Animal Symbolism of Dolphins

Animal Symbolism of Dolphins

Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin. They vary in size from 4 ft and 90 lb (Maui Dolphin), up to 30 ft and 10 tons (Orca aka Killer Whale). They are found worldwide, and are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. Their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them extremely popular. Dolphins were called King of the Fishes and the Arrow of the Sea, travelling up to 30 knots.

Dolphins are social, living in pods of up to a dozen individuals. In places with a high abundance of food, pods can merge temporarily, forming a superpod; such groupings may exceed 1,000 dolphins. Individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistles and other vocalizations. They make ultrasonic sounds for echolocation. Membership in pods is not rigid; interchange is common. However, dolphins can establish strong social bonds. Dolphins will stay with injured or ill individuals, even helping them to breathe by bringing them to the surface if needed.

Dolphin/Porpoise's Wisdom Includes:

• Knowledge of the sea
• Patron of sailors
• Change
• Wisdom
• Balance
• Harmony
• Communication skills
• Freedom
• Trust
• Understanding the power of rhythm in your life
• Use of breath to release intense emotions
• Water element magick

The Shadow Aspects:

If you have the shadow energy of dolphin in your life, you may fear or resent the polarity within yourself that demands that unsavory or destructive qualities reside alongside more easily appreciable ones. You find it difficult to reconcile these within yourself and others. Dolphin confronts this, and will help you to come to peace with qualities that you feel war with each other.

You may have problems with how you perceive sex and sexuality within yourself and others. You may have unusual sex habits - but be unsure how to embrace and accept them in a healthy way. Alternatively you may be obsessed with sex and sexuality to such a degree that you are unable to see past it. You may want so much sex you are unable to live fully, you may loathe the idea of sex, or be sex-phobic in some way. Dolphin swims into your life to point out that this is hurting you, and has the potential to change if you work with dolphin.

The dolphin, a mammal of the sea, requires air to breathe, yet lives beneath the water. It must come up for air to survive. Dolphins are considered to be the keepers of the sacred breath of life. When Dolphin appears, ask yourself if you are holding your breath, do you need to come up for air? Do you need to learn how to control your breathing to increase your passion and sexuality? Do you need to learn breathing techniques in order to heal yourself physically, emotionally, or spiritually? Are you holding in tensions? Are you getting enough fresh air? When Dolphin shows up, it is time to breathe new life into yourself. Get out, play, explore, and above all else, breathe!

Dolphins breathe through a blowhole located on the top of their heads. Similarly, on humans, this is the location of the crown chakra that connects us to the higher self. Dolphin’s way of breathing demonstrates how we can reach upwards, pulling ourselves up and beyond material concerns of the physical and tap into the universal source for rejuvenation.

Dolphin’s Energy is Good For:

• Someone who needs balance in their life
• Anyone who needs help with communication and social interaction
• Anyone who may hold unhealthy sexual beliefs
• Those who need beauty and grace within their lives
• Someone who needs healing energy (and those that use this energy for healing)
• Anyone who needs to learn to use the energy and magick of Water
• Sailors, or anyone who is travelling on the oceans or seas

Dolphins in Ancient Mythology

Dolphins have been viewed as somehow magickal for millennia by humans. They’re one of the only animals that appear to play, leaping out of the water and doing tricks, and the bottlenose dolphin even seems to grin widely at everything. It was inevitable that such a remarkable animal also collected a remarkable mythology that extends through today.

The first culture that seems to have mythology associated with the dolphin was the Minoan, a seafaring people in the Mediterranean. They left few written records, but they did leave beautiful murals on the walls of their palaces, murals that show the importance of dolphins in their mythology.

Because they were strongly associated with Poseidon by the later Greeks, this probably explains why the sea god was so often surrounded by dolphins. Delphin was a dolphin in the service of the god Poseidon. When his master was wooing Amphitrite and she fled, Delphin went in search of the nymph and persuaded her to agree to the marriage. For his service Poseidon placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Delphinus. This wasn’t the last time the Greeks associated dolphins with romance. In ancient Greece, to kill a dolphin was equal to killing a human and was a crime punishable by death. For dolphins were seen as messengers for the Gods, and were closely associated with Poseidon's daughters, the Nereides, the goddess of love Aphrodite, the heroine Galatea and the music-loving sun god, Apollo. Aphrodite is often depicted with dolphins, riding them or being accompanied by them. Later, the god Dionysus transformed the way dolphins were perceived in Greek literature. He was set upon while at sea by a band of pirates. Instead of simply destroying the sea raiders, he transformed them into a pod of dolphins, charging them to rescue any distressed sailors in the ocean. Dolphins, in Greek culture, were often rescuers of humans, probably because they like to bring things to the surface and because there’s some really good evidence that they do indeed purposely rescue people in danger. Dolphins were sculpted on the walls of Apollo’s temple at Delphi. In his aspect of Apollo Delphinos, he could take on the form of a dolphin. The Greek word delphinos means dolphin and womb as is seen in the word Delphi, or World Center. The dolphin’s usual symbolic meaning was power and swiftness, but they were also considered to be the guides of souls to the Underworld. When painted on funeral urns, the dolphin symbolized the passing of the soul from one world to another.

