Dolphin symbolism and meanings include help, guidance, messages, intelligence, fun, joyfulness, freedom, teamwork, transformation, and psychic abilities. Dolphins live in every ocean on Earth as well as some rivers.
Dolphins as a Symbol of Resurrection
Like the butterfly, dolphins are also seen as a symbol of resurrection. Sometimes, this can be a true rebirth. In other tales, they are ferriers of the dead, ensuring that souls safely reach a peaceful afterlife.
Early Christian art depicts dolphins wrapped around an anchor, symbolizing Jesus on the cross. Since Christians living near the ocean knew dolphins often guided sailors to safety, they easily identified them with their Savior.
Dolphins are considered a good luck symbol by many cultures. In ancient times, after spending months at sea, sailors saw the sight of dolphins swimming next to their ship as a sign that land was nearby. Since then dolphins have been seen as a good omen and a symbol of protection.
Dolphin symbolizes the aspect of our nature that is pure, unconditional love. Dolphin reminds us to be playful and friendly and to not keep our guard up but to use our skills to be protective of those who need it.
Much-loved by the ancient Greeks
Myths often speak of dolphins as altruistic, saviour figures in the lives of sailors and even for some of the Greek gods. One myth records that dolphins saved a talented poet, Arion, from being killed while he was on board a ship returning from a poetry contest.
Dolphins are not monogamous animals and do not typically mate for life. Atlantic bottlenose dolphins live in what are called fission-fusion societies, where pods are constantly changing in size and numbers. Some believe bonds between males are the strongest and most enduring in bottlenose dolphin societies.
Q: Why are dolphins so good at healing? Dolphin blubber makes compounds like organohalogens that act as natural antibiotics and keep the tissue from getting infected. The next mystery is the recovery of contour [of the body]. When the animal restores its wound, it regenerates the complex structure of blubber.
The discovery of spindle cells in the brains of some whale and dolphin species provides good supporting evidence that these species may be capable of experiencing complex emotions such as empathy and indeed that this emotion may provide an important evolutionary advantage for these highly social species.
Doves have long been considered symbols of love and peace. Along with their cooing and bowing courting rituals, doves mate for a lifetime, which has come to symbolize fidelity. Often, a depiction of two doves together translates to everlasting, eternal love.
The lamb was strongly associated with religious sacrifices in the ancient Near East, and was adopted as a symbol of Christ and his sacrifice on behalf of humanity.
The Hawaiian dolphins symbolize unconditional love and friendship. They also represent protectiveness.
Etymologically speaking, the word 'dolphin' comes from the ancient Greek delphis, itself related to the Greek delphus, or womb, so the animal's name more or less means 'a 'fish' with a womb.
Humans around the globe have been drawn to whales and dolphins for millennia, viewing them as guides, protectors, ancestral spirits, and even deities.
Dolphins are featured in many Greek and Roman myths. Here, they are symbols of romance, illustrating the theme established by the depiction of Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love, in the central roundel of the mosaic.
Deer - Love, gentleness, kindness, gracefulness and sensitivity.
Dolphins in Love
Perhaps their mating behaviour does not point to what we typically perceive as “love”, but the indication of dolphin friendship and affection certainly demonstrates a capacity for the emotion to some degree. In several surprising instances, dolphins have also shown loving emotions towards humans.
Dolphins and Pregnant Woman
Dolphins appear to have a special affection for pregnant women. They have been known to swim up to an expecting woman and make buzzing sounds near her stomach. This is thought to be because dolphins might be able to detect a pregnant woman's developing fetus by using echolocation.
Common bottlenose dolphins have sex frequently — very likely multiple times in a day. Copulation lasts only a few seconds, but social sex, which is used to maintain social bonds, can last much longer, happen more frequently and involve myriad heterosexual and homosexual pairings of dolphins and their body parts.
Dolphins aren't smiling.
But a dolphin's toothy grin is not an expression of joy – this is simply an anatomical anomaly. Since dolphins always appear happy to us, the dolphin entertainment industry takes advantage of this misinterpretation to cover up their cruelty. The truth is: dolphins smile even when they're dead.
Without dolphins, the animals they prey on would increase in number, and their predators wouldn't have as much to eat. This would disrupt the natural balance in the food chain and could negatively affect other wildlife and the health of the ocean environment.
In some observations, the dolphins maintained constant physical contact with dead individuals. They swam around the dead body, sometimes nudging and attempting to push it underwater. If observers approached the scene too closely, they would even carry the carcass away, as if reluctant to let go.
Taken together with a growing number of reports of cetaceans interacting with dead animals and the discovery that they have specialised neurons linked to empathy and intuition, the Greek study suggests dolphins may have a complex – and even sophisticated – reaction to death.
Dolphins are famous for being loyal to their friends, many dolphins stay in the group for a lifetime. They literally give friendship goals to the world. Understanding the beauty of energy, they hold each other's hands while roaming around in the pod.