The animal itself
Inside the chrysalis the caterpillar largely dissolves — yet experiments show moths retain memories from the caterpillar stage, so something survives the liquefaction intact.1 of 2 calendars · 1,600 searches a month
Butterfly
Transformation as a habit.
Which calendar assigns it, and when
Celtic calendar
30 September – 27 October
Its tree
Ivy
Only the Celtic calendar assigns this one. Anyone born in these dates gets a different animal from the other system — the two agree on 4.7% of days →
What it stands for, and where that came from
Transformation as a habit rather than an event.
Honoured in: Greek psyche means both soul and butterfly; Aztec Itzpapalotl; Japanese symbol for the spirits of the departed.
The symbolism usually grew out of the behaviour rather than the other way round — which is the part worth keeping when the rest is set aside.