Seeing a whale
Seeing a whale usually starts with its breath: a spout rising from the water before the body shows. A great whale that came to Greenwich was once said to have foretold the death of Cromwell.
What it may mean
Most first sightings of a whale are not of the whale at all: someone on deck points to a puff of mist on the horizon. Then comes a dark back and, with luck, a tail lifted as it dives. For humpbacks that tail is a signature. The black-and-white pattern underneath, with its scars and ragged edge, differs from whale to whale, and researchers photograph the tails, keep catalogs and follow individual animals over the years. A creature that was once one of thousands becomes someone with a history. People get treated that way too, or not: the new hire who stays "the new hire" for months, one of the twins, the cashier whose name tag you have never read. Learning one mark that belongs to a person alone (a name, a story, the thing they care about) changes how you meet them next time.
Depending on how you saw it
A spout on the horizon
Experienced watchers can often name a species from its blow alone: tall and bushy for a humpback, V-shaped for a right whale. That eye takes seasons of looking. Which skill of yours took years of watching before it became second nature?
Iron in the whalers' boat
Greenland whalers, as a 1903 collection records, were sure that no whale would be taken the following year if even the smallest particle of iron was in the boat. A whole season could hang on one forgotten nail. What tiny thing do you always check before a big undertaking, just in case?
A whale close to the city
A whale in a harbor or a river mouth draws crowds to the docks, and for a few days the whole town talks of little else. When something unusual turns up close to home, do you treat it as news about your own life?
Why it happens in nature
Whales breathe air through blowholes on top of the head. The visible spout is warm, moist breath condensing as it meets cooler air, mixed with seawater from around the blowhole, and its shape differs by species. Humpbacks often lift their tails before a deep dive, and the markings under each tail are unique.
What folk beliefs say
England (Greenwich)
According to a 1903 collection, the arrival of a great whale at Greenwich foretold the death of Cromwell.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 3 (1903), vol. 3, p. 1601 (file v 3). View the page
Greenland
In Greenland, whalers believed that no whales would be caught during the following year if there was the smallest particle of iron in the boat.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 1079. View the page
To reflect on
Who around you do you still see as one of a crowd, and what would it take to learn their markings?