Transformation Butterflies and Goo

Transformation, Butterflies and Goo
Dealing with Changes

by Sharon G. Mijares, Ph.D.

Abstract

Previous models for positive thinking will not be effective in this transformational era. Even though humanity is reaching out for answers to guide us as old ways of believing and living are collapsing, it is useful to understand we do not have the answers everything we grasp for is based on outdated ideas for an era that is ending. The journey into the underworld, the yet unknown, can provide what is needed. In ancient stories, especially those from the Western esoteric and occult paradigms generally lead the initiate to a Goddess figure. She will teach new ways for living in the world. It is the unknown spaces that lead to the underworld and inner guidance. Images of a beautiful butterfly no longer suffice as more attention needs to be paid to the goo from which it rises.

Keywords: Transformation, Paradigms, Underworld, Unknown, Goddesses, Butterfly image. Destruction.

Humanity is in crisis, experiencing a total breakdown of what we’ve known in the past while lacking directions for how to influence a positive future. Current activism is based on past values and past modeling, but it’s not bringing forth the needed changes. How do we navigate these changes when old ways are no longer working? Guidance needs to come from deep within us. This article suggests three specific steps for transformational leaders, protesters, and those who simply care about creating healthier and happier lives for all sharing this planet.

It begins by relating an influential dream occurring January 1, 2024, within a month of moving to Cholula, Mexico. Three direct guiding dreams occurred in between December 22, 2023, and January 5, 2024. I will focus on the Dream Two first as it relates to this topic of activism whereas Dreams One and Three relate to the journey within, the preparatory work, leading us into the underworld of our personal and collective psyches.

Dream Two: I am sitting in a parked car. A young man comes skidding to a stop alongside me with his car in the opposite direction. He jumps out of it with an AR-15, runs to the other side of my car, and points his rifle up into the tree branches to shoot at a butterfly. The man has come to apply for a teaching position with young children. In the dream I am not in agreement with this idea.

Within a short time after awakening. I realized this is the first step of the preparation for the transformation program I was told about in the first dream on December 22, 2023. I had realized this second dream was about freeing oneself from all conformity—religious, cultural, and otherwise. It is the first step. It portrayed a shattering of ideas about transformation based upon a disintegrating paradigm. I also saw a link to a well-known, significant guiding vision experienced by Carl G. Jung, shared in his autobiography (1989).

At a fairly young age, Jung had been examining the traditional idea of a supreme deity sitting on a throne. He found himself feeling nausea in response to this fundamentalist Christian image. He was having fears that he was committing a serious transgression in having such opposition to this religiously- and culturally-accepted description of God and the church when suddenly he had a vision of the supreme deity dropping an “enormous turd” shattering the cathedral as it fell upon it. Jung recognized it was a spiritual confirmation indicating divine approval of his rejection and related revelations.

My own dream was depicting a shattering of new age and other positive spiritual images concerning transformation. It was not going to occur in ways we typically envisioned.

I suspected that this dream with a shooter attempting to destroy the butterfly may be pointing toward what was manifesting in the world. It also enabled me to emotionally, mentally, and spiritually accept the destructive decisions many people were making. If we look at the human condition around us, it appears that our ideas of gender, politics, race, and religion are being blown apart. Is this destructive process what allows for new forms to rise from the rubble of the past? We do not know.

The Butterfly has been used as a symbol of transformation manifesting from its prior incarnation as a caterpillar. We all love the image of the beautiful butterfly that has emerged from the cocoon of its birth, but we haven’t really examined what happened to make this manifestation possible. Many of us have ignored the process of transformation allowing for creation of the butterfly.

A caterpillar moves through life motivated to ingest everything it can take in; motivated by the need to satisfy hunger, following its instinctual patterns. Likewise, many humans also go through their lives in much the same manner—mindlessly ingesting all they can take in, following patterns without question.