In the rainforests of the Amazon Basin, the native Indians tell literally thousands of legends about the mysterious pink Amazon River dolphin, also called the Boto. Stories abound of the river dolphins taking human form and wooing young girls. They are often also regarded as unlucky, as they may tempt unknowing men and women into the water, where they are taken to Encante, the underwater world of no return. Similar tales of shape shifting are told of the elusive Baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin.

In Sumeria, dolphins were connected to Astarte, Ishtar, and Ea-Oannes, the deity of the sea. Dolphins were also connected with the goddess Isis in Egypt. The ancient Celts attributed the dolphin with well-worship and the healing powers of water, and the image of people, usually a male figure, riding dolphins is seen on some Celtic artifacts and coins.

Some Australian Aboriginal tribes claim to be direct descendants of dolphins, who are sometimes regarded as guardian spirits.

To the early Christians, the dolphin was a symbol of salvation.

The dolphin is also an important symbol in heraldry, the art of creating coats-of-arms, and represents diligence, salvation, charity and love.

Byzantine sailors, Arab sailors, Chinese and European explorers, all had tales of dolphins rescuing sailors or ships in trouble. Dolphins could predict calm seas. And a ship accompanied by dolphins was sure to find safe harbor and fair weather. Just as with an albatross, it was terrible luck to harm a dolphin. This is very clear in the tales of Pelorus Jack, a dolphin described in the late 19th century who guided ships through a particularly treacherous strait off the coast of Tasmania.

Jack would appear as ships neared the strait, and guide them through the safe deep parts of the water, leaving the ship once it was safely through. One day, a drunk passenger on one ship shot Jack, and of course he fled. Weeks later, he reappeared to guide ships, but would never guide that particular ship again. And ultimately, that ship did wreck on the rocks of the strait.

In Hindu mythology the Ganges River Dolphin is associated with Ganga, the deity of the Ganges River. The dolphin is said to be among the creatures which heralded the goddess' descent from the heavens and her mount, the Makara, is sometimes depicted as a dolphin.

Dolphin Fun Facts:

· Some dolphins can stay underwater for up to 30 minutes at a time.

· Dolphins sleep by resting their brain one half at a time so that one eye is always open. They can then rise to the surface to breathe and watch for predators.

· Each dolphin has its own signature whistle to identify itself.

Whales and Dolphins Today

Today, whales and dolphins are widely thought to possess mystical powers. Thousands of people, including healers and patients alike, claim that dolphins in particular have a mysterious healing ability, easing ailments ranging from depression to autism. The image or sounds of whales or dolphins alone are sometimes reputed to have a beneficial effect. Scientists have explained this healing effect as a result of endorphins - the body's natural pain killing hormone - being released as a result of feelings of intense happiness and excitement, and so interacting with a dog, cat or horse could produce a similar effect. Some practitioners, however, believe that dolphins act as channels of Ki, the life-energy associated with Feng Shui, Reiki and Tai Chi. The calls of whales and dolphins are often used in musical compositions for relaxation and meditation.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of whales and dolphins, these animals sadly face more threats from humanity than ever before. Whales and dolphins are still slaughtered in the thousands all over the world, dying for nothing more than the human greed for profit. Even more needlessly drown in fishing nets or as a result of pollution poisoning their habitat and food. Large numbers of dolphins and small whales are also imprisoned in tiny concrete tanks in marine parks and zoos, where they must perform several times a day to entertain visitors. Such exploitation is a far cry from the respect these animals earned from the cultures of the ancient world.

Today, in movies and in literature, we have our own legends of the dolphin. Almost any website or book about dolphins will speak of the amazing intelligence and wisdom of the dolphin, and though much of it is supported by scientific fact, some of it has slipped into mythology. There are people today who see dolphins as intelligent aliens – a legend expanded upon by The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, wherein dolphins tried to warn earthlings of impending doom before giving up and just leaving. And then there was Flipper, who was a Lassie-like dolphin who made himself useful by continually rescuing two accident-prone little boys.

Today, few creatures in the animal kingdom command the breathless awe and respect a dolphin can. With its grace, intelligence, and seeming eagerness to entertain, the dolphin captures the imagination and affection of almost everyone.

Dolphin Superstitions:

§ Dolphins playing in fine weather or near the shore means the weather will turn windy.

§ Dolphins playing in the turbulent sea, or swimming to the north, means fine weather is coming.

§ Dolphins swimming to the south means poor weather is coming.

§ Dolphins swimming with a ship is a sign of good luck.

§ Killing a dolphin will bring bad luck.

§ Dolphins will rescue drowning swimmers by pushing them back to shore; this is one superstition that has some truth in it.

§ River dolphins cut up the bellies of crocodiles with their fins.

Sources:

http://www.elexion.com/lakota/animals/animals2.html#del

http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/animals/dolphin.txt

http://www.wildspeak.com/totems/dolphin.html

http://healing.about.com/od/animaltotems/ig/Animal-Totems-Photo-Gallery/Dolphin.htm

http://pacificoffshorerigging.com/nautical_superstitions.htm

http://superstitionsonline.com/2009/10/dolphins/

http://www.dolphins-world.com/Dolphins_in_Mythology.html

http://www.ancientspiral.com/dolphin1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin

http://www.dolphinkind.com/dolphin_facts.html

Animal Speak-The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small by Ted Andrews

Animal Magick-The Art of Recognizing & Working with Familiars by D.J. Conway

Image from:

http://www.blingcheese.com/image/code/72/dolphin.htm