Tag: music

Symbol of the month – the butterfly

On By shadowsflyawayIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Butterfly season has now begun in earnest and I have already whiled away several hours in my local park watching them flitting about in the summer sun. Bright, dancing summer jewels dancing on the breeze. But I have seen also seen more permanent butterfly visitors in cemeteries and churchyards – the kind that are perched there for eternity. They are much more than a brightly coloured insect and are symbols of transformation and rebirth

The Gordon monument butterfly motif in all its glory. Kensal Green Cemetery.
copyright Carole Tyrrell

So far I’ve only discovered two of this particular species which were both in London.  One was in Brompton and the other was in Kensal Green.  But I have also seen others online in American cemeteries.

But I’m surprised that the butterfly symbol isn’t more widely used as it is a deep and powerful motif of resurrection and  reincarnation.  It has fluttered through many cultures which include Ancient Egypt, Greece and Mexico.

Gold disc found at Myceanae near Greece – possibly dating from 1350 BC
Ancient Egyptian relief sculpture 26th Dynasty Thebes 664-525 BC
reincarnation.  copyright Sailko (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

There is also the celebrated Neolithic ‘butterfly stone’ found at the Ness of Brodgar which I saw at the British Museum’s ‘Stonehenge’ exhibition in 2023.

In classical myth, Psyche, which translates as ‘soul’, is represented in the form of a butterfly or as a young woman with butterfly wings.  She’s also linked with Eros the Greek God of love.  The butterfly is also a potent representation of rebirth which is why the the Celts revered it.  Some of the Ancient Mexican tribes such as the Aztec and Mayans used carvings of butterflies to decorate their buildings as certain butterfly species were considered to be reincarnations of the souls of dead warriors.  The Hopi and Navaho tribes of Native American Indians performed the Butterfly Dance and viewed them as symbols of change and transformation.

In Christianity the butterfly is an archetypal image of resurrection in and this meaning is derived from the 3 stages of a butterfly’s life.  These are:  1st stage = the caterpillar, 2nd stage = the chrysalis and 3rd and final stage = the butterfly.  So the sequence is life, death and resurrection.   The emergence of the butterfly from the chrysalis is likened to the soul discarding the flesh.  It has been depicted on Ancient Christian tombs and in Christian art Christ has been shown holding a butterfly. 

Butterflies also feature in Victorian mourning jewellery and there is a fascinating article on this with some lovely examples at:

Butterfly Symbols and 19th Century Jewellery – Art of Mourning

They also appear in vanitas paintings. This is the name given to a particular category of symbolic works of art and especially those associated with the still life paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries in Flanders and the Netherlands.    In these the viewer was asked to look at various symbols within the painting such as skulls and rotting fruit and ponder on the worthlessness of all earthly goods and pursuits. They are also invited to admire the artist’s skill in depicting these.  Butterflies in this context can be seen as fleeting pleasure as they have a short life of just two weeks. In the 20th century, butterflies appeared in the flowing, organic lines of Art Nouveau and often featured in jewellery and silverware.

Vanitas Jan Sanders Van Hemessen 1535 – 1540.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALille_Hemessen_vanitas.JPG. Note the butterfly wings being worn by the central figure.
Vanitas Still Life – Maria van Oosterwijck (1630-16930
Maria van Oosterwijck [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Vanitas by Antonio de Pereda (painted during 1632-1636) shared under Wiki Commons

Butterfly traditions

There are many superstitions and beliefs associated with butterflies.  They are often regarded as omens, good and bad, or as an advance messenger indicating that a visitor or loved one is about to arrive. In Japan, they are traditionally associated with geishas due to their associations with beauty and delicate femininity.

Butterfly & Chinese wisteria by Xu Xi Early Sing Dynasty c970.
copyright Xü Xi (Scanned from an old Chinese book) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Chinese see them as good luck and a symbol of immortality. Sailors thought that if they saw one before going on ship it meant that they would die at sea .  In Devon it was traditional to kill the first butterfly that you saw or have a year of bad luck as a result. In Europe the butterfly was seen as the spirit of the dead and, in the Gnostic tradition, the angel of death is often shown crushing a butterfly underfoot. In some areas in England, it’s thought that butterflies contain the souls of children who have come back to life. A butterfly’s colours can also be significant. A black one can indicate death and a white one signifies the souls or the departed. It’s also a spiritual symbol of growth in that sometimes the past has to be discarded in order to move forward as the butterfly sheds its chrysalis to emerges complete. So it can indicate a turning point or transition in life. There are also shamanistic associations with the butterfly’s shapeshifting and it has also been claimed as a spiritual animal or totem.

Brompton Cemetery, tomb unknown

This example with its wings outstretched is from Brompton Cemetery in London.   Alas, the epitaph appears to have vanished over time even with vegetation die back in winter I still couldn’t find out who it it was.  Note the wreath of ivy that surrounds it.  Ivy is an evergreen and is a token of eternal life and memories. 

