We are almost to the end of our Water element animals from the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit deck, with only two left to go. The Dolphin follows the Swan (a creature that helps us tap into our watery and infinite creative powers), and builds on these energies.
Once we have learned how to start channeling and creating with ease and grace from the Swan, the Dolphin comes in to help us transcend that creativity into the realm of spirit, healing, and blessings.
We understand now how to take our creativity past us and into the light. As stated before, the cards in this deck don’t hold an obvious numerical association, but Kim Krans (the creator of this deck) stated that the animals were chosen based on their levels of consciousness, and that you could bring in the numerical association to layer your readings.
The Dolphin is the thirteenth animal in the water element. From my favorite Numerology website, it states with this number “13 is a number that gives originality, depth of personality, and an ability to transform oneself and others. The number 13 is the most transformational of all the numbers with digit sum 4. You wish to create transformation on the outside and in the inner world.”
We will see these themes with the Dolphin. Click here to read about this number.
Bringing Healing, Light, and Blessings
Dolphins are some of the most intelligent species within our wonderful animal kingdom. They have been known to use tools and can recognize themselves in mirrors. They can turn half of their brains off, form intricate pods or schools, and their vocal capabilities are vast.
There are many different species of dolphins, including freshwater and saltwater species. Sadly, dolphins, like many marine animals, face threats from fishing gear, ocean pollution, noise pollution, and the climate crisis. Many dolphin species are currently endangered.
I believe that when we work with these animals energetically, like here in working with this card, it can help us to not only gain more of an appreciation for the animal, but also see what we can do to help them in the real world. Click here to see how you can help these wonderful creatures in real life.
The Dolphin card is the one that encourages us to radiate our beautiful spirit out into the world so that we may create light, a sense of healing, and bring blessings to our spaces. When we move from this center, we create ripple effects for positive change. As dolphins live in groups, it is important to be reminded that someone may not see or value your dolphin energy within. That is okay. First, it’s not the work of the Dolphin to try and convince someone of their healing energies or the blessings they bring. Others may see it, but it just isn’t for them. Again, this is okay. Working with the Dolphin means bringing forward your beautiful gifts, and letting your pod of like-minded people come.
This card speaks to where you can take that creative and channeled energy with the Swan, and deepen it to a place within the spirit. This is where the Dolphin thrives because the Dolphin realizes it isn’t about them. It’s about creating changes that are so profound, the energy or spirit of someone else, or a situation, shifts to something more beautiful. When we move from a center of play, communication, and spiritual awareness, we not only shift the energy in our lives, but of those around us.
Guidance from the guidebook
Some key references from the guidebook
Keywords / phrases: Innately Intelligent, Healer, Light, Blessings
When in balance: active healer, strong spiritual practice
When out of balance: underestimates own power
To bring into balance: like-minded spirits
Following the guidance from the guidebook, working with the Dolphin asks you to see where you can be an active healer for yourself or others. This doesn’t mean you have to learn acupuncture or reiki. It could be creating space for someone to discuss what they are going through with pure presence. It could be helping someone who needs it, or donating to a cause that can use even $10. The Dolphin is an invitation to create a balm, physical or metaphorical, for yourself or others by recognizing where you can help shift the energy. Much of this will also be rooted in a spiritual practice because, like I said about using the card to help the real animal, a practice that humbles us and connects us to something bigger is where the shift begins.
The guidebook says that these animals play a pivotal role in the wheel of karma. Taken from Google, it says this about the Wheel of Karma. “The “wheel of karma” is a concept from Indian religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, symbolizing the endless cycle of cause and effect (karma) that continues through multiple lifetimes. Actions (karma) shape an individual’s destiny, determining their experiences in this life and influencing future lives within the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara). This cycle can trap a soul in a continuous loop, and a central idea is that one can eventually break free from this cycle through spiritual enlightenment and good actions.”
This is saying that the cause and effect in our lives set the wheel in motion. The more we lean into certain habits or actions, it can keep us in a loop where these habits and actions are reinforced, even if it hurts us or our lives. To use an example, I had a family member who constantly blamed everyone else for her problems. She refused to take accountability and would lash out whenever someone tried to explain their points of view. She became meaner and more hostile, still constantly seeing herself as the victim. When I had had enough of her behavior, I stopped going to family functions with her, and eventually stopped talking to her. I have learned that other members of her family don’t speak to her now, and (surprise, surprise), her actions still haven’t changed. While I have cut off other members of that family, I still try to hold compassion and see where these habits were learned and passed down.
Compassion doesn’t mean I don’t hold boundaries, and I have tried to do my own work to consciously engage in better behaviors with my family. I don’t want anyone to live that way.
Bringing this back to the Wheel of Karma, the more work we do to heal, bring light where we can, and encourage small and big blessings to manifest, is how we break cycles and let our hearts and spirits bloom. Click here to read more about the Wheel of Karma. The Dolphin, as our second-to-last card in the water element, says that we have the power to create beautiful and positive change. How we do that is find that light within, and radiate it outwards.
Want a reading with this deck?
Ashlie McDiarmid
Hello there! I hope you liked this blog post. As a tarot and oracle reader, my goal with my blogs is to offer you content, resources, and access to the tools that have transformed my life.
I believe that your own intuition is the deepest form of knowing, but here in my little corner of the internet, I share insights based in intuition and instinct. I share my love for nature, witchcraft, and the wild spirit.
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