I'm haunted by news of the ceasing of whalesong that marine biologists have been noticing over the past decade. The frequency and duration of whalesong is a known indicator of the health of the marine biosphere, so this increasing silence should alarm us. Ancient people regarded omens of nature as prophetic signals, and science confirms that noticeable changes in the environment are a strong warning that something's wrong.
Finding Your Power
Whales hold a sacred place in the hearts and cosmologies of many cultures. They aren't just creatures of the sea, but embodiments of profound wisdom, strength, and spiritual connection. Hawaiian, Maori, Vietnamese, Chinese, Babylonian, Inuit, and many others have sacred legends around whales.
These stories are so common , the whale appears as both The Empress and The Emperor in the Oceanum Arcanae tarot. For anti-authoritarians, these titles may be associated with imperial power, but that's not what's going on when we work with them as archetypes.
The Empress and The Emperor represent our personal sovereignty, the cosmic root of our strength and power, embodied in the divine masculine and feminine. Healthy and wise sovereignty isn't domination, it's stewardship. It's nurture and care and protection and decisive action when needed.
So there's something really urgent and powerful about the whales speaking to us through their silence, calling perhaps for us to be their voices as our societies destroy their food supply. Scientists believe they are starving as the oceans warm—reducing their vocalizations is a way of conserving energy. What does that bring up for you? How does it move you to exercise your power?
Perhaps too, the silence of the whales is mirrored by our own voices going unheard in places where they are intended to carry weight. In that hush, I hear an echo of our own democracy: the carving up of congressional districts to mute dissent. In ocean waters and legislative halls, life withers when speech is starved.
Democracy In Crisis
As I'm writing this piece, the United States is debating the role of redistricting in helping one party or another gain or hold control of Congress. When we let that debate captivate our focus, it feels very big and important. But when I learn that the whales can't even cry out as they starve, I realize how much like the band playing on the Titanic these electoral machinations seem.
Inspired by The Empress and The Emperor, how can I use my sovereignty as an agent of the cosmos right now? I do think stewarding our legislatures matters, but that can't be the only solution. How can we tend to the needs of the ocean? To the earth as a whole? What urgent action can we take to protect the very planet which sustains our life? How can we begin to repair the damage?
Start Local
It's easy to get stuck in overwhelm. Capitalism is destroying everything in its path, how can we hope to overcome it? It matters more to do anything at all, than wait for the one big fix. So write an email against deep-sea mining. Patch that worn-out jacket instead of clicking “buy now.” Plant basil on the windowsill. Tiny gestures, yes—but the cosmos is built of countless invisible atoms. Scale is not about being "big" but being "many".
The universe knows what one person is capable of—and what many can do together. We can step into our Emperor/Empress energy and leverage the fullness of our personal and collective power right now. And when enough of us do that, it adds up to big change. When midterms come, we'll be stronger for it, but we also won't feel so reliant on that alone.
Into Action
The Empress and The Emperor remind us that sovereignty is not the right to rule but the duty to tend. Here are a few suggestions you can carry into your day.
- Mention the whalesong story to someone who might not have heard about it, cultivating intention around shared concern.
- Swap out a processed ingredient in one of your meals for a fresh alternative.
- Search the web to find your nearest farmer's market and plan an outing the next time it is open.
- Donate to a marine conservation non-profit.