An example of a stylised butterfly on a tombstone in Brompton Cemetery in London. Unfortunately the epitaph is now unreadable. copyright Carole Tyrrell
Another view of the Brompton Butterfly surrounded by an ivy wreath.
copyright Carole Tyrrell

The Gordon monument, Kensal Green

The second one is perched on the tomb of John Gordon Esquire, a Scotsman from Aberdeenshire who died young at only 37.  As the epitaph states:

‘it was erected to his memory as the last token of sincere love and affection by his affectionate widow’.  

Gordon came from an extended family of Scottish landowners who had estates in Scotland and plantations in Tobago amongst other interests.  The monument is Grade II listed and is made of Portland stone with a York stone base and canopy supported by the pillars.  There was an urn on the pedestal  between the four tapering stone pillars which was stolen in 1997.

John Gordon’s epitaph Kensal Green Cemetery.
copyright Carole Tyrrell
The Gordon Monument in Kensal Green Cemetery. There are traces of something once being in place – perhaps an urn – on the platform between the pillars.
copyright Carole Tyrrell

The butterfly also has an ouroboros encircling it which is a symbol of eternity. This is the circle created by a snake devouring each its own tail. So the whole sculpture is of a butterfly indicating resurrection within an eternal circle of life, death and rebirth.

The ouroboros symbol surrounding the butterfly symbol of the roof of the Gordon monument Kensal Green Cemetery.
copyright Carole Tyrrell

The pharaonic heads at each corner are Egyptian elements within an ostensibly classically inspired monument are known as acroteria.. Acroteria, or acroterion, its singular definition, are an architectural ornament.  The ones on this monument are known as acroteria angularia. The ‘angularia’ means ‘at the corners’.

Detail of the roof of the monument – note the Pharaonic head, one at each corner, and another glimpse of the butterfly. Kensal Green Cemetery
copyright Carole Tyrrell
Close- up of one of the four Pharaonic heads on the Gordon monument. Kensal Green Cemetery
copyright Carole Tyrrell


The entire monument is based on an illustration of the monument of the Murainville family in Pugin’s Views of Paris of 1822 and also on Moliere’s memorial which are both at Pere Lachaise in Paris. The Gordon memorial incorporates elements  of the Egyptian style and symbolism that influenced 19th century funerary monuments after the first Egyptian explorations. Kensal Green contains many significant examples and there are others to be found in Brompton, Highgate and Abney Park.  The Victorians regarded the Egyptians highly as their religion was a cult of the dead. 

So when you next see a butterfly fluttering on the wind or even perched on a memorial for eternity remember its importance within the tradition of symbols, religions and cultures.  Who knows it might be one of your ancestors…..

© Text and photos Carole Tyrrell unless otherwise stated.

References:

http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butterfly-stories/butterfly-symbolism.html

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/butterfly-animal-symbolism.html

http://www.spiritanimal.info/butterfly-spirit-animal/

http://www.pure-spirit.com/more-animal-symbolism/611-butterfly-symbolism

http://www.shamanicjourney.com/butterfly-power-animal-symbol-of-change-the-soul-creativity-freedom-joy-and-colour

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/10/victorian_memorial_symbols_feature.shtml

http://www.thecemeteryclub.com/symbols.html

https://stoneletters.com/blog/gravestone-symbols

https://www.reference.com/world-view/butterfly-symbolize-cf9c772f26c7fa5

https://www.reference.com/world-view/butterflies-symbolize-19a1e06c9c98351c?qo=cdpArticles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanitas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acroterion

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1191024

Behold the ‘Butterfly Stone’ – The Ness of Brodgar Project

Clare Gibson, How to Read Symbols, Herbert Press 2009

Douglas Keister, Stories in Stone, A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography, Gibbs Smith, 2004

J C Cooper, Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, Thames & Hudson 1978.

The annual Mayday murder of Jack…..coming soon to a town near you!

On By shadowsflyawayIn Events2 Comments

Jack going to his doom at Hastings Castle, Mayday 2012
©Carole Tyrrell

There is a murderous tradition associated with Mayday or May 1st.  For on this day the Jack or Jack in the Green must be slain and his body torn apart and thrown to a waiting crowd. Of course it an also happen on May 7th if that’s the date that the Mayday bank holiday falls on.

Jack’s murder marks the coming of Summer as  he is also seen as the Green Man or the embodiment of Nature.  There are also associations with Puck.  Mayday also coincides with the Celtic festival of Beltane which is a fire festival.  It burst forth with abundant fertility although Beltane is one of the names for the god of death. But there’s no blood spilt in Jack’s murder. Instead his large, tall body is formed from leaves and flowers which is why he’s known as Jack in the Green . You’ll find him being pulled apart at various locations within the UK.

According to The Living Myths Celtic Year website

‘Beltain is the origin of pagan May Day festivities such as that of the Padstow Hobby Horse, and maypole dancing, of the ‘Queen of the May’, and of ‘well dressing’ – decking holy wells with flowers, as still practised in some rural communities.’

