The Buzz About Symbolic Fly Meaning

Last Updated on July 1, 2021 by Avia

The Buzz About Symbolic Fly Meaning: Let’s face it, the fly might not be the most romantic or appealing messenger. Nonetheless, the fly does have messages to share. For most of us, the fly is an annoyance at best. But in the realms of Natural symbolism, nothing is off-limits, and the fly can be a carrier of some meaningful insights.

If flies are buzzing around in your environment and capturing your awareness, perhaps they’re conveying a symbolic message. At least, that’s what I think. And I’m not the only one. I got a question about the symbolic fly meaning and thought a post about them might be appropriate.

So, as we might expect, there’s good news and bad news. Let’s start by running through cultural ideas and opinions about fly meaning. I’ll kick it off with the more unsavory side to fly symbolism…

The Sinister Side of Symbolic Fly Meaning

Flies get a bum rap in most myths and cultural view. For example, ancient Christian lore depicts the fly as a symbol of impurity and a temptation to diverge from the path of righteousness.

Phoenician myth associates Beelzebub as the ‘Lord of Flies’ in which the insect represents corruption and putridity.

This association is why the fly is featured on some renditions of the Devil card in the Tarot, because it represents primal impulses and lack of cleanliness in many areas of the human collective consciousness.

I guess that’s understandable. After all, the fly is a well-known carrier of viruses. But it’s not like it’s spreading disease on purpose, it’s just a natural process.

Thankfully, not all cultural myths count the fly as a nemesis.

Brighter Side of Symbolic Fly Meaning

Greek: Did you know the fly is sacred to the Greek god Zeus? Uh huh. The pervasiveness of flies was observed by the ancient Greeks to signify omnipresence. Flies are everywhere, and so too is divine presence – always watching, always buzzing with energy.

Cameroon: The Bamun people of Cameroon recognize flies as an energetic kingdom of tiny winged insects and their presence signified strength in unity according to Engelbert Mveng (L’art d’Afrique Noire). Moreover, the Bamun recognized the shape-shifting and cyclical nature of their ancestors. Essentially, they hold to an ideal that by swatting a fly, they may be squashing the spirit of a great-great-great grandfather! In this perspective, symbolic fly meaning is a reminder that all life carries 100% potential. This unique view reminds us of the cyclical nature of life and opens up possibilities of life indwelling other forms.

Native American: In Native American symbolism, Navajo legend places the fly in high regard too. Dontso, the ‘Great Fly’ is called during healing ceremonies as the fly has the ability to ‘eat’ away necrotic or dying flesh. The fly is considered a purifier and asked to consume negative influences and take them away – leaving the afflicted free from malady. I’ve also been told that Dontso, The Great Fly is considered a divine messenger, and even called upon as a heroic guide on spirit walks.

Asian: Parts of Asia take a more thoughtful approach, and view the fly as a symbol of a wandering or aimless soul. Some Asian myths describe the souls of the disturbed deceased would take residence in the body of a fly. Capturing and feeding the fly fermented rice was thought to release the tortured human soul from the body of the fly. This kindness liberated the captured soul and provided it freedom to move onto higher spiritual realms.

Symbolic Fly Meaning in Nature and Life

When Nature pulls on the strings of my attention in various guises, I like to contemplate outstanding features of the flora/fauna that’s playing on my awareness.

For example, when flies come buzzing my way I take it as an invitation to evaluate the nuisances ‘bugging’ me. Irritants accumulate in our energetic matrices – often unnoticed. Thus, the fly encourages us to take stock of the petty irritations we might be holding on to (but not always fully aware of). Sometimes I even ask the fly to wing those vexations away from me (and I thank them for their service).

The fly is a master consumer of waste in all forms. In this analogy, am I saying we should go around eating doo-doo? Eww, gross! No way! But I am encouraging a look at our emotional poop for the purpose of clearing out the stuff that no longer serves us.

I also appreciate the visionary quality of the fly. They see the world with over 3000 optical lenses. Can you even imagine? Consequently, when the fly pays us a visit, it’s often a reminder to expand our vision – see the world with multi-dimensional sight – the way the fly does.

Questions the Fly Asks Us

When the fly buzzes into our lives, it asks specific question. Here are a few ideas about symbolic fly meaning and messages…

What’s Bugging Me?: So often, we all tend to just put up with the little irritants in life. Equally often, we fail to recognize that a bunch of irritations piled up over time can build up some sizeable stress loads. The little fly reminds us to breathe, release the little stuff and attain renewal for a better chance of living a more stress-free life.
Waste Not Want Not!: As expert consumers of waste, the fly is the ultimate recycler in Nature. The fly prompts us to look at our own waste in life. In this way, the fly reminds us to not squander our resources – let nothing go to waste. This process is not just for cleaning out clutter in the house and repurposing it – although this is exactly what the fly encourages. The fly also asks us to take a look at our emotional crap. The fly asks us to descend upon our thoughts and feelings with joy and positivity. Doing so will convert emotional decay into clarified, uplifted attitudes.
Airy-Visionary: When the fly pays us a visit, it’s time to see things differently. The fly has a remarkable sense of sight. It has a ton of separate optical lenses, which creates a multi-spectrum way to see the world. We can do the same. The fly encourages us to look at our world different. Strive to see aspects of life and environment in different ways. Resist one-dimensional vision, and opt for multi-vision!

So, the next time you’re tempted to squish those flies buzzing around your aura, first take a moment to contemplate symbolic fly meaning and the deeper meaning of their presence.

Just thoughts. I hope you enjoyed this article on symbolic fly meaning. If you did, please feel free to check out related articles below.

As always, thanks for reading!

Buzzy blessings,

Mighty brightly,