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Whale Song – Creative Inspiration & Conscious Clarity from Within the Depths of You
Whales have been showing up a lot in my waking life since the end of last year – seeing whales breaching and spouting out in the ocean from the cliffs at the beach. However, Friday, as I was walking with a friend along the beach, a couple of younger whales came to play with us, just literally yards away from the edge of the sand, so that we could see them beautifully surfacing and submerging, over and over. It was such a rare gift.
It also reminded me how when I was a very young child, I had this recurring dream for years that continued into my late teens and early twenties that involved a very dark inner room that had a very large pool of dark water where a very large whale was that I would visit in my dreams. I can still feel the energy around this dream and the smells that came along with it, but it was very deliberate, exaggeratedly in slow motion, and at times some trepidation of this subconscious and primordial depth of shadow and emotion I was exploring and afraid of falling in to.
But fast forward to today, where I no longer have that dream, nor the trepidation, but instead am visited at perfect moments by living whales in conscious time.
Friday’s beautiful gift again had me reviewing their symbolism, which I like to explore each time I encounter an animal friend and guide in my day-to-day.
I thought perhaps you may enjoy to read a little about the messages of whales if you too are visited by them in dream and waking life.
Whales represent grace, power of song, strength, intuition, looking deep within yourself for clear answers, and knowledge from the past. Their songs signify creativity, teaching you to tune in to your creative inspiration and to use it to enhance your life and in service to others. When they show up they may be signaling you to be mindful of your choices and how to align with divine timing, as well as how to use what you have most efficiently.
The whale’s gifts include being a record keeper for all eternity, all knowledge associated with voice, all aspects of the sea, beauty of movement, psychic and telepathic abilities, wisdom, provider, inner depth.
Particularly of interest to me is their use of the rhythm and patterns of sound, as they teach us to hear our inner voices, to be in touch with our personal truths and wisdom, and feeling the heartbeat of the Universe within us.
Whales show you how to submerge deep within yourself to draw from your inner creativity and imagination, but in a practical way so as not to get lost in your imagination, but to live in every-day reality, bringing forth your creative expression tangibly.
When creativity is sparked through whale teaching, it is not simply for sake of creativity, but to awaken the depth of inspiration you can infuse with your own creative intuition to create magickal and powerful formulas for life. It is a reminder of sharing your unique self-expression through all that you do and make your own music, as you flow with the rhythm of you. Whales will teach you how to create with song – something very important in my life indeed.
Avia Venefica of Whats-Your-Sign.com always shares some great perspectives and deep explorations on symbolism and signs, and her feelings into whale symbolism I find to be really insightful.
Here are things she shares on the symbolism of whales and having whale as a Totem Animal Spirit Guide:
“Where the edge of land ends and the fringe of vast oceans begins is a threshold of mammoth proportions. To garner in-depth understanding of symbolic whale meaning, we’ve got to pay homage to its environment, the oceans of our planet.
The oceans, and water in general holds age-old symbolism of emotional depth. As humans, we all experience an array of emotions. Some are on the surface; we can experience these emotions easily because they float on top of our life-experience as driftwood on the surface of the water. We can observe these top-layer emotions clearly, they are familiar and we deal with them daily. Other emotions, however, run very deep within us. Some emotions we burry beneath the fathoms of our consciousness; these emotions are the leviathans of our being – the lumbering beasts we dare not let surface.
From this perspective, we can easily relate to the depth and breadth of water with the essence of emotions. Given its habitat is the water realms, the totem meaning of the whale largely deals with emotions too. The whale symbolizes emotional creativity, well-being, nurturing as well as emotional depth.
Those who are magnetized by whale energy will tend to be incredibly deep in sensitivity. The depth of feeling whale-totem-people endure can be overwhelming. Whale people are super-perceptive about the feelings of those around them, and this can manifest into an internal pressure that can be quite crushing. The whale can help with overwhelment of feelings and even temper the onslaught of emotions picked up from other people too. If you are extraordinarily affected by the emotions of others, or your own emotions are so intense as to cause discomfort, your whale totem can help.
