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In Japan butterflies were seen as the personification of a person's soul. One Japanese superstition says if a butterfly enters your guest room and lands behind the bamboo screen then the person you love the most is coming to see you. Seeing a large number of butterflies is a bad omen. In Chinese culture two butterflies flying together is a symbol of love. In both Japan and China butterflies were symbols of joy and happiness. In some old cultures butterflies were a symbol rebirth into a new life. If the first butterfly you see of the year is white you will have a good year. seeing three butterflies together is also good luck. The Greeks believed a new human soul was born each time a butterfly emerged from it's cocoon. the Mayan looked at butterflies as the spirits of disguised dead warriors returning to earth. In the 1600's in Ireland killing white butterflies was prohibited because they were thought to be the souls of dead children.