Kelpie Symbolism & Meaning

Want to get your budget under control? Bracing yourself for upcoming changes? Kelpie, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Kelpie teaches you how to stay afloat financially while showing you how to adapt to change with poise and grace. Delve deeply in Kelpie symbolism and meaning to find out how this Animal Spirit Guide can educate, inform, and motivate you.

Kelpie Table of Contents

Kelpie Symbolism & Meaning

Kelpie is a fantastical creature that emerges from Celtic and Irish Myth; the creature is akin to the Minotaur of Greek myth, only it is a mix between a Horse and Fish instead of a Human and Horse. The word “Kelpie” stems from the Scottish Gaelic word “colpach” or “cailpeach” meaning “colt” or “heifer.” Like all chimerical creatures, the Kelpie is the merging of two dissimilar beings that represents the uniting of opposing forces, enigmas, paradox, and the mysterious.

The front of the Kelpie is horse-like featuring the two front hooved legs of the Horse, while the remaining part of the body is a Fish’s tail. Kelpies have cool, smooth, sticky skin with a coat that’s often black, white, or grey. The color Black links Kelpie to the mysteries, darkness, the Shadow self, power, and sophistication. White Kelpies symbolize protection, perfection, and illumination. Grey Kelpies represent duality, neutrality, and uncertainty. Reviewing Horse and Fish symbolism and meaning may provide you with additional insight about the Kelpie when it appears as an Animal Spirit Guide.

The beast lives in the pools and lochs of Scotland. According to tales about Kelpie, the water-dwelling creature can transform into a human form, especially when it is trying to lure others to the water’s edge. The Kelpie is a Trickster with the purpose of drowning those it tempts. Interestingly, Kelpies still maintain Horse hooves when transforming into a human shape. Here, Kelpie, as a shapeshifter, symbolizes the considerable difficulty one has when trying to hide one’s true nature. In fact, the expression “to show one’s hoof” means to expose one’s dark or even malicious nature. The Kelpie’s hooves also link the creature to the Christian concept of Satan and evil.

Kelpies reside in most bodies of water in Scotland, including the Loch Ness where the Loch Ness Monster also resides. The creature is akin to the Nixie of German lore, which are Water Spirits with shapeshifting abilities. Kelpie also has similarities with the Bækhest, which is a mystical White Horse appearing near bodies of water whenever a thick fog cover rolls in; just like the Kelpie, the Bækhest causes those it lures to the water to drown. There are also similarities between the Kelpie and the water-dwelling Bunyip: A creature in Australian myth known for its aggressiveness and drowning its victims.

The origins of Kelpie stories stem from rites where humans would sacrifice people when trying to appeal to the Gods, but they are also tales passed down from one generation to another to frighten women and small children: The purpose for doing so was protection and to prevent the curious from falling victim to accidental drowning. The same stories were sometimes a warning to lovely young women about the dangers of associating with strange men.

As a water creature, Kelpies correspond with the Water Element, dreams, emotions, imagination, and intuition. They also link to spirits and communication from the Spirit Realm. Since the creatures shapeshift and walk on land, they also correspond with the Earth Element-linking the beast to have links to power, authority, stillness, and the natural world.

Kelpie Spirit Animal

If you’re feeling like life is overwhelming you or you have trouble navigating through an emotionally intense relationship, Kelpie arrives as your Animal Spirit Guide. At the same time, if you’ve been avoiding dealing with pent up emotions or a relationship that has gone stagnant, Kelpie will urge you to dive into the emotional realm to explore how you truly feel.

Since Kelpie resides in the water, it also swims into your life when you are looking to evolve spiritually or to renew your spirit. Kelpie comes to let you know it’s time to prepare for an evolution of the mind or Spirit. The creature’s arrival may also be a sign it’s time to explore your innate psychic abilities, especially if you have yet to acknowledge your skills.

Kelpie is also a land creature that emerges from cool, dark Loch waters and walks into your life whenever you need to ground and center. When you need to achieve inner balance or need full concentration for intellectual pursuits, Kelpie helps you control unruly emotions. Part of the creature’s Medicine is teaching you when to allow your head to rule or let feelings flow.

Kelpie Totem Animal

If you have Kelpie as a Birth Totem, chances are you love being near or in water; if you don’t have a pool in your backyard, you’ll spend all the time you can at a local lake or beachside. The Water Element is likely a dominant energy showing up in your personality too, making you emotive, empathic, dreamy, and compassionate. Your life mantra is “Go with the flow.”

With Kelpie as a Totem Animal, your spiritual growth is of immense importance to you, and you’ll likely help others find their way on their spiritual journeys by offering guidance or support. You’re intelligent, intuitive, and by the time you achieve adulthood, you’ll find you have mastery over one or more innate, psychic skills. You’ll also find that Kelpie People adjust with change with considerable ease. Ancient wisdom and magic appeal to you, and you may have an interest in dreamwork or in the use of various forms of divination, particularly those involving the use of water.

As a person with a Kelpie Animal Totem, you have a profound level of determination-some may even call you stubborn or bull-headed. You have the heart of a warrior, and prove fierce in protecting those you love or what is yours. Like the waters the Kelpie navigates with ease, you move through life while working with the natural ebb and flow of the energetic influences surrounding you.

Kelpie Power Animal

Call on Kelpie as a Power Animal when you want to prepare for a significant transformation in your life. If you’re about to undergo a rite of passage or you’re facing major changes in your day-to-day life, Kelpie shows you how to navigate through difficult conditions while following the path of least resistance. Kelpie also lends you the mental strength and determination you need for dealing with unexpected challenges arise.

Invoke Kelpie as a Power Animal whenever you’re looking to conquer financial difficulties. In many stories, Kelpie helps prevent people from drowning. As an Animal Ally, the beast can show you how to navigate through periods where money is tight or when you’re trying to stay afloat. The creature can also help you steer your way out of financial trouble entirely.

Greek Kelpie Symbolic Meanings

While Kelpie is a creature of Celtic and Irish legend, the ancient Greeks had a similar monster: The Hippocampus, which is a word meaning “Horse Monster.” Sometimes called the “Sea Horse,” the Hippocampus features the front body of a Horse and the back portion of a Fish. Despite being Greek in origin, the Hippocampus is a well-known legendary beast in Roman, Pictish, Phoenician, and Etruscan lore. A tutelary God named Melqart is a deity who rules over a Phoenician city called Tyre. Melqart rides on the back of a winged Hippocampus which is accompanied by Dolphins. Poseidon, the God of the Sea, also had an epithet relating to the Hippocampus: Poseidon Hippios-according to lore, the God has two Hippocampi steering his chariot across the sea.

Kelpie Dreams

When you see a Kelpie swimming underwater in dreams, it symbolizes upcoming surprises in your waking hours. If the creature is emerging from the water, it represents periods where you are going with the flow, keeping afloat in troubling times or a time where you gain greater clarity in emotional conditions.

If you see the Kelpie in the form of a Horse standing by a body of water, the dream is a warning to remain watchful for things that seem tempting or too good to be true. If the Kelpie runs into the water, you may soon be overwhelmed by a situation or your emotions. When the Kelpie runs away from the water, it marks a period where you need to be more attentive to protecting the things you care about the most.

Kelpie Symbolic Meanings Key

  • Adaptation
  • Balance
  • Earth Element
  • Emotion
  • Mysteries
  • Paradox
  • Power
  • Protection
  • Strength
  • Water Element

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