Why? Because whales are masters of:
Navigation: Moving through emotional depths
Communication: Effectively expressing emotional experiences
Conservation: Using emotional energy for fuel and not being consumed by emotional floods
We’ve all had a scary task to set before us, a heavy task with potentially frightening responsibilities placed on our shoulders. When we turn away from these responsibilities (knowing what we should do, yet refusing) it churns up massive emotional upheaval. We become swallowed ourselves in an emotional quagmire. We stew in our emotional soup, until we reach a boiling point. We all struggle with emotional buildup over choices we need to make, or even those choices we cannot bear to execute. Some of us, after days and nights of stewing within the womb of the soul, finally emerge (spit from the whale, so to speak) with renewed determination and a rekindling of faith. Others of us return to the emotional abyss until we can process our fears and indecision into a more refined state of being.
This kind of emotional swallowing, digesting and processing is key to whale totem meaning. Luckily, the whale can facilitate emotional clarity, and help us navigate through the often ambiguous and confusing seas of emotion. Whales themselves are incredibly nurturing; we see this in how they raise their young as well as their close-knit connection to others in their community herds or pods. Whales, and those with whale totems have a natural affinity for helping, especially promoting well-being within their community. People who are attracted to the whale often feel devoted to a greater cause, and although they may struggle with their own personal emotions, they tend to naturally conjure healing powers towards others in emotional trauma.
Does this sound familiar to you? If you have these tendencies, I encourage you to swim deeply with the whale in your meditations and prayers. Navigating the emotional waters with the whale by your side will afford guidance and clarity.
Whales ask us to embrace the unknown, and that’s precisely why they are so connected to the emotional depths of the oceans. To be sure, our current circumstances are born from an emotional womb. In other words, our reality is intrinsically connected to our thought and our emotional choices. It can be frustrating and confusing to track down the emotional origin of the stuff that’s manifested in our lives, and the whale can help us understand, on a deeper level, the actions that have caused unrest in our daily life.
In many sects of Native wisdom, the whale is symbolic of the beginning, the creation of all life on earth as we know it. They aren’t the only ones. Countless cultures around the globe associate themes of creation, birth and rebirth with the whale. Other symbolic suggestions to add to whale totem meaning include:
Deeper Awareness
Cosmic Consciousness
Emotional Rebirth and Understanding
Nurturing and Devotion to Community
Appreciation for Beauty, (especially song and dance)
The Importance of Balance (emotional and otherwise)”
The whale helps you to find greater and more expansive clarity within your deep emotional world, which will lead you to creative inspiration that is wanting to surface into your life as an adventurous experience, rather than a safe-harbored “wish”.
The Value of “Sloth” – Expanding Our Perceptions for Greater Wisdom
I don’t usually participate in any of the tests, surveys, or games that circulate on Facebook, but last week I took part in a quick one that my friend Jenny had posted, being drawn in by the animal nature of it at a time when I also was needing a fun little break. It used a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to represent a general overlook of your tendencies when it comes to social behavior, decision-making, and lifestyle and then provides an animal personality type that most closely reflects that.
I feel that if you take this kind of test at different points in your life, AND are totally honest in the process, you will discover how you change over time in most direct alignment to the flow of current energy in your life.
I know this to be true, as my current answers are different than the answers the past me would have given. I was very pleasantly surprised and happy with what it reflected – feeling it to be very accurate.
And I realized after taking the test, why it was that I did feel drawn to do so, as there was something in the process to learn and share.
As I looked deeper into my animal personality that showed up, I started to see even more depth and meaning to it and have been reflecting on it the past few days since.
I feel many of us have judgments about what we’d like to be associated with, based on our ideas of what the animals in general represent to us. As well, I believe that we may have conditioned beliefs about each animal and don’t fully understand the wisdom and depth that they all hold in ways that we are unfamiliar with or haven’t taken time to feel into at any great depth.
This also holds true for many things in life, not just the symbolism I am currently sharing about.
It was this realization that nudged me to share about the animal that came up for me, which is the Sloth.