The caterpillar then enters a new process–that of building a cocoon. This representative step is one of going within (we will expand on this step when discussing Dreams One and Three). It has renounced its life in the outer world. Thus, the caterpillar’s next step is most relevant as it allows itself to dissipate into Goo (a slimy or sticky substance). Its entire form turns into liquid. According to Scientific America (Jabr, 2012), the egg that is to become a caterpillar has imaginal disks within it. These disks hold the plan for growing eyes, wings, legs, and whatever else will be needed to create the eventual body of a butterfly (or moth) before emerging from the egg as a caterpillar. Thus, after living its life as a caterpillar and creating the cocoon, the following process begins.

First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out. But the contents of the pupa are not entirely an amorphous mess… (para. 4)

The Goo contains imaginal disks. Imaginal is related to the word “image” as in holding a blueprint of a future. But this comes from a deeper dimension of creativity, one beyond our ordinary cognitive control. The article continues,

Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult butterfly or moth… (para. 5) In other words, the butterfly is an end product; what’s more important is what occurs before it manifests. (We have tended to ignore that part!) The butterfly image is universally portrayed as a symbol of transformation. The dream shatters this image suggesting that, instead, transformation may result from destructive occurrences. Human transformation on both individual and collective levels is needed and the image of dissolving into goo provides significant needed guidance. The need is to let go and be receptive as transformation is not going to occur in ways envisioned in the past. We are amid a dying paradigm. This is part of the development of the activists needed for these changing times.

Activism requires something deeper than what we have relied on through recent centuries, one that begins by following the one piece of guidance that’s been given by previous philosophical and mystical paradigms, which is to go within to know oneself.

This is written in the Temple of Apollo where the ancient Oracles were given. Also, Socrates spoke of the perils of living an “unexamined life” (Plato, 38a, 1966). An even earlier ancient story comes from the Sumerian Goddess Inanna’s journey to the Underworld representing the journey within (Jones, Mijares & Dalgish, 2023). Plato’s relating of Socrates words took place in the 4th century BCE, whereas the Sumerian poet Enheduanna’s poems to the Goddess Inanna (Dalglish, 2008) occurred in the 23rd century BCE. In the last century of the current era, the late Zen teacher Alan Watts wrote about the “taboo of knowing who you are” (1989). These messages all advise self-examination and exploration as the means leading to inner self-knowledge.

The poems of the Greek Philosopher Parmenides (mid 5th century BCE) are most explicit and relevant. Parmenides is taken to the Underworld by the daughters of Apollo where he is greeted by Queen Persephone and then instructed by female presences, named Truth and Justice, about ways for living in the outer world (Kingsley, 1999; 2004). These are not written rules and laws for living pronounced by leaders in the outer world. Instead, this concerns learning deeper ways of knowing guided by archetypal goddesses from within.

An excellent modern example for this Journey to the Underworld is illustrated in the Netflix Turkey series titled The Gift (George & Acikton, 2019). Atiye, a female artist, obsessed with painting an ancient symbol, enters a cave at the Gobeklitepe excavation site. A rockslide encloses her in the cave as she begins her journey into the Underworld, facing her biggest fears and in so doing discovering herself. A Goddess figure appears several times. In the first appearance she tells the despairing Atiye, “Go deeper; you cannot understand the truth with your mind alone. Let your soul show you the way. And remember what you are. Remember who you are” (George & Acikton).

The first and third guiding dreams accompanying the AR15 dream of shooting at the butterfly provides the guidance for what is needed, and these dreams occurred right before synchronistic experiences (Jung, 1960) leading me to this Netflix series. Guidance from the Collective Unconscious often appears in media including TV series and films (Jung, 1964; Mijares, 2024), thus, it is good to be aware of significant media providing needed guidance. These events led me to the Turkish Netflix series, Another Self (Alptekin & Tepegöz, 2022) which would later lead me to The Gift (Uyanik, 2019) and it’s deep focus on the underworld and the relevance of the Feminine for human transformation.

