Through a Jungian Lens

I just had to include another variety of odonata(dragonflies/damselflies) to the collection here.  This is an Emerald Damselfly.  Yesterday’s photo was of a Northern Blue Damselfly.  I want to thank a reader here for alerting me to the differences between dragonflies and damselflies.  I was able to take the two different varieties on the same afternoon.  This particular version is much harder to see when still.  If I hadn’t seen him flying and watched him land on a stem, I would have missed him completely.

Curiously, both dragonflies and damselflies have a mixed-up relationship with humans as far as myth is concerned.  For the most part, our European ancestors have negative and evil associations with odonata.  In the Orient, South America and in Africa, these insects are viewed as positive, and in many respects “holy.”  A good resource for finding out more about the odonata group is a site called Discover Life which can be accessed here.

One concept that keeps coming up, is that of serving as a symbol of transformation.  That these insects spend time in both water and air, transforming from one life form to another life form, gives this association credibility.  Regardless of the symbolism, there is no doubt that there is a sense of the numinous when one’s attention is captured by these damselflies and dragonflies.