A butterfly landing on you
A butterfly landing on you brings good luck or news.
Animals superstition
Butterfly omens
Butterfly omens: a butterfly indoors carries a message from someone who has died; a black one is a warning. First recorded: Antiquity — the Greek psyche means both soul and butterfly. That makes it more than 1,500 years old — joint 2nd oldest of the 45 superstitions we have dated.
- Earliest record
- Antiquity see the history below
- Written down in
- 1865 Frank Cowan
Record: Frank Cowan, Curious Facts in the History of Insects (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1865).
When it actually starts
How old is this one
First recorded
Antiquity — the Greek psyche means both soul and butterfly
That makes it
more than 1,500 years old
Rank by age
Joint 2nd oldest of 45 dated here
Category
Animals
Metamorphosis made the butterfly the obvious symbol for a soul changing state, and the Greek word for both is the same. The association is linguistic as much as spiritual.
Why it stuck. The insect literally transforms, so the metaphor requires no argument — which is why it appears independently in Greek, Aztec, Japanese and Celtic traditions.
1 of the dated superstitions here were written down earlier and 32 later, while 11 share its date.
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Primary source
As it was written down in 1865
“The sight of a trio of Butterflies is considered an omen of death.”
“If a Butterfly enters a house, a death is sure to follow shortly in the family occupying it; if it enters through the window, the death will be that of an infant or very young person.”
Frank Cowan, Curious Facts in the History of Insects (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1865) — read the original text.
Cowan gives one English belief and one he knew only from Maryland.
The versions people follow
What exactly is believed
White butterflies
A white butterfly is a sign of a departed soul in several traditions, or of good luck for the year.
The first butterfly of the year
In English lore the color of the first butterfly seen predicts the year: white for a calm one, yellow for illness, dark for trouble.
Souls in flight
The Greek word psyche means both soul and butterfly.
Where it lives today
Butterflies are widely used as symbols of transformation and remembrance, especially in memorial gardens and bereavement support.
What people say
A butterfly indoors carries a message from someone who has died; a black one is a warning.What is going on
Butterflies enter houses in autumn seeking a dry place to overwinter, which is why the sightings cluster in one season.Where it applies. Positive nearly everywhere; the black-butterfly warning is strongest in Latin America and the Philippines.
Nearest in age
Butterfly omens are joint 2nd oldest of the 45 dated superstitions here. Of those, 3 date from 1900 or later and 14 predate the common era.
First-recorded dates are the earliest documented appearance in written sources, not the earliest possible origin — an unrecorded practice can be older. How the dating works and where it is uncertain →
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Butterfly Omens: Origin, Meaning and When It Began.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/superstitions/butterfly-omens/
For Wikipedia
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