Fish have fascinated humans for millennia. Our oceans, lakes, and rivers teem with fish species that come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and behaviors. Of the vast diversity of fish on planet Earth, the number seven holds special significance. But why are there specifically seven fish that seem to captivate our imagination and permeate myth, legend, religion, and culture? Let’s examine some of the reasons behind the mystical number seven in relation to fish.
The 7 Symbolic Fish
Throughout history and across cultures, there are seven particular fish that have taken on symbolic meaning and importance. These include:
- Salmon
- Herring
- Cod
- Catfish
- Eel
- Mackerel
- Pike
The salmon often represents wisdom, knowledge, and instinct. Salmon heroically swim upstream against strong currents to return to their spawning grounds, symbolizing determination. Herring represent flexibility and adaptation, shoaling together in massive schools that can change direction on a dime. Cod represent longevity, abundance, and provision, having been a prolific food source for centuries. Catfish epitomize resilience, lurking and thriving at the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and ponds. Eels represent mystery and transformation, remarkably shape-shifting between many stages and forms in their complex life cycle. Mackerel embody speed and agility, capable of sustaining remarkably fast swimming speeds. Pike symbolize ambition, power, and conquest, voracious apex predators who devour large prey.
Prominence in Mythology
These seven fish feature prominently in myths and legends across cultures. Greek and Roman myths abound with fish symbols and transformations. Cod, salmon, pike, and eel starred in many Celtic and Irish folk tales. Asian myths especially highlight carp and catfish in symbolic roles. Herring and their vast seasonal migrations took center stage in Scandinavian lore. Biblical myths included fish symbols, with the fish emerging as an icon of Christianity.
The symbolic salmon appears in tales from North America’s indigenous peoples on the Pacific Coast, representing determination and wisdom in its arduous migrations. Cod gained religious significance in Christian biblical myths, with the “miraculous draught” and loaves and fishes tales. The slippery, mysterious eel provoked myths across cultures, its snake-like shape and lifecycle spawning imaginative explanations.
Significance in Religion
These seven fish gained religious and ritual significance across faiths and regions. Salmon and herring held huge economic and nutritional importance in medieval Europe, incorporated symbolically into religious celebrations. Cod became known as the “fish that fed millions” during the Age of Discovery, bolstering its religious status. Catfish were venerated in ancient Egypt, associated with fertility. Carp continue to hold meaning in Asia as symbols of strength and courage.
The early Christians adopted the fish symbol to represent their faith, as the Greek work for fish – ichthys – contained acronyms for the phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” This invested huge religious meaning in fish and specifically cod as the most commonly eaten fish. Mackerel’s speed and migration gained religious meaning as a symbol divine providence and guidance for pilgrims.
Appearances in Constellations
Remarkably, all seven of these culturally significant fish appear in ancient constellation myths and star maps. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Persians, and Chinese all mapped the skies and named constellations after mythical fish symbols.
The salmon constellation was known as Piscis Australis by the Greeks and Romans. Herring appeared as Pisces, perhaps the oldest known constellation. Cod starred as the Iranian constellation Mahi. Catfish took form as Hydrus. Eel became Anguilla. Mackerel shined as Cepheus. And pike cast as Dorado, especially important in Chinese astronomy.
The mythic stories behind each fish’s place in the heavens further amplified their legendary status and symbolic importance in culture and religion.
Significance in Folklore
These seven fish frequently starred in the folktales, fables, and oral traditions among cultures worldwide. Their attributes aligned with core human values, desires, and life lessons. Herring illustrated teamwork and community as they schooled. Salmon modeled determination and rebirth in their arduous life cycle. Cod provided bounty and plenty, as food source for the people. Catfish showed resilience, carp taught strength, and pike signified ambition and cunning as apex predators.
Eels provoked fascination and fear, spawning folk remedies and rituals. Mackerel exemplified speed and purpose in motion. Through colorful folk stories passed down generations, the seven fish took on increasingly mythic proportions in folk knowledge and children’s tales.
