Butterflies & Rainbows

Did you know that the butterfly is the symbol for resurrection and the rainbow the symbol of life after death?  The butterfly is a spiritual symbol for resurrection due to its metamorphosis and transformation from being a caterpillar to a beautiful creature that soars.  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross often speaks of the numerous drawings of butterflies she saw in the barracks at concentration camps in Europe.  I personally have been to Dachau.  I have walked through the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland.  I went to checkpoint Charlie in Berlin when the wall was still up and there was no thought of the wall ever coming down.  I patrolled the fences - the "iron curtain" - that separated East and West Germany.  I saw the photos of the bodies of those shot trying to get to freedom.  I have lived in both Germany and Russia, and seen the effects of the horrors of pure evil. I have been to the site of Hitler's bunker in Berlin.  I have been to Stalin's grave, and I have seen the "pickled" body of Lenin in his glass casket in his mausoleum on Red Square, in Moscow. It is something that Wiccans, who naively claim that Satan is not real and that demons do not exist, should very carefully (re)consider. That is an extremely dangerous and deceived path to travel. If one doesn't believe in evil, there is no protection from it.

The rainbow is one of man's oldest symbols of hope and eternal life.  In a world full of misery and human depravity it's good to see such colorful reminders that there is something better.  One of my Deputy buddies reminds the rest of us on our shift (currently the night shift) all the time that we are sewer workers and garbage collectors, which is sadly, the truth.  That's why it's good sometimes to reflect and think about the better things in life: that there are good people, there is full life to be had right here and now, and there is a much better life to come. Yes, I believe that Satan exists, as do demons and personal evil. I believe there is a cosmic war going on all around us, and it is a war that has been going on long before Adam and Eve were created.  I believe, as CS Lewis said, that "man is born into a world at war."  Yes, there is darkness and evil.  I believe that those dark things are very real and that a dark kingdom with dark forces exist.  But, I also believe in butterflies and rainbows, and that in the end, it is they that shall triumph.


Inspiration drawn from: Hello from Heaven! by Bill and Judy Guggenheim