Light and Shadow

The week after my mother died, a Luna moth appeared at our window four nights in a row.  She persistently beat her wings against the glass.  I never saw such a moth flying freely in nature before.  I wondered about the pattern of return.  But we needed to make funeral arrangements, so I simply noted her presence.  As I spoke with a friend on the phone on the fourth night, I told her about the moth and placed my hand on the windowpane where she hovered.  She clung to the window and stopped flapping her wings.  Our energy connected through the glass for a half an hour before she flew away never to return.

Luna moths live only a short seven to ten-day adult life span.  During this time, they must find a mate, procreate and lay hundreds of eggs for their species’ life cycle to continue.  Why had this moth chosen to spend such a significant portion of her adult lifetime with me?  When I shared this story with my spiritual director, she asked, “Did you investigate the spiritual significance of a Luna moth?”

When I investigated, the first sentence read, “a visiting Luna moth is thought to contain the soul of a loved one.”  My heart leapt for joy.  Could it be that my mother came to assure me that she is okay?  That the energy so palpable through the glass means everything is energy and that transitions are only transformations of form?  As I continued reading, the lifecycle became a metaphor for this blog and our experiences in isolation.  Seven days for the eggs to hatch, eight weeks in the larval phase and nine months in the pupa phase.  Nine months isolated with imaginal cells bearing the gift of winged light in the unknown shadows of darkness.  Almost an entire life spent on one significant, mysterious transformation with a short time to share its beauty and wisdom . . .