Dreams One and Three provided messages concerning my personal journey. This is important as we all have personal histories and stories waiting in the shadows to take us to the deeper meanings within the circumstances of our own lives.

Dream One: I am in a class to learn seven steps for maneuvering through the difficult times we are entering. As I am leaving the larger meeting room and passing through the outer one, I am told I will have to be weighed. Having just moved to Mexico, In my dream-mind I’m thinking it’s about eating a month’s worth of green enchiladas with potential physical weight gain.

Shortly after awakening, I recognized “being weighed” was a metaphor from the Collective Unconscious from the ancient Egyptian mythologies concerning preparation for entering the Underworld. Accordingly, there was a two-part process the deceased endured after passing through the Underworld. According to the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (written between 1550-1069 BCE), the deceased had gone into the Underworld they had to pass before 42 divine judges. The correct words had to be spoken to demonstrate innocence. This led to the person(s) entering the “weighing of the heart” ritual. The heart had to balance with the Goddess Ma’at’s feather; otherwise, they did not pass the final judgement.

My dream was referring to the weighing of my heart against this feather. A clear message about the need to resolve emotional and mental karmic responsibilities. I had received the message, but didn’t quite get it until Dream Three.

Dream Three: My daughters are young, and my mother has come to visit. She takes them with her, and I have no say about it. I’m trying to call my daughters phone numbers [mixed time eras here] from my ipad, but that doesn’t work. Then suddenly my mother brings my daughters back–nothing said. The scene changes to an annoying young boy coming and sitting on my lap. He’s looking for a feather I was supposed to have but can’t find it. I look also. We cannot see the feather. This dream is about weighing unconscious hatred and anger at my mother that I didn’t even feel; I had buried any feelings toward her decades ago. This state is deep and very old. In my dream I am recognizing this is the journey to the Underworld where true transformation begins (Kingsley, 1999; 2004). In The Gift ((Uyanik, 2019), the heroine Atiye has to face her infant-self’s knowledge of her mother’s emotional neglect, the effects of the unwanted first sexual experience with her boyfriend, and then her own resentful as a young child toward her adopted sister as she says, “I don’t want her. She should die!” The Goddess appears again telling her, “Words have intent, Atiye. The moment it leaves our mouths; it starts to create its own reality.” In other worlds, the Underworld of our individual experience does not differentiate by age, we are responsible for all that we say and do. As this age ends, we need to clear all so the new one can begin. The term “rebirth” and references to it have not been clearly defined.

The examples from mystics, saints, prophets, and indigenous shamanic healers can guide us. Humanity needs to awaken to a deeper realization of meaning and purpose. It is a fact that on individual levels, crises often lead to openings of the heart and individual changes in behaviors. We become more permeable when our ordinary lives experience loss or confusion. Being permeable can lead to greater inner guidance from nonlocal realms. Its where spiritual practices and related understanding need to be embodied.

Examples for Transformation

The second dream notes that transformation may occur in destructive ways, suggesting the need for freeing ourselves from “conditioned” beliefs and related behaviors as a bottom line. This is an important step for becoming spiritually and mythically receptive. We walk through a place of not knowing rather than respectively trying to re-create what is falling apart.

Next, we must pass through the shadows of our individual Underworlds to clear the path for the inner power to manifest—a yet unknown mystical and magical force that can illuminate authentic change. It’s almost a waste of time and effort to hold on to ways of the past and what we have learned through thousands of years of patriarchal ideologies and behaviors. Many of our previous national and political beliefs were abound with hypocrisies.

The descent into the Underworld offers the way into healing, authentic empowerment, and light (Kingsley, 1999; 2004; Jones, Mijares & Dalglish, 2023). As noted, many of these stories initiating the dawn of Western civilization—directives for human initiation–have Goddesses in the Underworld guiding the process. In such a journey we can face the Dark Mother—the Queen of the Underworld—and receive the directions for what is needed to truly heal ourselves and create the first steps of what can become a new age. But how do we prepare for such a deepening of consciousness? Without this we simply repeat what we’ve learned during the reign of patriarchal ideologies. We may come up with creative explorations—but it’s all just more of the same thing. But there is guidance for reaching a state to be instructed in new and unexpected ways. This is the journey to the Underworld.

