Represents: Empathy, sympathy, determination
When the time comes for Salmon to spawn, she swims upstream, overcoming huge obstacles, to lay her eggs. Shortly after giving birth in this manner, she dies. So Salmon represents an ability to go against the flow in the face of overwhelming odds.
The Salmon of Wisdom is a part of Celtic lore in the Fenian Cycle. In this story an ordinary Salmon named Fintan ate nine hazelnuts that had fallen into the Well of Wisdom. When it did so, it became all-knowing. Later in the story the future Bard Fionn ate of the Salmon of Wisdom and gained all of Fintan’s powers.
Salmon magic is the magic of returning to the home fires after a long journey or pilgrimage. As a metaphor for the sacred journey, Salmon leaves home to go out into the world seeking knowledge and wisdom. Once her objective is obtained, she fights against all odds to bring this knowledge home and give birth to it in her own land and her own place. For this reason the Druids considered the Salmon to be among the oldest, and therefore the wisest, creatures in the land.
If Salmon is your spirit animal, prepare to go on a pilgrimage that will eventually lead to clarity of purpose and that may even determine your destiny. This doesn’t have to be an actual physical journey. It could be one of mind or spirit. Whatever the outcome, the journey will transform you so that life will never be the same again.
People of the Salmon are usually tough and resilient people who refuse to give up. They seek challenges in order to test and improve themselves. In seeking these challenges they know that what lies ahead will only get better if they are able to move beyond the obstacles.
The danger in following the Salmon lies in seeking challenges merely for the purpose of the challenge, with no ultimate goal in mind. This can sometimes indicate that you are seeking challenges out of a subconscious (or conscious, for that matter) need to punish yourself.
If this happens, pause in midstream, reassess your position and your situation, and establish a clear and direct goal before resuming your swim upstream against the currents.
Explore the significance of some common spirit animals by clicking a link below.