you to reflect on your own struggles in life and perhaps see yourself as transforming into a beautiful butterfly—about to emerge with strong wings to take flight and fully embrace your life.
Butterfly Inspirational Quotes
“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.”
― LeeAnn Taylor
(Photo by Pixabay from Pexels)
“Butterflies can't see their wings. They can't see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that as well.”
― Naya Rivera
(Photo by Saeeed Karimi from Pexels)
“Butterflies are not called butterflies overnight.
They have to undergo tons of changes in order to acquire that name.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Song of a Nature Lover
(Photo by Pixabay from Pexels)
“It’s only when caterpillarness is done that one becomes a butterfly. That again is part of this paradox. You cannot rip away caterpillarness. The whole trip occurs in an unfolding process of which we have no control.”
—Ram Dass
(Photo by Son Tung Tran from Pexels)
“Butterflies are nature’s tragic heroes. They live most of their lives being completely ordinary. And then, one day, the unexpected happens. They burst from their cocoons in a blaze of colors and become utterly extraordinary. It is the shortest phase of their lives, but it holds the greatest importance. It shows us how empowering change can be.”
― Kelseyleigh Reber, If I Resist
(Photo by Erik Karits from Pexels)
Goodbye and Well Wishes
I hope you’re left feeling inspired: by the beautiful butterflies of nature as well as the idea that we humans, too, can make amazing transformations. If only we listen within, follow what’s true for us, and stick with the struggles that will make us better, stronger, and more able to flow with nature’s breeze.
I hope you have a wonderful New Moon. Celebrate the butterflies and dark skies! I’ll leave you with my favorite butterfly—the blue morpho (here’s a video of their amazing iridescent wings).
(Photo by Chait Goli from Pexels)
Take good care. See you again on the next Full Moon in 2 weeks.
In Gratitude,
Kristy Lynn