When we examine the five-thousand-year-old story of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna’s descent to the Underworld, we learn of her sacrifices as she passes through the seven gates on her journey to the Realm of the Underworld, Queen Ereshkigal’s domain. Inanna’s intention is to go in support her dark sister’s loss of her husband, even though Ereshkigal had let it be known that she did not want Inanna to come (Wolkstein & Kramer, 1983). Inanna had to give up something at every gate. She is annoyed at each indignity but given the guidance to be “Quiet Inanna. The ways of the underworld are perfect. They must not be questioned” (pp. 58-60). She enters the Underworld completely naked. She also knew before the journey that she might die. This journey of sacrifice, death, and resurrection is what can lead to “rebirth” although the term is often used without understanding its depth.

Inanna’s story is a Sumerian myth, but a human example comes three-thousand years later with Yeshua (Jesus). Like Inanna, he knew this death was coming and likewise made his choice for death (neither Inanna nor Yeshua knew the ultimate results). It is said that Yeshua descended into hell for three days. Both rose from death in non-ordinary ways (Jones, Mijares, & Dalglish, 2023). These stories are part of the mystical tradition underlying Western civilization. What is this Underworld?

This journey is rarely understood nor taught in churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples. Yet it is a journey that goes beyond our classifications of religion, race, gender, and culture–available to all. The Gnostic view is one of avoiding the Underworld by turning toward the Light. The indigenous, shamanic traditions differ from this perspective as they see journeys into the Underworld as means for obtaining wisdom, guidance, and power. The latter is more in harmony with ancient Egyptian and Greek beliefs. As the powers of reason and science developed, they have taken us further and further from the human journey of knowing who we are. In The Gift, Atiye is told by the Goddess, “And remember what you are. Remember who you are.”

Investigations into ancient and modern occultism seems to be rising. This is not surprising as humanity is at a crossroad. Increasing numbers of people are starting to reach out — seeking guidance from oracles and deeper sources, thus a growing interest in occultism, much of which began in ancient initiatory, or mystery schools of Egypt and Greece as described. Given the challenges and threats of current global conditions it is no wonder that increasing numbers are reaching for guidance from these ancient sources.

The rituals in these early mystery schools were quite serious. Seekers faced fears and endured trials that led to spiritual initiations from deeper imaginal realms. They were personally initiated into the mysteries of life and death, resulting in transformation.

Initiatory rites used in Greco-Roman schools had been influenced by Egyptian initiatory rites based on Isis, Osiris, Thoth, and other deities. Early Greek myths were related to them but focused the rituals on the Greek Goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The rituals included loud music, bright lights, and darkness. Similar to Egyptian mystery rituals, the intention was to create a disorientation that could shock the seeker out of ordinary consciousness to open realms for transformation.

Many readers may be familiar with the story of the Greek Goddess Demeter’s search for her daughter Persephone who had been abducted by the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. Persephone was the innocent maiden until this encounter leads to her becoming the Queen of the Underworld. In my description of Peter Kingsley’s description of Parmenides journey to the Underworld, we learn how the honored Queen of the Underworld and her Goddess assistants guide one to knowing. In the ancient rituals, the initiate moved through the Teleserion, a dark halL while facing frightening images before entering a fire-lit room. The symbols, passages, bravery, and fear were intended to lead the initiate to the presence of the Hierophant (typically male) or the High Priestess (typically female and usually taking the role of Demeter (seeker) or Persephone (rising) from the dark realm resurrected as Spring. Kingsley (1999; 2004) notes how Persephone as Goddess of the Underworld could convey initiatory guidance and wisdom to those her entered her Queendom through the ancient practice of incubation. The stillness led to guidance from the Underworld Goddesses, thus being dreamed into discovering alternative realities and dimensions. No doubt these early processes influenced ideas of rebirth in modern religions although the mystery, depth, and intentions were blocked by the dominance of Roman-Catholic influences. Such teachings were lost or hidden as magic and mystery were hidden from humanity, replaced by increasing focus on reasoning and science. Sadly, mystical science was almost lost.