Attributes and Symbolism
Each of the seven fish represent core human values, needs, and life stages. Their symbolic attributes help explain why these species in particular hold such significance across cultures.
| Fish | Attributes | Symbolism |
|---|---|---|
| Salmon | Determined, wise, instinctual | Purpose, rebirth, growth |
| Herring | Adaptable, community-oriented | Flexibility, teamwork |
| Cod | Abundant, long-lived | Provision, longevity |
| Catfish | Resilient, secretive | Persistence, depth |
| Eel | Mysterious, shapeshifting | Transformation, renewal |
| Mackerel | Speedy, energetic | Quickness, guidance |
| Pike | Ambitious, fierce | Power, cunning |
Historical and Economic Importance
Beyond just symbolism, these seven fish have huge historical and economic importance that contributed to their mythic status. Salmon runs fed Indigenous coastal populations for centuries. Herring and their incredibly rich seasonal runs formed a vital food source for medieval Europe. Globally, cod populations exploded from deeper sea trawling, feeding millions. Catfish and carp Aquaculture sustains inland populations worldwide.
Mackerel’s rich oily flesh made ideal preservation as salt fish, fueling the Renaissance. Eels drove a global capture and commercial fishery for centuries. And apex predator pike represented a thrilling freshwater gamefish. The interplay between each fish’s cultural status and economic roles helped solidify their mythic significance.
Geographic Distribution
Importantly, these seven fish species boast an incredibly diverse geographic distribution worldwide. Salmon spawn across the North Pacific, from Russia to Canada to the US and beyond. Herring school throughout the Atlantic and Pacific basins. Cod traverse all northern waters from America to Europe and down around South Africa. Catfish thrive on every continent except Antarctica.
Carp now populate nearly every freshwater environment globally. Eels migrate across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to spawn. Mackerel and pike penetrate inland lakes, rivers, and streams nearly worldwide. This incredibly broad natural distribution allowed most human cultures contact and dependence on many of these seven fish.
Widespread Cultural Exposure
Thanks to their global distribution, these seven fish species entered the myths, art, literature, language, and folklore of cultures across the world. Societies and tribes from North America to Asia to Africa to Europe and beyond incorporated symbolic references to salmon, herring, cod, catfish, eel, mackerel, and pike into their cultural products, traditions, and belief systems.
This widespread cultural exposure compounded their significance across humanity. Different cultures discovered common metaphorical and mythological ground via these seven ubiquitous fish. As trade and contact spread between societies, so did the dissemination of symbolic fish themes and archetypes.
Shared Human Values
The attributes embodied by the seven fish represent core human traits and values that resonate across cultures. Determination against adversity as embodied in the salmon life cycle rings universally true. The community cooperation of herring schools ties into how humans have survived and thrived. The bounty of cod alludes to humanity’s shared need for sustenance.
The resilience of catfish, transformation of eels, speed of mackerel, and ambition of pike similarly symbolize parts of shared human nature and our relationships with the natural world. These seven fish forms evoke timeless human desires, fears, strengths, and weaknesses. Their symbolic resonance crosses cultural boundaries.
Conclusion
The mystic number seven has accrued unique potency through millennia of mythmaking, storytelling, and meaning-making across human societies. Of the multifarious fish in Earth’s waters, these seven species stand out for their widespread infiltration into human myths, culture, lore, language, history, and religion.
Salmon, herring, cod, catfish, eel, mackerel, and pike became vehicles for conveying core human values, archetypes, fears, lessons, strengths, weaknesses, and more. Their geographic ubiquity brought them into the sphere of societies across the world. Their economic and nutritional importance indelibly tied human cultures to these fish forms.
Through all these factors, the number seven accrued sacred symbolism and mystical status when applied to fish. The next time you eat a salmon filet, see catfish on a menu, or notice a herring or cod reference, think back on all the history and myth behind these seven creatures of the water that have swum so profoundly into the human story.