What does 'Lain Gwilwileth' mean?

To begin with, note that the title of this blog is written in Elvish. Why? Because I thought it was a nice touch.

• Lain (Quenya): Free
• Gwilwileth (Sindarin): Butterfly

So far so good. Now, why butterfly instead of, say, mosquito? Here comes the interesting point.

I always felt a certain attraction to butterflies, but I never knew why. Last summer, staying in a friend's, I lost one of my favorite rings (yeah, okay, it went down the drain of the bathroom sink, pathetic story.) Thing is, it was a fleur-de-lis ring. No, I'm not a member of the Priory of Sion; but I've always had a particular fascination with the lily as well. A month after the tragic loss, that same friend gifted me a ring for my birthday; not a lily one, but a butterfly one. For some reason, the first thing I did that night when I got home was Google 'fleur-de-lis.' The Spanish version of a Wikipedia article, among other things, said this (I'm really very sorry, the translation is so messy):

... "In Colombia there is the Professional College of Psychologists Unit [...], this collegial unity uses the fleur de lis as an emblem, being the world's only organization of psychologists who adopt this symbol; if we watch it closely, we can notice that the fleur de lis resembles the shape of a butterfly, which for the Greeks represents the human soul (Psyche). Furthermore, it resembles the Greek letter psi (Ψ), which is also used as a symbol of psychology (Ψιχη psyche-soul.)"...

And here's were things got extremely interesting... at least for me. It turned out that my two obsessions (about which I investigated a little late, but those who know say that it's better than never) actually were one.

A couple of years ago, when I was still going to school and there was no way to fulfill my daily share of fun, I used to spend a great deal of my day drawing. Drawing mostly fantastic scenery, due to the fact that, honestly, the real world didn't cover my daily share of fun either (it still doesn't). I would sign each and every one of those drawings, including sketches, as Gwilwileth. At that time, to me butterflies weren't much more than fascinating creatures, which wings would camouflage them sometimes, dazzle some others, and leave unique marks on our skin. Of course, it was also a synonym of freedom; so maybe this whole free butterfly thing is older than I am confessing.
So I investigated a little more about the connection between the butterfly and psychology, and the data that I dug up only increased the appeal of the butterfly, and gave a new meaning to Lain Gwilwileth.

The word psychology derives from the Greek psyche, meaning soul, not as we understand it now, but as the beginning of life. The letter Psi (twenty-third and last letter of the Greek alphabet) is often used as a symbol of psychology. Psi is associated with the Greek word psyche, which originally referred to the butterfly (the letter Ψ [psi] is a stylized drawing of a butterfly). It was later used with the meanings of "breeze," "breath" and "spirit" (soul). The Greeks believed that, when they died, men breathed their last breath and their soul abandoned their body in the shape of a flying butterfly. According to mythology, Eros fell in love with Psyche, often portrayed as a girl with butterfly wings. This myth represents the need to unify spirit and everything physical in order to achieve the elevation of the soul, to be complete. Currently, the butterfly is also used to refer to freedom, peace, creativity, ideals, serenity, enthusiasm, fragility, well-being; it represents the existence and the craving for adequate living conditions, regarding both the physical environment as well as everything that lives in it (including human beings). Very frequently, animals are the proper 'prime matter' to symbolize our pretensions. Apparently, the butterfly meets the requirements to represent those of the psychologists. In the image of the butterfly is synthesized, symbolized and represented the desire for a better lifestyle, wellness, life, breath, progress, and an adequate development. Which is to say everything that has to do with bio-psycho-social well-being.

With all this information, I have very little to add. The butterfly turned out to be perfect for me because it  virtually represents all the things that I consider important in life. Lifestyle, Wellness, Life, Breath, Progress, Performance, Soul, Peace, Creativity, Ideals... for them to be in optimal conditions and up to our expectations, they only need our freedom.


A/N I've been so lazy! I can't believe it took me this long to translate the original post. And even though I reread it and feel like I should make some corrections, I don't want to. Oh, I'm so, so, so lazy. I apologise for the poor quality of this entry. Nevertheless, I hope you can find a place in your heart to understand and enjoy it, mistakes included.