Re-emergence of the Occult

More than two-thousand years later, occult teachings began manifesting in the late 1800s through an esoteric science known as Theosophy. There were many influential members of what became a Theosophical movement initiated by a woman named Madame Blavatsky, her teachings influenced the movement and then later contributors, for example, Rudolph Steiner, Annie Besant, Alice Bailey, Charles Leadbetter and others, began channeling and writing ancient esoteric teachings in ways that spoke to the modern seeker.

This marked the beginning of what they called the New Age movement, which was initiated and named by Alice Bailey and her followers. This early new age movement embraced spiritual development and non-local realities. Bailey claimed to be channeling the ageless teachings of spiritual Masters. They were teaching about evolutionary spirituality, inner planes and dimensions. Later (mid to late 1900s), a modern rendition shifted the new age beliefs to focus on the power of positive thinking. Therefore, the emphasis on journeys into initiatory depths was bypassed. Seeking initiatory learning in dark realms that included moving into and through fear went into the background.

With the revised interest in occultism as well as an increasing understanding of the need to descend to the Underworld for authentic transformation, we are returning to the early, spiritual foundations within Western Civilization.

Ancient mystery schools emphasized the Sacred and the Mythic. The rites of passages included facing fears and descending into dark places. As humanity moved away from this greater purpose, we lost the way to initiatory guidance.

The Alchemy of Nature

Increasing crises are looming before us almost on a daily basis: environmental crises of water (floods and droughts), air pollution, agricultural threats, devasting earthquakes, fires, volcanic eruptions, and tornadoes (including a weather manifestation titled a “fire tornado”). The sacred Elements of Air, Water, Fire, and Earth are lashing out.

For example, when we look at the forces of air manifesting in hurricanes and tornadoes, water in floods or drought, fires burning large areas of the world, destroying earth’s creative productions, we see a reflection of the ignored and destructive forces within humanity for it is human choice that has led to this predicament. The earth’s magnetic field has been disrupted. Nature is mirroring the results of human choice.

Although there are the few who still cling to positive thinking, imagining it alone will create the needed transformation. It is obvious that much more is needed. Many are quickly learning that ignoring problems often contributes to them. Life is requiring us to be in the center of what’s happening while allowing it to break and open our hearts. We must bear witness to what is occurring before us.

Maybe we have imaginal instructions for how to build new bodies and ways of being in a future age or a new world? But if our ideas are attached to old forms of expression and being (for example, admiring the butterfly without attending to the goo) we may be unable to manifest authentic representations of a new age. The process requires a sacrifice that leads to rebirth. The descent to the Underworld can lead to authentic rebirth. Likewise, this process of dissolution allows the new to manifest in a form envisioned within the core Self—something yet unseen–is part of the journey. This can be the Spiritual human imaginal disk—an imprint leading to rebirthing into a new form and way of being.

The power of Nature, the Feminine and Synchronicity guiding transformation

Synchronicity is the place where inner guidance is given as other realms (dimensions) connect with the material one confirming significant experiences accompanying a new realization (Jung, 1960). The following event links Nature, Synchronicity, and the Feminine as the means for change.

On September 15,1989 I entered Matthew Fox’s Institute for Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICCS). That decision had a lot of synchronistic experience within it as well, but I’m only going to share the Nature-related occurrences as they are important to the power of the Feminine.

