All creatures in the wast Universe, from the smallest to the biggest, from bacteria to the planets; everything has their meaning, purpose, and deep symbolical purpose.
In different cultures, different objects or creatures have different meanings. In some cultures, a cow is a secret animal, like in India; in others, it’s “just the food” and has nothing mystical about it.
Insects, in particular, have their mystical meanings; they often vary, but there are interesting similarities between their meanings, even in different countries that do not have anything similar one to another.
In some modern traditions that are based on some Pagan practices, animal symbolism is incorporated into magical beliefs and practices.
There is virtually no mystical or spiritual practice in the world that does not include, at least, one insect. Believe it or not, many insects are associated with various magical properties – from predicting time to communicating with the dead.
From flies that are predicting the weather as one very common symbolical value to the spiders that are said to be our communication wheels to the other world; or in some cases, butterflies are believed to be souls from the people who are not alive anymore but come in this form to visit us.
They come as various symbols, from the representations of pure evil to the light manifestations of Divine energy, like white butterflies, for example.
Spiders are also interesting in this sense, and they are often associated with the other, different world that is beyond. They come as guardians of such places, not need to necessarily be evil.
However, what is interesting is when you look at the smaller crickets and creatures nearby and their mystical connections – especially butterflies and moths, similar but so different, connected with the process of transformation and the notification of the changes that are coming.
Now, our topic is the white moth, one interesting creature, both in its biological characteristics and in symbolical ways.
It is very common to look into the world of moths through the prism of butterflies, and truly they do belong to the same order of insects, but moths can be considered nocturnal animals, while butterflies are associated with daily activity. And this is just one of the many differences between the two.
More about the White Moth – general characteristics
For the beginning of this piece, we will speak more of the characteristics of the moth, in general.
They are often mistaken for butterflies, and yes, they do come from the same family, but they are not the same.
In fact, moths represent a much more numerous and widespread species than butterflies. These insects represent 95% of the total number of specimens of their order, including butterflies.
So, it is very likely for you to see a moth in nature, then to see
butterflies, even when you can think that they are much more common than moths. In this sense, we can say that people generally call “butterflies,” all flying creatures with wings, but it is very common that we come across little moths.
They are often hidden in our homes and fly when it is dark, and in some cases, they have dark wings, so we cannot detect them right away.
Another feature that separates them from butterflies is the inverted colors on the inside and the shiny hair on the chest, wings, and head.
The antennae are also slightly different: the moth has comb-like wings, while the butterfly has a rod form. Of course, you need to be close to them so that you can see these exact differences.
One more interesting element when it comes to moths is there, and we could say, a surprising diet. It is considered to be extremely diverse and contains elements that no one expects.
Moths love to eat all from wool to nectar that passes through tree bark and remains of various species. The main sources of nutrition for adult moths are hair, skin, and wool because they are searching for protein in their diet.
Therefore, it is not a surprise that you see these insects in closets and drawers, causing nasty holes in our clothing; lavender is a great repellent for these beings if you have them in your closet. Also, this kind of moth that raids your closets eats different amounts of fabric every day, much bigger than its own weight.
Some species of insects are considered to be parasites on trees and plants. They can swallow large amounts of bark and real trunk segments, even from very hardwood, so moths are far from their cousin’s butterflies.
Some moths also choose to feed on plants and nectar produced by flowers. In addition to the destructive value of their food habits, moth plays a very important role in plant reproduction and is just as responsible for spreading seeds and pollen as butterflies and other insects.
Another unpleasant right of moths is the secretion of fluids that activate the ingenious defense mechanism against predators.
This unquenchable bug spends its life eating and laying eggs. Its reproductive ability is staggering -it is fast and constant.
It is a decaying organic material (skin, hair, dandruff, dead insects, etc.) contained, for example, in the fibers of carpets, rugs, or car seats. With this preferential choice of food, it is very common to see this unwanted guests flutter within themselves.
Research that was conducted in Finland showed that a certain type of moth ( a kind that attacks or feeds with wood) is able to produce two different types of fluid to prevent as many predators as possible: birds and ants.
Fluids are excreted through glands located on the shoulders of insects, depending on the predator the animal understands it is dealing with. The release of these substances discourages predation due to their unpleasant odor and viscosity.
This is just one fragment that touches these beings and explains more of their true nature, but now we are coming to the good part; we are speaking of their other meaning, that touches the spiritual aspect, the one that we have spoken of in the intro section of this piece.
Spiritual Meaning and Symbolism
First of all, we must say that you should read these lines with the idea that all Universe is one and that we are all connected on many levels.
All the symbols that the Universe sends us (and it does, regardless of our observations or the fact that we do not see them and obtain them in this sense) can be viewed and could become our guide to a better life, or if not, a life that is more transparent to us; you can choose how you carry them and read them.
All of them carry a deep symbolical meaning, different for all individuals on this planet, but with the common note on a collective level. The fact that people could, unlike animals, can speak of the symbolical values of all things in nature just shows the level of evolution.