The tradition carried on in England as, according to the Hastings Jack in the Green website:

‘In the 16th and 17th centuries in England people would make garlands of flowers and leaves for the May Day celebration, they became increasingly elaborate. Works Guilds would try to outdo each other, in the late 18th century this became a matter for competition, milkmaids in London carried garlands on their heads with silver objects on them, but the crown had to go to the chimney sweeps. Their garland was so big it covered the entire man. It became known as Jack in the Green.’

The Jack has a conical or pyramidal framework on which the greenery is entwined with a man inside to ‘walk’ it along streets and in procession.  Mayday celebrations were often rowdy, drunken affairs with the Maypole as a very obvious phallic symbol  in a festival dedicated to fertility.  It, the May Queen and the Jack are the only survivors.    I found this 17th century image of a Jack on Wikipedia.

A Jack in the Green from the 18th century – shared under Wiki Creative Commons

 

As you might imagine it was the Victorians who called time on Jack in the Green declaring it unruly and raucous (surely not).  They replaced the merry stumbling prance or stagger around the Maypole with a smaller one for children to skip round.  Then most of the celebrations vanished apart from the May Queen and well dressing in some regions.

 

But you can’t keep a good Jack down forever and in the 1980’s he was slowly brought back to life.

In 1983, the Hastings Jack in the Green was revived by Mad Jack’s Morris Men.  They take their name from Mad Jack Fuller with their symbol being that of his pyramidal mausoleum in Ditchling churchyard which is also known as the Sugarloaf.

The festival is a 4 day event in the town culminating in a parade of giant figures and the releasing  of Jack before he takes centre stage in the procession along the High Street and onto West Hill.  The Jack stands in waiting on his own stage with his attendants, known as ‘bogies’ or Green Men as morris dancers and singers take to the centre stage.  Here is a selection of images from the Hastings Jack in the Green from 2012 and 2018:

Morris dancing has been around for over 600 years and there are several regional variants. He wears a beautiful crown of flowers on top. The costumes have become more ornate and decorative over the years since I first came upon the celebration by chance on a visit to Hastings in 2001.  Then it was within the grounds of Hastings Castle and I sat and listened to Maddy Prior singing as the sapphire sea below glittered under the afternoon sun. The Hastings Mayday also coincides with hundreds of bikers descending on the town but there’s not trouble as they are much more interested in buying insurance or bathrooms.

 

The final event is the slaying of Jack and he is walked to the stage surrounded by his entourage and spun round to the sound of massed drums. Then the ripping apart of him begins in earnest and sprigs and branches of evergreens are tossed out to the eager crowd as having a piece of Jack is meant to ensure you good luck for the coming year.

My piecee of Jack’s body.
©Carole Tyrrell

 

I am indebted to Sarah Hannant’s invaluable book Mummers, Maypoles and Milkmaids – a Journey through the English Ritual Year for the information on my local Jack in the Green which takes place around Deptford.  There Jack’s slaughter takes place on May 1st regardless of whether its’s a working day or not. The group are still known as Fowlers Troop and their version took place from roughly 1906 until 1924 when the police stopped it.  Again it was associated with chimney sweeps.  A local photographer of the time, Thankfull Sturdee, (now there’s a name) took photos of the 1906 Jack and his work can be found on the Fowlers Troop website and also in Lewisham Borough photos archives.

Fowlers Troop, Deptford Jack in the Green, 1900’s by Thankfull Sturdee.
Used without permission

I saw it in 2017 and it followed a route through Greenwich which includes several pubs.  Outside each one there was morris dancing and singing and two old sea dogs relating various tall tales.  The Jack is very tall, roughly 3m, decorated with flowers at the top and has to have a guide to lead him forward as it must be difficult to see his way. I followed them through the wet grounds of the former Royal Naval College and enjoyed seeing the looks of amazement on car drivers and casual bystanders faces as we passed by.  Sadly, I missed the killing of Jack as I lost them at the Rose and Crown. Here is a selection of photos from the 2017 Deptford Jack – look at the size of the Jack!

 

A Jack in the Green is an event worth seeing as it’s always very lively and there’s a pub or two involved if that’s what you fancy. It’s a celebration of English culture, albeit slightly watered down these days, and an acknowledgement of the changing of the seasons.

 

So support your local Jack!

There are several Jack in the Greens in the UK:

Brentham, North Ealing, Guildford, Kuntsford, Oxford, Rochester, Whitstable, Bristol, Carshalton, Central London at Conway Hall, City of London, Highworth, Wilts, Ilfracombe, Knutsford, Oxford,,

©Text and photos Carole unless otherwise stated

 References and further reading

 Mummers, Mapypoles and Milkmaids, – A journey through the English ritual year,  Sarah Hannant,  Merrell Publishing, 2011

www.livingmyths.com/Celticyear.htm

http://www.deptford-jack.org.uk/

http://www.hastingsjitg.co.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_in_the_Green

https://www.tripsavvy.com/jack-in-the-green-festival-1662665

http://www.countryfile.com/may-day-guide-history-traditions-events