Butterflies in tarot
The Greek word psyche means both soul and butterfly, and the insect's emergence from a seemingly dead chrysalis made it an emblem of the soul and of resurrection. Smith carves butterflies on the thrones of the Queen and King of Swords, the suit of air, where they suggest the mind lifted and transformed. In readings butterflies stand for transformation, lightness and the soul's freedom. In a suit as sharp as Swords they are a reminder that thought can liberate as well as wound.
Cards that show butterflies
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Knight of Swords
Knight of Swords: The butterflies on the harness
The strap across the horse's chest is decorated with small yellow butterflies. Butterflies are creatures of air, the suit's element, worked into the gear of the most airborne court card, and an old image of the restless, changeable mind.
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Queen of Swords
Queen of Swords: The butterfly crown
Her gold crown appears to be made of butterfly shapes, though the scan is not perfectly clear. Butterflies are creatures of air, the suit's element, and long-standing images of the soul and of transformation.
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King of Swords
King of Swords: The throne with butterflies and crescents
The tall back of his throne is carved with a butterfly between two crescent moons at the top, and more butterfly shapes below. Butterflies belong to air and to the soul, crescents to the moon and to change.