The transformational chrysalis phase is one of the great mysteries of biology. No one knows exactly how the butterfly changes form in such a dramatic way. But this much is known: inside the caterpillar’s body are clusters of cells called, of all things, imaginal buds. Imaginal refers to the imago, the adult phase, but it also means “to imagine”, and psychologists use the word imago to mean an idealized image of a loved one, including the self. The imaginal buds contain the idealized image, the blueprint for growing a butterfly. While the caterpillar goes about its earth-crawling business, these cells, deep inside, are imagining flight.“2

“The caterpillar's immune system recognizes these imaginal buds as foreign and tries to destroy them. As the buds arrive faster and begin to link up, the caterpillar's immune system breaks down and its body begins to disintegrate... into a mass of creamy material, which is utilized for the production of new organs... Through a powerful, devastating process, the caterpillar is no longer a caterpillar. It is transformed and reborn as a butterfly.

People who experience being engaged with a powerful force that seems to lift them beyond themselves seldom fully understand what happens in such moments. Nor do they find it easy to talk about the experience. Something has been annihilated. Something extraordinary has been born.” 2

Sources:
1. http://imago-transitions.com/philosophy.htm

2. http://www.butterflyspirit.org/stories/noetic_science.html