The Magic of Witches and Butterflies

“Rhine Side Gallery” as part of the Krefeld change of perspective under the artistic direction of Fredda Wouters from Kevelaer Kevelaer in coperation with Uerdinger Kaufmannsbund e.V. and city marketing Krefeld. 

Ketty Grossi is a freelance artist and works mainly as a restorer and decorative painter. 

Do you know how the butterfly got its name? In the Middle Ages, people thought butterflies were insects who stole butter. This matches to the belief that witches stole their neighbors’ butter. Witches’ souls would appear in the form of the butterfly, which is probably why they were thought to steal butter! Clever witches shapeshifted into butterflies and flew around to do their bidding in disguise. Because of the superstitions surrounding butterflies and witches, butterflies were linked to the Devil. How anyone could think such a lovely creature was the Devil’s helper is beyond me!

According to Jacob Grimm in Teutonic Mythology, when a witch travels at night (astral travel), her spirit comes out of her mouth in the shape of a butterfly. The people of Slovenia believed souls looked like butterflies. The alp, a shapeshifting nightmare bringer of Germanic folklore, was also said to appear as a butterfly or moth. So did the holden of the Furious Host (Wild Hunt) and elves – both creatures connected with witches in the Dark Ages.

The stone fragment was already broken before, and every visitor ask "Who did it?" , that's surprising art!