Reiki and the Deformed Monarch

January, February, March 2011

Every summer I collect monarch butterfly eggs and release them when they emerge from their chrysalis as an adult. Last summer I raised & released over 100 of the beautiful insects. Like all creatures, they are not always born perfect. One of the female  monarchs from a group of chrysalis that I had in a cage at Curves, the local exercise club, was born with severely deformed wings. After a few hours of flapping her crumpled wings and not going anywhere except in circles, she lay motionless at the bottom of the cage for the rest of the day.

The Curves manager asked me to throw her lifeless body out. Instead, I took her home and decided to smudge and Reiki her, just to make sure her transition had been peaceful. As I started to give her Reiki, I noticed that one of her antenna was now moving. Shortly after that, her legs started quivering and she was actually trying to move. The Reiki must have ignited that last spark of life that she was clinging on to.

It didn't take much Reiki for the crippled, crumpled-winged butterfly to show she was determined to live. She was a fighter and a survivor. Over the next eighteen days, every time she sensed I was approaching, she would wiggle her antenna, try to crawl in my direction, or flap her crumpled wings. Most of the time, she asked to be fed. But other times she just wanted to be Reikied or carried around. She skillfully sucked sugar water off a Q-tip, or drank it out of a spoon.

She insisted on being taken on sight seeing trips outside and never tried to leave my hand. She seemed to know her mobility was limited, and she never wasted her energy attempting tasks she wasn't physically capable of doing (like trying to fly). She saved her energy and used it to accomplish tasks she could do. I could  tell she had a strong will to live and an unending determination to get what she wanted.She was pretty demanding, and had a powerful attitude.

This monarch butterfly didn't seem to notice her own handicap. She accepted herself just as she was, and lived her life not feeling sorry for herself. She epitomized the idea that you're only handicapped if you think you are. This monarch knew she had beauty, and she knew she was on a journey. She realized she had value, and something to unselfishly offer the world. She was a teacher and provided me many valuable lessons during her lifetime.  She knew her beauty was worthy of appreciation, despite any handicapping or disfiguring traits. She was an excellent teacher of the lesson that there is beauty in every living (and non-living) thing. The extra time and effort it took to work with the butterfly, was repaid back multiple times in multiple ways. She easily taught me that every single soul is connected, and you only have to open your heart to feel the connection. I discovered that the more that you allow Nature to enter your heart, the more rewards Mother Earth will give back to you, and on a daily basis! My entire summer became filled with unique opportunities that unfolded in front of my eyes. Seeing rare acts of nature become a common occurrence. Being at the right place at the right time, many more times than normal coincidence could explain, provided me experiences, sights and insights that most people can only dream of. Nature offers us so many gifts, opportunities, and blessings. Sometimes the greatest blessings are disguised and discarded, just like a deformed butterfly presumed dead at the bottom of a cage.

About the author: Susan Lovell is a retired special education teacher from rural Michigan. She has a lifelong love & appreciation for animals and Nature. Her Reiki journey has just recently begun. She became a Reiki Master Practitioner in January 2011, and completed Kathleen's Animal Reiki I & II classes in February 2011. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .