The Symbolism of the Whale
Introduction
The whale is associated with the spiritual experience of rebirth
- the dark night of the soul.
It is symbolically equivalent to a cave or barrow
- places where rebirth experiences took place
[see our video on Robins and rebirth]
And it’s a star constellation.
Cetus was associated with the ‘sea monster’
who attacked Andromeda.
BUT this creature was more a serpent than a whale.
[see our video Thrones, kings, queens and the story of Andromeda]
Mystic symbolism is perhaps more subtle.
And the best way to show this
is by using the story of Jonah and the whale.
The word whale is from Old English hwael,
and comes from the Indo-European root *(s)kwal-o- 'Big fish'.
Thus we may find in some Biblical versions
that Jonah meets a ‘big fish’ instead.
The corruption of Ninevah
Jonah 1 & 2 Authorized (King James) Version
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, saying,
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it;
for their wickedness is come up before me.
In other words, Ninevah, was corrupt.
Like all institutions, cities, businesses, civilisations,
countries and so on, decline is taking place.
All may start off well with clear objectives, a motivated,
dedicated, moral and hard working set of people.
But success attracts those from failed groups.
And instead of them changing to be in line with those
who have made the aggregate successful,
they bring failure and corruption with them
and often try to impose it on those there.
And the utopia or paradise that was before,
starts to fail.
And it takes only a few bad apples
to spoil the entire barrel.
Jonah tries to escape his destiny
Jonah [continued]
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish
from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa;
and he found a ship going to Tarshish:
so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it,
to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
In other words Jonah ran away
- from his responsibilities and his destiny.
But running away and ignoring it doesn’t work.
Jordan Peterson
... and then the question is well what you do about it?
And if the answer is nothing, well then it'll just get more corrupt
and if the answer is be corrupt
- then it will just get more corrupt,
so the answer has to be to oppose the corruption
because that's the only way it's going to stop.
the more corrupt the culture is,
the less Trust is possible between individuals
and the less productive the culture is going to be,
because why do anything if some corrupt person
is going to take it from you
it might even be that the culture is so corrupt
that if you produce resources
you're actually more likely to get killed
because you have something of value
so if the society is corrupted it's degenerating
and you know it might survive for a while
but it isn't gonna last very long.
The terrible storm
Jonah [continued]
But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea,
and there was a mighty tempest in the sea,
so that the ship was like to be broken.
But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship;
and he lay, and was fast asleep.
The storm is just a symbol of the very degeneration
that Jordan Peterson speaks about.
And Jonah is still ‘asleep’, ignoring the problems,
even though he may go down, figuratively, with the ship
- pretending it isn’t happening.
But his ship mates suddenly realise that Jonah
might be the one to blame
because he had basically gone against divine will.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid,
and said unto him, Why hast thou done this?
What shall we do unto thee,
that the sea may be calm unto us?
And he said, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea;
for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea:
and the sea ceased from her raging.
In effect, putting off what needs to be done
simply makes things worse.
Furthermore you may lose all sense of self worth,
figuratively fall into watery chaos and drown.
The Whale swallows Jonah
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights.
And in this one paragraph we have the very essence
of the symbolism of the whale.
It is a retreat into a place that is safe,
away from all distractions to enable you to rethink,
and listen properly to your higher spirit.
In this context the whale, huge and gentle,
is not a monster at all.
Retreat into its belly may allow us to gain the courage
to go out and do what is right.
Not what is easy.
But what is right.
Jonah accepts his destiny
I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord,
and he heard me;
out of the belly of hell cried I, and he heard my voice.
I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay that which I have vowed.
And having accepted his destiny Jonah is saved
And the Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Jordan Peterson
there's a part of people that's the Self [Higher Spirit]
that is capable of sustaining itself across
successive deaths and rebirths.
When everything around you falls apart
and you plunge into the chaotic underbelly ... of the whale
you learn something profound as a consequence
and you put yourself back together
and when you come back out
you're more than you were when you went in.