I was in a Creative Writing class at the Institute for Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICCS) early 1990. The teacher asked us to go outside to pursue a felt connection with Nature, to explore a relationship with a rock, a tree, etc., and to write as though we were that expression. I decided I wanted to write as though I was the Earth Goddess, Herself. Since I went on sunrise walks in a nearby Redwood Forest, I decided to wait until the next day. Thus, I went on my sunrise walk, returned to my dorm room, and prepared for automatic writing—going beyond left-brained, thought-out writing and allowing Her to speak through me. The words began to flow as I wrote, a process known as automatic writing (Doyle, 1918):

You walk upon my paths and acknowledge my beauty But you do not know my power– The power that can push forth mountain peaks and open valleys for oceans to fill.

An earthquake began as the words “to fill” were being recorded. I would later learn that the epicenter was in upper Oakland near Highway 13 where I sat writing, the location of ICCS. Also, it was a gentle earthquake. But I did not fully understand the meaning of the words as that would take a few years.

The message is about the earthshaking and transformative power of the Feminine—the relational Archetypal energy within all genders—but more pronounced in women. In a later co-edited publication, A force such as the world has never known: Women creating change (2013), I noted how women did not yet recognize their power. In my last (coauthored) book, The power of the feminine: Facing shadow Evoking light (2020), we emphasized the deeper recognitions and work needed to be done for the Feminine to emerge. This is the third element discussed in this article.

Step One: Be willing to be in a state of not-knowing and letting go.

Step Two: Let your soul guide you to work in the Underworld.

Step Three: Connect with and be guided by the Feminine Archetype within.

Although there are many feminine Goddess archetypes that take on many names and archetypal expressions, I am referring to the Relational Feminine Archetype that connects and unites us with others. We cannot make this shift on our own. Much more is needed. As written in the Introduction for The Power of the Feminine (2020),

Women are the hope of the world, but women cannot do it alone. Fostering the relational, caring quality of the feminine spirit in everyone is our key to greater peace and wellbeing. Otherwise, women are in danger of creating a new religion with its own dogma and rules. Without an archetypal presence of feminine nature, women might simply repeat indoctrinated patriarchal patterns. It is vital that women, men, and people of all colors, rich and poor, and all religious traditions, put aside grievances to co-create a new world that fully honors Mother Earth and all Her species. (p. xvii) What we are facing calls for new ways of responding. Yes, we must stand up for what we know to be right and stand up against oppression, but we need to learn how to do this in relational ways and not repeat old patterns that no longer bring about the hoped for changes. We first deepen by going within. Then as we unite, authentically connecting with others, we can be guided into new ways for caring and relating–weaving these new ways into the web of life. The answers must come from the Relational Feminine Goddesses within.

This has the potential to awaken new ways for living in the world–even if we are only envisioning and creating them for a future beyond what we can at this time. The authentic power of the Goddess, in whatever form she takes, can manifest within us as it is the guiding expression and force for creating a new world. As noted at the onset of this article, we cannot name or visualize the future yet as most of our knowing is based on older ways of being and doing. We need to walk the journey of discovery allowing new ways to take form from within the darkness to guide us. Our old ideas of religion and spirituality, politics and governance, and other social structures are crumbling.

In other words, as the dream of the young man shooting at the butterfly implied, our old ideas concerning transformation are being shattered. If we can make time to incubate (times for silence and receptivity), the Goddess will guide us into new ways of being in relationship and provide visions for new ways of being and living. Be wary of grabbing onto ideas based on past beliefs, however beautiful they appear. But the following guidance provides timeless advice.

Atiye, the fictional star of the Turkish Netflix series, The Gift, is blocked in a cave due to a rockfall. I want to end with the reminder that this journey leads her into the Underworld and the learning she obtains. At one point Atiye is crying out that she does not want to die there and an unnamed Goddess appears. Atiye asks this Goddess who she is and receives the following response (Uyanik, 2019). “This is not important as what matters is who you are. Go deeper. You can’t understand the truth with your mind alone. Let your soul show you the way. And remember what you are. Remember who you are.”

References