The ancient egyptians may have believed that we had 3 souls. There was :-
The Ba, was the body of the deceased, but it is very possible that this also referred to the Living Body as a soul as well. They saw that death was a type of metamorphosis which would bring the deceased Ka, which is the Soul that exists in heaven, back into contact with His/Her Ba. But not only that, further, the human body and soul would unite once again and become a Sahu, which is similar to our ideas of an immortal human being, incorruptible, wise, content, and no longer bogged down by the limitations which afflicted Him/Her during regular LIFE. They noticed a caterpillar can appear to die in a sarcophagus which it creates for itself and seems to cause its own death and mummification, only to rise again with its physical body transformed into something unimaginably more different and beautiful than it was before it wrapped itself in an emerald sarcophagus with gold trim. Then they reckoned, perhaps, if a mere caterpillar is gifted with such a talent of self-transformation, is it not possible that there is some similar latent power in man? That being said/asked, I will agree with my acquaintance who quickly points out that butterflies do not transform into immortal people capable of complete spiritual liberation. But also, I do believe there is something to be said for a creature who brings itself to grow wings and take flight, as a metaphor the ultimate version of such a tale is too great to be contained merely in the mind of a man.