The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) was called by the Aztecs Quezalpapalotl (holy butterfly). It was considered the goddess of love, flowers, beauty, spirituality, dead, and fire, as well as the spirit of the forest. They believed that the Monarch represents souls of the dead children returning to Earth and saw the image of a human face in the motif of the butterflies’ wings. According to the legend of Guerrera, the butterflies represented the heroes who had died and women who died in childbirth and that their souls returned to Earth as a butterfly. The migration to the overwintering sites in Mexico falls at the same time as the Day of the Dead celebration which celebrates souls of lost loved ones returning to earth. On the internet I’ve seen a quote that reads: “Whisper ‘I Love You’ to a butterfly and it will fly to heaven to deliver your message.” I bet the Mexican folklore surrounding the butterfly is where this might have come from. I’m making it a tradition to release my first female migrator each season after my Grandma, who loved butterflies who you’ve seen appear on Thursdays many a time if you’ve been following me for a minute. You can do the same for a loved one in my stories or shoot me a DM—first come, first serve. Let’s create a tradition of continuing to keep this magical folklore in mind as the monarchs take flight to the overwintering sites in Mexico. 🦋 ✨ 🇲🇽 #vivalamexico #mexicoorbust #folklorethursday #butterflyspirits #legendhasit (at Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ds_awH3WE/?igshid=1prs9gncxkq8d