The Hidden Sacred Meaning of Ladybug
A ladybug is not just a cute little bug. A ladybug has a long and fascinating history filled with rich meanings, many of which are derived from ancient practices of divination, long before the times of modern science. Look closely at a ladybug, and you can’t help but see and feel good fortune all around this tiny speckled creature. Yet, ladybugs and their brightly colored bodies aren’t just here to be particular insects that humans can admire and enjoy. From the standpoint of ancient divination, an insect that was thought to carry good luck is a clear sign that the appearance of a ladybug means you’re in line for a serious windfall.
The Significance of Ladybug Jewelry
The ladybug symbol might pique your interest, and if you’re considering some jewelry featuring the insect, it would be well worth your time to review the meaning and significance of the ladybug—something we do in this handy guide—before you pull out your wallet. There are approximately 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs. All of them are “beneficial” predators that make a cheerful meal of garden pests and have very destructive appetites—so destructive that some folks probably owe a tip of the hat to ladybugs for keeping their gardens pest-free. These folks probably don’t refer to them as “ladybugs” because, in reality, ladybugs are not bugs at all.
The Fascinating Diversity of Ladybugs
Ladybugs. They refuse to be painted with a single brush. Sure, the typical ladybug, as seen by millions of children each day, is a red beetle with black dots. Or, it’s a yellow beetle, also with black dots. This is the ladybug world of 1980s design. But look closer. Or better yet, look farther afield. And then, look again. For the ladybug, a.k.a. the ladybird beetle, a.k.a. the lady cow, is both far more variable and far more widespread than previously imagined. From the 1960s to the ’80s, ladybug research burgeoned, and so did the understanding that our “common” ladybug is anything but.
Ladybugs as Symbols of Personal Connection
We try to identify crucial aspects of our personalities so we can relate to all beings—plants, animals, or humans—in the here and now and in stories told over millennia. These ladybug symbols, for us, are much more than art. They are shorthand for what we hold dear and seek to express in this life with all its ups and downs. Using ladybugs as symbols for goodness and positivity, we have decorated not only this wall but also spaces throughout our home.
The Worldwide Symbolism of the Ladybug
The symbol of the ladybug is one of protection, healing, and celestial good fortune worldwide. In Japan, the ladybug is called “red girl” and is linked with heavenly bodies and the afterlife. Meanwhile, in France, ladybugs are seen as religious and spiritual overseers because they have been historically associated with and revered as messengers from God. One reason the name “ladybug” may have come about can be traced to the tale told by farmers in Europe. When pests were threatening their crops, these farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary. After that, the farmers said, the distinctive bug showed up in great numbers, promptly devouring the pests and saving their crops.
The Legend Behind the Name “Ladybug”
In reply to the farmers, these tiny bugs became known as the beetle of Our Lady and later as the ladybug. Legend has it that a ladybug stopped a man from being executed just as the guy with the axe was ready to swing. The wee creature landed on a condemned man’s neck, kind of right where the axe was about to hit. Ladybugs—quite another right on the auspice of being good bugs—are seen as symbols of good fortune. They are also right on the tail of being medicinal bugs. We don’t have many spiritual bugs. Ladybugs are one of them.
The Origins of the Ladybug’s Symbolism
What are the origins of the meanings we ascribe to ladybugs? We will describe the source of each symbolic interpretation, beginning with the one most familiar to Americans and often encountered in the children’s literature we grew up with. In Japan, ladybugs are called “red girls,” and they are viewed as good luck. The connection between ladybugs and good luck is so common that it’s tempting to think it originates solely in our Western conception of the ladybug as a beneficial insect. But, in fact, the ladybug’s association with luck seems to go far beyond the encounters we have with them in the garden.
Ladybugs and Their Connection to the Virgin Mary
The actual malefactor turned up after the man was released. England.—Lovely, Healing Creatures. During the eras of intensified religiosity in England, many folk saw the ladybug as a creature associated with the Virgin Mary. They might pray to “Mary, Mother of God,” asking for assistance and, in specialties around the English countryside, ladybugs would crawl about doing their thing—the farming kinds of things that are unfailingly associated with the Virgin Mary.
The Spiritual Role of the Ladybug
In the Ladybug, Animal Symbology, and Meaning section that follows, we’ll take a look at the ladybug and consider the Virgin Mary connection while also following the ladybug along its own path.
The Ladybug and Its Spiritual Companions
When we examine the animal kingdom, certain creatures seem to offer us inspiration and direction. The ladybug is one, and in the panda, too, we find an expression of luck and good fortune. The monkey shares with the ladybug the quality of joyfulness, while the sea turtle is all about evoking strength and protection.