I made some of my own connections and insights immediately, but then found it interesting when doing a quick search online, that there were a lot of generalizations about the Sloth that weren’t the whole story and feeling superficially perceived by the “obvious,” or associated with belief systems to make certain points.
I always recommend, and current energies support this, to dig deeper. There is always much more than meets the eye and it truly is a perfect time to widen your perceptions, don’t you think?
Of course we know how “Sloth” is considered one of the seven deadly sins under Catholicism and Christian moral traditions. Under this religious context it is defined as wasting and neglecting yourself spiritually and emotionally, out of lack of interest or use – to put it nicely. 🙂
And other generalizations of Sloth’s symbolism share the widely thought of “laziness, avoidance, and lack of ambition.”
Hmmm… Well, being that I know I don’t possess any of these qualities, nor am religious or believe in deadly sins, I knew Sloth had a beautiful meaning that not only the test’s brief summary shared and my own insights reflected, but also that I further unveiled by digging.
The test’s description of my “Sloth-ness” said:
Peaceful and easygoing, Sloths take things at their own pace and live moment to moment. They are considerate, pleasant, caring, and mellow. Their values are important to them, but they are not ones who particularly care about defending or debating their views publicly. Don’t call them lazy — maybe they are just more relaxed than the rest of us.
This made perfect, accurate sense to me and went along with the quiet, calm, softening qualities I have been sharing about deepening into, as well as the very solitary, introspective times I’ve been in, as I observe and sense everything. While I’ve been moving in slower motion these days, this reflects a relaxing-into the natural energy that is, without trying to force anything and taking only very deliberate, efficient steps – which sometimes seems/looks as if I’m not doing much at all. All of this while realizing that so much IS percolating energetically. So I really don’t need to do a lot, as all is revealed in divine timing and comes together quickly when I do finally set things in motion because I listen to the energy rather than think my way through it.
I’ve come to understand the wastefulness of speeding around to appease contrived time-frames and unnecessary parameters, as well as the impact on not only my well-being, but the product of that “force,” and the example it provides to others.
One of my favorite animal spirit guide websites shares that Sloth’s Wisdom also includes:
- Wisdom associated with moving slowly
- The value of perceived laziness
- Understanding the Tree Spirits
- Ability to access the libraries within the Trees where all Earth knowledge is held
- Understanding when to use tenacious behavior
- Seeing the world upside down
That last one has a really cool symbolism that hit me immediately after receiving Sloth as a reflection, but I’ll get back to that shortly.
I remembered right away that I had opportunity to be in the presence of wild Sloths when I was in Costa Rica exploring the rain forests. I also remember the excitement I felt and was fascinated by the two that we were blessed to come across. One must be very observant to eye these well-camouflaged, quiet, still, non-moving, sweet creatures of the forest. (Photo to the right is of one of them in the trees – very hard to make her out, but you can see her body of hair hanging from the tree home she embraces)
Sloth’s represent many cool qualities and, as you can already tell, have a deep wisdom to impart. All animals do. Everything in nature and yes, pretty much every experience does.
If you identify with “Sloth” or have Sloth as your animal spirit guide totem, then this post is for you. But it is also for everyone who is moving through “Sloth” experiences in their own life (like me) and can see the value that she brings in her teachings.
The Sloth is a creature of psychic vision and aloneness (in the sense of security and comfortability being with yourself). Like owls, they are capable of turning their heads almost 270 degrees, which you can imagine provides them a mysteriously insightful ability to see many perspectives – above, below, and every which way. I’d say that reflects their expanded inner vision, as being able to take in so much externally, can only mirror having the capability of processing that amount of depth and breadth of experience.
It is also this ability that lends to Sloths’ connection to the realm of spirit and their having very strong and clear visionary gifts. Being that they spend their time up in the trees, they can mirror someone who may have, or currently feels, out of place on Earth because of having different ways about them from the society they live in. This is why self nurturing of these gifts in ways that bring them into grounded, useful application for manifestation, becomes important. And with their strong connection to the Tree Spirits, there is that available ancient knowledge that can assist in that process, as well as bring the gifts of vision into partnership and harmony with Earth.
