The Meaning of a Dragonfly: What Does a Dragonfly Symbolize?

The dragonfly has been a subject of intrigue in every single continent it is found in, and with each civilization, has develo ed a uni!ue meaning to it, its behavior and its lifestyle" The word Dragonfly and the family it belongs to, #donata, have evolved from the many myths associated with Dragonflies and their ta$onomic cousins, the Damselflies" The word Dragonfly has its source in the myth that Dragonflies were once Dragons" The family name #donata comes from the %ree& word for tooth as #donates were believed to have teeth, it is a verified fact now that while they don't have (teeth' er say, they have strong mandibles that they use to crush their rey"

Symbolisms of the Dragonfly Maturity and a De th of character The dragonfly, in almost every art of the world symbolizes change and change in the ers ective of self realization) and the &ind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the dee er meaning of life"

The traditional association of Dragonflies with water also gives rise to this meaning to this amazing insect" The Dragonfly's scurrying flight across water re resents an act of going beyond what's on the surface and loo&ing into the dee er im lications and as ects of life" *ower and *oise The dragonfly's agile flight and its ability to move in all si$ directions e$ude a sense of ower and oise + something that comes only with age and maturity" The dragonfly can move at an amazing ,- miles an hour, hover li&e a helico ter fly bac&wards li&e a hummingbird, fly straight u , down and on either side" What is mind blowing is the fact that it can do this while fla ing its wings a mere ./ times a minute while mos!uitoes and houseflies need to fla their wings 0// and 1/// times a minute res ectively"

The awe ins iring as ect is how the dragonfly accom lishes its objectives with utmost sim licity, effectiveness and well, if you loo& at ro ortions, with 2/ times as much ower in each of its wing stro&es when com ared to the other insects" The best art is that the dragonfly does it with elegance and grace that can be com ared to a veteran ballet dancer" 3f this is not a brazen, lazy, over&ill in terms of dis lay of raw ower, what is?

Defeat of Self 4reated 3llusions The dragonfly e$hibits iridescence both on its wings as well as on its body" 3ridescence is the ro erty of an object to show itself in different colors de ending on the angle and olarization of light falling on it"

This ro erty is seen and believed as the end of one's self created illusions and a clear vision into the realities of life" The magical ro erty of iridescence is also associated with the discovery of one's own abilities by unmas&ing the real self and removing the doubts one casts on his5her own sense of identity" This again indirectly means self discovery and removal of inhibitions" 6ocus on living (37' the moment The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nym h or an immature" 3t flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months" This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired" This style of life symbolizes and e$em lifies the virtue of living 37 the moment and living life to the fullest" 8y living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don't and ma&e informed choices on a moment+to+moment basis"

This ability lets you live your life without regrets li&e the great dragonfly" The o ening of one's eyes The eyes of the dragonfly are one of the most amazing and awe ins iring sights" %iven almost 9/: of the insect's brain ower is dedicated to its sight and the fact that it can see in all .0/ degrees around it, it symbolizes the uninhibited vision of the mind and the ability to see beyond the limitations of the human self" 3t also in a manner of s ea&ing symbolizes a man5woman's rising from materialism to be able to see beyond the mundane into the vastness that is really our ;niverse, and our own minds" The Tall Tales and the short stories

What can one say, for a harmless insect that does not bite, does not sew sna&es' wounds, and definitely does not measure human souls for good and evil, there have been a wide variety of myths and mythology associated with the life and the e$istence of the dragonfly"

8ut before we go down to the lore by location, one very stri&ing as ect comes to mind"

4hange" 3n many regions and as a norm of this day, the dragonfly is considered to be an agent of change and resumably symbolic of a sense of self realization" Self realization from how the dragonfly uses its ower to control its movements and so elegantly" <nd change and evolution is all about the dragonfly's ability to fly and the way it can be comfortable on water, land as well as the air"

<sia and <merica

=et's start with something nice" To the >a anese, it symbolizes summer and autumn and am admired and res ected all over, so much so that the Samurai use it as a symbol of ower, agility and best of all, ?ictory"

3n 4hina, eo le associate the dragonfly with ros erity, harmony and as a good luc& charm" <mongst 7ative <mericans, it is a sign of ha the dragonfly eats from the wind itself iness, s eed and urity" *urity because

@uro e and subse!uently <ustralia

8eginning from calling the dragonfly, the witches' animal, and that Satan sent it on earth to cause chaos and confusion, to calling it, @ar 4utter, Devil's 7eedle, <dderbolt and worst of all, Aorse Stinger, which soon s read Down ;nder, when the 8ritish colonized <ustralia" The name Aorse Stinger comes from the misinformed observation that horses that were &ic&ing and stam ing around usually had a few dragonflies hovering around them" 6act remains though, that the dragonflies could well have been hel ing the horse by eating some of the arasitic insects that were doing the actual (horse stinging'" Well, the Welsh call the dragonfly the sna&e's servant and thin& they follow sna&es and stitch u their woundsBand continuing with the misnomers, they are called eye o&ers and eye snatchers in *ortugal"

3n Sweden, fol&lore suggests that we dragonflies come around to chec& for bad souls + to weigh souls to be more (accurate' and elsewhere, believed to snea& u to children who tell lies and also adults who curse and scold, to stitch u their eyes, mouth, and ears res ectively"

6or a s ecies of insects that have inhabited our lanet for almost .// million years, it is only natural erha s that they have such a wide and varied erce tion amongst various civilizations"