Now, about the white moth – a very interesting spirtual symbol, just like all insects.
In general, regarding moths, the most common kind, the brown moth, no one can deny, they have some interesting properties, but it is also believed that this insect is associated with the symbol of death and bad luck. In this sense, the meaning of a moth is in a way negative.
They, in reality, do not look like the messengers of happiness and joy, especially knowing that they ruin things and eat “the dead,” in the sense of flesh and remains, in a search for protein.
This leans on a translation of the word moth – it has a rather disturbing meaning: it signifies “wings that have scales” and is inspired by the look, color, and texture of the insect’s wings, which look like scales stacked like roof tiles.
This translation then again leans on many more ancient beliefs regarding the moth. Some of them are even bizarre – popular beliefs and superstitions associated with its presence.
Some of these beliefs are firmly grounded in the human mind, the collective also; they are hard to die and have persisted in the collective imagination for centuries.
Native Americans have a special relation to moths – they are fascinated by them and their symbolic system. Moths are thought to be totems, in specific, protective animals that hold the power of transformation and regeneration.
They are, unlike butterflies are, able to transform in both ways, good to bad and bad to good, and form of revelation is plausible. And they were even more – welcomed.
Following this lead, there is a pronounced belief that, in some cultures, not necessarily similar, moths, including the white moth, are considered to be a spiritual depiction of witches and fairies.
If the moth is black or brown, then, in that case, whiches and negative energy; and on the contrary, when the moth in question is white, then it is the manifestation of a wonderful fairy.
In both cases, we are speaking of a soul that is in search of a body, and the in-between body is in a moth. So, it does not have to be necessarily bad; it is just the soul who is searching for its body. In a case of a white moth, it is a good soul, gentle and kind.
However, the presence of moths in the house, especially if it is black, seems to bring bad luck, and for some, even the whiteness of the moth that is never pure, like in butterflies that have a wonderful pure white color.
Now we will remind you of a story of research that was conducted in Findald that discovered that moths could produce different kinds of fluids to make enemies go away.
In a symbolic sense, this could be the same analogy – moths have a protective role in our lives, and they are a representation of the protective force that is necessary to protect us from any harm, negative energy, etc.
A white moth is even more prominent in this way since it is a carrier of bright light, a pure divine protector that would not allow bad forces to come into our life.
To say it simply, the white moth is considered infamous or at least magical (negative) perhaps because, like owls and some other nocturnal beings, it burrows mainly at night.
It is thought to be toxic and inadvertently ingested causes death, but this is not the case. As we have said, maybe it could be true if the moth in question is black, or more commonly, the brown kind.
Now one interesting parallel is this one – there is one very common belief that says that the spiritual meaning of a moth is seen its the dust is created by the beating of the wings caused blindness or death.
It is interesting to look at how moths are associated with death and the world of death, but on the contrary, the white moth is not moved away from death, but its connection to this world is different.
It brings news from this other side, and therefore it is the messenger of news that comes from the other side, as someone who is no longer alive sends us the message from beyond.
One more additional layer to the spirtual meaning comes from the parallel with the most wonderful and positive symbols in the world, the butterflies.
As the majority of us already know, the butterfly is one of the most popular symbols of our world (emblem of positive change, tenderness, attractiveness, and inner transition), and the closest relative is the moth, and even more than some others, the white moth, that in a way resembles butterflies.
It is the butterfly that is a barely darker sibling, the one that has its characteristics but is still a butterfly, not a butterfly.
This one has visited the “dark side” and returned to the earth with the slightly burned wings and changed them permanently.
This teaches us the idea that when we witness some dark things in life, we are never the same, and our purity is permanently burnt, but it does not have to mean that we have to behave badly and to be negative and in pain. It is a lesson, not a negative transformation as you may think it is.
In the end, let us point out a few more interesting symbolical traits that are associated with the white moth and its spiritual meaning.
They are, without a doubt, associated not to the complete darkness, but more to the twilight, a place between the light and the dark; seen as
one of the most mysterious and enigmatic insects that can be found in the animal domain.
And for some, it is the symbol of an idea that will never be possible. It is just like a butterfly that has not completely changed. It is different and with more flaws, different habits, characteristics, and behaviors.
Maybe it is the message to us humans, to be as we are, with flaws, but always with the desire to be better if we want to be.
These curious creatures perform their flights mainly in the twilight in the dark while fatally attracted to light sources artificially – and here the meaning is our curiosity and naivety – burn like a moth, or attracted like a moth to a flame, naively burning.
As a result, they often and voluntarily sneak into our houses, confused by the light emitted by lights and machines that we have in our homes.
In the end, we must admit that the popular superstition has always attributed to them a sign of bad omen or even doom, but the beauty of the white teaches us that there is more to them. They are much more. Maybe the most valuable lesson here is acceptance, beauty in flaws.
