Whimsical, Tragic and Pretty Things

 I recently finished reading a book based on a funny TikTok recommendation. The girl on the screen was “fake angry” after reading it, twirling around on the screen, jumping up and down saying “wow. Wow. WOW”, slamming the book down on the counter and even flicking it off and cursing as it accidentally falls off. I’m immediately hooked and chuckling. Absolutely no idea what the book is even about at this point, or if it even falls into my favorite genres of fantasy/sci-fi or historical romance. All I know is I see pretty flashes of green on the cover and her words captivate me as she states “…when a book dedication says to you, my hope is not that you finish this book, but that it finishes you, believe them…” 

Naturally I’m down the rabbit hole instantly, researching where I can find this book, How Does It Feel? by Jeneane O’Riley, as I want to start reading it immediately and make my own assumptions. I find it on Amazon, download to my Kindle and I’m off. I read the entire book within a few days, and yes, I was surprised at the end. Yes, I loved it. And yes, I’m waiting for the second book in the series to come out. But honesty, none of that is even the point.  Don’t ask me why I never really noticed the full details of the cover. I actually thought the face on the cover had some sort of helmet on. Didn’t even actually pay attention as I got the digital book version and just flipped to the dedication. 

What surprised me even more than the book ending is the fact I read the book in its entirety before I even questioned whether I had ever seen a Luna Moth before. The author touches briefly on them all throughout the book, but it’s not until those final and crucial last chapters that she describes them in such vivid and perfect detail the way this whimsical creature looks. So the curiosity is just too much at this point - they’re an integral part of the story and I have to see what they look like. 

I typed in the search term “Luna Moth”, and I’m instantly enthralled. I’m in complete awe. These whimsical creatures really exist! They’re mostly a bright lime-green color with long curling ‘tails’ which are sometimes accented by contrasting pink or yellow edges that fan down in length, with little brown feather-like looking antenna peeking out the top and these chunky, fuzzy and white little bodies under their perfectly shaped wings which are rimmed along the top edge with a thick, brownish-red to almost purple line. Four seemingly fake spots are sprinkled on the back of the wings as decoys, evenly spaced in a way that nature designed to look like eyes in the hopes of thwarting off any potential predators. Simply put, they are gorgeous and ethereal looking. I could hardly believe they were real the way they are described in the book - floating both quietly and gracefully through the night sky, with hundreds, maybe thousands of them carried by the most delicate wisps of air, landing and gathering together on the rough tree barks. Just a stark and magical contrast to the described dark, creepy forest where they gather around white magical mushrooms at the center.

I had to see them flying at this point. A further deep dive rewards me with a video of a woman softly petting the wings of one. Other photos of their chubby little green caterpillar bodies. And a video of the way they flap their wings - wow. I’m not a fan of insects, but honestly these are the most beautiful insects I’ve ever seen. I look up more information about them only to realize they have a short adult lifespan, they are most active at night deep in forests, and the only food they consume is when they’re young caterpillars, as once they mature into adulthood after their cocoon process, they have no mouths! NO mouths!!! I’m flabbergasted. It’s both beautiful and tragic.

At this point, I’m completely won over. I love these little creatures, and very much as with the main character in the book, I want to study even more about them. Anything that attracts my attention to this extent, I’m very curious to find out if there’s any sort of spiritual meaning or symbolic connection. According to my search, the scientific name is Actias Luna, or ‘Moon Moth’. Being that they start out as caterpillar and emerge from their cocoons with no mouths, their life cycle is associated with transformation, new beginnings and the brevity of life. Luna moths are very much mystical animal totems that bring luck and happiness, truth and purity. 

I very much enjoy a good book, but I’ve never been so encouraged to lookup and discover something new like this in such a subtle, undertone kind of way. Instead of just being left with that shock of the surprise ending, I am left in awe of the discovery, the beautiful way in which everything is presented in the book as it highly contrasts with the darker edges of the story. Well done!