By Shari Lash
Once upon a time, there was a plain old tree, in a dull and lifeless forest. On a fragile branch halfway up, a nest of caterpillars began to hatch and eventually dispersed to forage for food. One of those caterpillars, Dismay, wandered from the group. She felt like she didn’t belong. She was self-conscious and chose to remain concealed from the others and from the world. She was vulnerable and afraid and wanted to hide her ugliness. So, she stayed close to the ground, where she wouldn’t be seen and crawled away. She crawled and crawled, hoping she would find a better place. But no matter how hard she tried, she didn’t make any progress. With no destination in mind, she had lost her way. Far from home, she was hungry and confused. It became dark and cold and then it started to rain. So, she crawled under a big, grey leaf that had fallen beneath an unusual tree and went to sleep.
When she awoke, she crawled from under the leaf and was astonished at what she saw. Dismay was under a beautiful big oak tree with massive branches and a canopy of leaves. The tree was next to a cool running stream and a world teeming with life. It was warm and there were mountains and wildflowers and lush, green meadows that turned into hills as far as her eyes could see. There were birds and bunnies and frogs and deer. And there were others like her — fluffy green and yellow caterpillars carefully slinking their way along the ground and in plants and branches. Some were red, some were orange, some a bright blue. They weren’t ugly at all, she noticed, and they appeared to be crawling with purpose. “You seem lost,” one of them said to her. “Follow us and we will guide you home. You look like you’re ready.”
So, Dismay joined the other caterpillars and made her way through the verdant landscape, snacking on buds and seeds and flowers. When they came to a protected spot in a grove of apple trees, she was encouraged to stay, while her companions continued on. So, Dismay found herself alone again, far from the ground, on a very high and precarious branch. Without her friends, she felt anxious and exposed. She began to worry that she would always feel this way.
Just then, the forest floor began to tremble and the earth in the clearing started to rumble and part forming a huge, hollow circle in the rich soil. Dismay gasped. Emerging from the hole was a luminous woman, immense in size and ethereal, cloaked in a shimmering, blue robe as flowy as the stream beneath her. It was Arazelle, the Goddess of transformation.
Arazelle reached up to the branch that Dismay was clinging to and offered her gigantic hand toward her. “Come with me to rest awhile,” she said to the caterpillar who lost her way so very long ago. “I will give you the power to transform.”
Dismay was unsure, but there was something about this being that made her feel safe, so she slowly crawled into her open palm. She returned to the earth with Arazelle and went into darkness. This is where Arazelle taught her to be strong, to trust in her own power, to work through her pain and build her confidence. With Arazelle’s support, Dismay began to feel her negative attitude dissolve and even her body change. Before long, she was ready. Arazelle thought she was ready too.
Safely protected in the palm of Arazelle’s hand, the two broke the surface of the earth into the warm sunshine beneath the grove of apple trees. By the light of day, Dismay could see that she had grown beautiful purple and yellow wings with orange tips and crimson antennae. She was no longer a drab caterpillar, she was a strong and beautiful butterfly with wings to fly. “You have worked hard,” Arazelle declared “and you have earned the name, Nova, which means new life. You will fly on your own and inspire transformation. Your mission is to open minds and illuminate hearts.”
And so, with Arazelle’s encouraging glance, Nova spread her beautiful wings and began to fly on her own. She sputtered at first, but then found herself soaring confidently to new heights and never looked back. It is told that Nova’s presence is felt whenever someone is experiencing a transition, struggling through the darkness and moving toward the light.