Insects are engraved in art and history. In China, if you see a butterfly, it is a symbol of the soul. We will talk about butterflies next month.
Now recall the Aesop fable, the Ants and the Grasshopper. All year worker ants from various colonies keep busy carrying grains and seeds toward their home. They are symbols of hard work and thriftyness. The grasshopper kept asking the ant for a “loan” of food. The ant asks, what have you been doing all year? Singing, the grasshopper replied, tuning her long legs. Well, then sing and dance your way through a cold winter, proclaimed the ant. But that winter was very long and cold, and little by little the grasshoppers disappeared from sight. The ants stayed toasty in their nests.
The ants obeyed the laws of the Harvest Mother. The Harvest Mother is also known as the Greek goddess Demeter. She is credited with teaching humans how to grow and prepare grain.
Our busy bee is a symbol of the Hindu gods Inra, Krishna and Vishnu. She represents wealth, creative activity and hard work. From the busy bee, we get honey all year round despite the winter months.
With insects there is little waste. In ancient Egypt we meet the scarab, or dung beetle. It lays its eggs in the sand, then rolls the scarab eggs in a dung package. From this package, new beetles eventually emerge.
All of these insects and many more have tales, magic, medicine and mortality. I love stories…don’t you? Happy 2025.
