Animal symbolism assists in learning more about our behavior but also about animals and their history. Animal symbolism helps us to see the way ancient civilizations saw animals and what their relationship looked like. In times when people leaned on animals and nature to nourish them, we had a much tighter bond with animals. We saw at them as gods and had a healthy dose of fear of the nature itself.
Today, we are much more distant from animals and nature, from which we all came, but the animal symbolism still continues to be important. We respect animals in a different way, even though it is hard to maintain a close bond because of the progress that is happening on the Earth.
Moths are interesting creatures. They have always been fascinating to people, because of their nocturnal nature. People could see moths only when it way dark outside and never during the day. Since our relationship with moths was shaky, the moth symbolism varies from one culture to another.
Some cultures saw them as symbols of positive energy and protection while others saw them as ominous signs that always announced that something bad is about to happen.
Moth symbolism is still relevant and people believe in many myths and stories that were created in the past. Some of these stories sound eerie and terrifying, but some of them make perfect sense. If you were always interested in finding out more about this interesting creature, here is your chance to do so.
Spirit Animal and Totem
Like I mentioned earlier, animals can teach us a lot about ourselves. Their behavior is simpler, but in essence, we both strive towards existence and our only goal is to survive ach day. In times when people had a much closer relationship with animals, animal symbolism was extremely important. Even though the human society has moved up from ancient times, there is still something attractive about animal symbolism and finding ourselves in the animal behavior.
Spirit animals and totems might seem to be similar, but there are some differences that set them apart. Spirit animals are the animals we encounter on daily basis, that have been around us the entire time. If you can think of an animal that has always been around you, then there is a good chance this is your spirit animal.
Spirit animals also appear in our dreams and during meditation sessions. Spirit animals lead us through life and their characteristics help us determine our positive and negative sides. Totem animals are determined by the birth date. They give us power to persevere through some difficult moments that can be hard to handle.
Totem animal powers can be called upon. Ancient cultures used to call upon totems to send them strength and protection when they had problems that couldn’t have been handled by anything earthly.
Spirit animal
As a spirit animal, moth is best described by these words:
- Light
- Power of suggestion
- Shadow
- Subtlety
- Vulnerability
- Secret knowledge
- Transformation
- Movement
- Intuition
- Dreams
- Confusion
- Concealment
- Attraction and
- Inner knowing.
People guided by this spirit animal are secretive and love keeping things to themselves. They simply don’t like sharing everything with the world because this makes them feel vulnerable. When others know your secrets, you feel exposed for any attack. There are only few people who know you truly, because you don’t like to tell others your secrets. This is why many are surprised when you do something, and they can’t believe you were capable of doing something like that.
People guided by the moth spirit animal are also subtle in their behavior. They don’t like to make sudden movements and they don’t like speaking before they think it through. They are also subtle in their relationships with others and people find them to be pleasant people to have around.
When the moth is your spirit animal you have a very strong intuition and inner knowledge. Somehow you always know when people are not truthful and honest with you. There is simply something inside you that helps you to determine other people’s intentions and thoughts. This ability is almost supernatural and others even get scared by your intuition. They think you have some kind of super power to read minds and predict events.
Moth spirit animal symbolizes dreams and confusion. You are a dreamer but you know how to make your dreams come true. Unlike other people who only spend their days dreaming about making something happen, you know exactly how to achieve your goals. Sometimes you can get confused by other people’s actions, because your behavior is often different than most people’s behaviors. You are one of a kind and people around you might have a hard time understanding you.
To some, you might seem a little bit dark. You like everything that is on the edge and mysterious. You even choose career paths that are risky and borderline mysterious. Being a psychiatrist is the perfect career path for you, because it allows you to dig deeper into the human behaviors and minds.
Totem
If moth is your animal totem, then you are a very optimistic person. You are always looking forward to the future and you always look towards the lighter side of life. This optimism is your biggest motivation for success. Moth totem is also a symbol of attraction. You are very attractive to other people and you definitely fall into the category of seductive people.
