Butterfly Skull

It's all about contrast, of course. In Mexico, some cultures believe that human souls do not die, but rather continue living in Mictlan, a place for spirits to rest until the day they could return to their homes to visit their relatives. Later, as Catholic traditions intermingled with indigenous cultures, the monarch butterflies came to be regarded as the souls of departed ancestors returning to Earth for their annual visit.

Monarch butterflies often symbolize children that have died, and their annual mass migration to Mexico can foster feelings of both sadness and joy.

The butterfly imaged here is not a Monarch, of course, but it does represent the fragility of the human soul.