Tree-dwelling and keenly adaptive to branch-living (even mating while hanging from the trees), Sloths teach us balance and a broadened sense of personal space that is freeing and can be created in the most unlikely of places, as long as you are secure within yourself.
As you saw from my photo of the Sloth in Costa Rica, they are very good at camouflaging themselves, which teaches us the ability to merge and shape-shift with our environments in unification, rather than separation.
And of course you may gather that they would symbolize someone who is comfortable being a “loner” and values their freedom of independence and personal space, since Sloths generally live alone.
From this you can easily see their connection to the Tarot’s “Hermit.” This Hermit-like nature, thus whispers to us the “power of silence.” They know its value and also the power of mindfulness, being observant, present, aware, and focused all by going within your inner silence. They understand good use of purposeful retreat in order to prepare for the new. From this place, you are alert and ready to embrace opportunity when it presents itself, having the advantage of the wisdom gained. They also know how to conserve energy and to use it discerningly and efficiently.
From their being judged as lazy, unambitious, and undisciplined, yet actually being quite versed in the moment-to-moment flow, while enjoying this relaxed vantage point of deliberation, you can see their connection to the Tarot’s “Fool.” To others, you, like the Sloth, may look foolish to superficial judgments, but in fact it is you who is laughing the whole way to your dreams. In this way the Fool/Sloth may be encouraging of your devout belief in yourself despite anything or what anyone else says – to follow your heart no matter how crazy or foolish your impulses may seem and trusting that the Universe always takes care of you.
And, to get back to my point from before, I see them also very prominently as perfect and powerful symbols of the Tarot’s “Hanged Man.” Yes indeed, new and expanded perspectives come when we are in a state of suspension and literally turn our world upside down in order to see from all angles of the experience, which provides greater insight and wisdom.
I love this excerpt from an article by Carolyn R. Guss that explores the “Hanged Man” card and its connections to yoga.
“Headstand, Hanged Man, and Tree by Carolyn R. Guss shares:
The Hanged Man is trump #12 in the Tarot’s Major Arcana, a cluster of 22 cards (within a deck of 78) that serves as the archetypal or “soul” energies of the deck. The card depicts a man hanging by one ankle from a tree or wooden frame, with his arms bent at the elbows and his free leg crossed behind the other thigh. It signifies, briefly, release of ego, voluntary surrender, willingness to suspend control, and a non-attachment to outcome. In short, it is a very Zen-like card: one of the tenets of Zen Buddhism being to live in the moment, the present, which is all that we really have. It also, in a reading, can suggest quietly magical alterations in the way we do things—again, though, for the sake of experiment and growth, without expecting a prescribed result.
The Hanged Man suspends himself willingly from a living tree, in order to surrender, as Rachel Pollack says in The Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, “to the rhythms of life.” His hands, in many versions of the card, are hidden behind him, signifying release of control. Although a human figure, the Hanged Man might as well be a sloth or a bat, an opossum or a kinkajou. He is, for a time, at home in his silly posture.
But why? Pollack says that the Hanged Man “hints of great truths in a simple design,” whereas Arthur Edward Waite, in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, deems it “a card of profound significance, but all the significance is veiled.” The medieval alchemists felt that standing on one’s head allowed gravity to pull energy from the genitals to the brain, thus transforming the energy of desire into spiritual energy, just as the ancient yogis felt that such a reversed position creates renewal and radiance within the individual. In modern terms it is thought that, as Pollack describes it, “reversal of physical posture serves as a direct symbol of the reversal of attitude and experience that comes through spiritual awakening.”
As you can see, there is so much more than meets the eye to anything and there is great value in exploring things to find deeper meaning. You will find so much wisdom, nudges, and teachings when you open yourself to embrace more.
I have found a deeper sense of appreciation and gratitude for “Sloth” and honor her presence in my life at this time, as an integration of who I am and what I am focused on currently with the major transmutation taking place.
I hope you will find some value in expanding your own concept of our dear friend the Sloth and find appreciation for the times she graces your life with her wisdom and seeks you out to support the changes you are wanting to make.