You are very prone to transformation and you can easily adapt to different situations. It was easy for you to adapt to new social groups and people feel magnetic attraction to you. Unlike others, you love changes and you are not afraid to take a chance and try something new.
Symbolism and Meaning
Moth’s symbolism is special because it was created by many cultures of the world. Since this peculiar insect inhabits large portions of our planet, the symbolism that follows it is created by almost the entire world. Moth symbolism is different and it varies from one culture to another.
Mexicans consider moths to be bad signs and they stay far away from them as possible. To them, moths are symbols of death and bad luck. They believe that when someone is sick or in death bed, the moths come into the house or in the room to collect the soul of that person. To them, moths are carriers of bad luck and bad news. When they saw a moth close to them, they know that someone is about to die.
Jamaicans believe that moths are carriers of souls. Similar to Mexican culture, they believe that when the person dies their soul gets inside the moth. The soul then continues to live inside the moth and stays on earth to torture the ones who are alive. West Indian culture has the same depiction of moths and they too stay as far away from them as possible.
In Hawaii, moths are symbols of death. They have another name for the moth and that is the Black Witch. They believe that souls of dead people live inside moths and when they come into your home, this means that the person who has died has come to say goodbye to you.
Moth depiction in art and literature has been dark as well. This is partially because they are nocturnal beings and you can’t see a moth during the day. Their attraction to light makes them even more interesting, and ancient cultures often saw the connection between their nocturnal nature and their desire to reach the light. They saw this as the representation of dead souls who were trying to reach heaven.
I Paraguay, moths are considered to be dangerous for people. They believe that if the moth urinates on you, you are going to die. They believe that moth urine contains larvae, which are going to grow under your skin, once it gets on you. Even though there is no scientific proof of this, the Paraguayans are very convinced in this story and they stay away from moths as further as possible.
In popular culture, moths have kept the same negative and often scary symbolism. Popular movie “Silence of the Lambs” depicts the main character as the moth lover and collector. The scene in the movie when detectives find his house filled with framed moths and live ones that are flying around the house, is the perfect example of how moths awake fear and negative energy inside of us. Moths are perfect representations of the dark side of our character, and its symbolism falls into the category of the most interesting ones to explore.
Dreams about Moths
Moths in our dreams are usually symbols of negativity and darkness. Some dreams, however, can have a positive meaning especially if we had a dream about killing a moth.
Seeing a moth – Seeing a moth in a dream is a symbol of warning. You need to be careful about your feelings and get more in touch with them. Perhaps you have lost the connection you used to have with yourself and your inner thoughts. It is important to introspect sometimes and to find out what is really the source of our pain.
Dead moth – Seeing a dead moth in your dream is a symbol of breakup with your love. This dream definitely brings bad news for everyone in love, so prepare yourself for what is coming. This dream can also represent a fight between you and your partner that can be resolved if you try hard enough. Sometimes we need to compromise and find the middle ground in love.
Flying moth – This dream is a symbol of you secret desires. There is something you truly want, but it is hard for you to find the right way to fulfill this desire. Perhaps you are afraid of other people’s reaction and opinions. It is always best to follow your intuition and to do things your own way, and not the way others want you to act.
Several moths – Several moths in your dream are a symbol of stress and anxiety. There is something in your life that is causing you a lot of pain and problems, but you don’t know how to get rid of it. Sometimes people cause these negative emotions in us and sometimes we cause negative situations in our life ourselves. Either way, get rid of the negativity and bring some positive vibes into your life.
Conclusion
Moth symbolism is darker and more sinister than you might think. From this article, it is easy to see that this nocturnal insect was mostly linked to death and darkness. But, if we take the other characteristics of this insect into consideration such as determination, intuition and knowledge, we can safely say that people can learn lot from these peculiar animals.
Their magnetism and fear they caused in people, secured them a place among one of the most important symbols even in today’s culture.
