Trollslända

Since I am half Swedish, I would like this trollslända (Swedish for dragon fly) to go to Sweden to weigh people's souls. Pictures of it's adventures along the way would be great. I would especially love to see pictures of my family's native Sweden.

Dragonflies are viewed very differently in cultures around the world. Although here in the United States they are viewed as mythical magical creatures, other cultures have not been so kind to the legacy of the dragonfly.

Sweden
Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls. Another Swedish legend holds that trolls use the dragonflies as spindles when weaving their clothes (hence the Swedish word for dragonfly trollslända, lit. "troll's spindle") as well as sending them to poke out the eyes of their enemies.

European
In Europe, dragonflies have often been viewed as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "devil's needle" and "ear cutter", link them with evil or injury.

Romanian
A Romanian folk tale says that the dragonfly was once a horse possessed by the devil.

Norwegian
The Norwegian name for dragonflies is "Øyenstikker", which literally means Eye Poker.

Welsh
They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name gwas-y-neidr, "adder's servant".

Southern U.S.
The Southern United States term "snake doctor" refers to a folk belief that dragonflies follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured.

Lithuania
The Lithuanian word "Laumžirgis" is a composite word meaning "the Lauma's horse".

Dutch
In Dutch, Aeshna mixta is called "Paardenbijter" or "horse biter".

South America
In some South American countries, dragonflies are also called matacaballo (horse killer), or caballito del diablo (devil's horse), since they were perceived as harmful, some species being quite large for an insect.

Native American
In East Asia and among Native Americans, dragonflies have a far better reputation, one that can also be said to have positively influenced modern day views about dragonflies in most countries. For some Native American tribes they represent swiftness and activity, and for the Navajo they symbolize pure water. Dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery; stylized as a double-barred cross, they appear in Hopi rock art and on Pueblo necklaces. It is said in some Native American beliefs that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship.

Asia
In Japan dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness, and they often appear in art and literature, especially haiku. In ancient mythology, Japan was known as Akitsushima, which means "Land of the Dragonflies". The love for dragonflies is reflected by the fact that there are traditional names for almost all of the 200 species of dragonflies found in and around Japan. Japanese children catch large dragonflies as a game, using a hair with a small pebble tied to each end, which they throw into the air. The dragonfly mistakes the pebbles for prey, gets tangled in the hair, and is dragged to the ground by the weight. They also have traditional uses as medicine in Japan and China. In some parts of the world they are a food source, eaten either as adults or larvae; in Indonesia, for example, they are caught on poles made sticky with birdlime, then fried in oil as a delicacy.

Vietnamese
Vietnamese people have a traditional way to forecast rain by seeing dragonflies: "Chu?n chu?n bay th?p thì mua, bay cao thì n?ng, bay v?a thì râm" (Dragonflies fly at low level, it is rainy; dragonflies fly at high level, it is sunny; dragonflies fly at medium level, it is shadowy).