Subject: Moths in a Buckle
Geographic location of the bug: South of my navel
Date: 01/14/2018
Time: 12:17 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I found this used belt buckle while thrift store shopping in Ventura, California. I’m wondering which type of moth is depicted in this beauty? What messages are moths sending as symbolic totems? They are beautiful and mystical to me.
How you want your letter signed: Melanie on the Irish Chain
Dear Melanie on the Irish Chain,
Alas, often artist renderings of insects used as fashion articles, tattoos, and other art works are not anatomically correct. This seems especially true of enamel belt buckles which an internet search proves. In the case of the individual depicted on your lovely buckle, the outside edge of the upper wing is oriented at a very unusual obtuse angle that we cannot ever recall seeing existing in nature. According to Native American Moth Mythology: “Many California Indians consider moths a symbol of transformation, healing and prayer, and moth cocoons are used as sacred rattles in some California tribes. In other tribes, moths are associated with death and ghosts and may bring messages from the spirit world. ”