TATTOO DESIGNS CAN HAVE SURPRISING MEANINGS BEHIND THEM
There are so many possible designs available in the tattooing world. In a previous article, we described the meaning behind 10 popular tattoos. In this one, we will look at 10 more. Many people don’t take the time to see what hidden meanings their tattoos have. This is an interesting way to find out!
KOI FISH
Koi fish tattoos have been popular since the early days of Japanese Tebori. Tebori is the old world way of applying a tattoo, using a stick with something sharp, such as bone, at the tip, and the inks being tapped into the skin. Some artists still apply tattoos in this manner in the modern world. The koi have long symbolized strength, determination, perseverance and good fortune.
TREES
Trees are another popular tattoo these days. Trees of all sorts of styles and designs, types, color vs black/grey, etc are popular. You may find super colorful ultra-realistic trees or even dark and dreary trees. It doesn’t matter the style, they all still mean the same thing as a generality. Survival, resilience, strength, and rebirth are the most common themes to the meaning behind a tree tattoo.
COMPASS
The compass tattoo can come in many forms and designs, and is often accompanied by other symbolic images, such as roses or a pocket watch. Western compasses have always been quite popular, probably since around WWI, but the Norse compass is quickly taking over in popularity. The Norse compass is commonly known as a vegvisir. The compass often represents life’s journey, where you’ve been and where you’re going, and can also mean good fortune.
BEARS
Bears! Who doesn’t love bears? The bear tattoo can be a tricky one, regarding meaning behind the designs. A teddy bear means something much different than a grizzly bear. A teddy bear tattoo often represents a person, a child, and can mean love, nostalgia, and a creative spirit. However, a real bear tattoo can mean courage, tenacity, strength, and power.
SPIDER WEBS
Most people associate spider webs with creepy crawly 8 legged critters that a large portion of the population avoids. However, most spiders are very beneficial to have in your home. They keep away other insects that are worse, such as flies and cockroaches. Having a few spiders in the corner are a better option. Regarding symbolism, in the prison world it means incarceration, each ring representing a year served. However, among the rest of society, it often has a meaning of overcoming a struggle within the web of life.
LILLIES
On a lighter note, the lily has become nearly as popular as the rose for tattoo designs. Lillies come in a range of colors, which also affects their overall meaning.
- WHITE LILY: Purity
- PINK LILY: Prosperity
- RED LILY: Passion
- ORANGE LILY: Pride
- YELLOW LILY: Determination
If you’d like to read about many different flowers, their meanings, and the meanings behind differing colors, read our article about that very thing by clicking the button below!
ANGELS
Angels are another design that spans across styles in the tattoo world. They can be depicted from photo-realism all the way to cartoonish. Not everyone that gets an angel tattoo is doing it for religious beliefs. You often see angel/devil tattoos, as a more elaborate version of a Yin Yang, depicting the dual sides of good and evil. Sometimes you’ll see the angel Lucifer, before his fall, which can represent the duality of man in a singular figure. Angel tattoos are often representations of good, purity, faith, and eternity.
SEMICOLON
People have been incorporating semicolons into quite a few tattoo designs. A very common one would be for the semicolon to make up the body of a butterfly or dragonfly. It’s also seen at the beginning of the newer military tattoos ;IGY6, which means “I Got Your Six.” The semicolon in a tattoo often represents overcoming a hardship in life, such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and even suicide. Some people get the semicolon in support for others dealing with their struggles.
SNAKES
Sssssss. But ssssseriously, the snake incorporated into a tattoo can have various meanings. You see them incorporated in skulls, or even in the medical snake and rod symbol known as a caduceus. The snake can represent rebirth, danger, transformation, the journey of life, strength, power, wisdom, and knowledge. That’s just a sampling of the very many meanings behind a snake tattoo.
YIN-YANG
The yin-yang is one of those designs that can be incorporated into so many other images. It can fit just as well in black-work tattoos as it does in Asian themes. Only the artists imagination is the limitation. The yin-yang often represents the duality of man, the dark and the light, how one cannot exist without the other. It’s a symbol that’s been around for thousands of years, and is still very popular.
You can read the first article containing 10 popular tattoo designs by clicking the link below!
ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR NEXT TATTOO?
If you’re ready to get your next tattoo done, schedule an appointment with an award-winning tattoo parlor. Here at Lucky Bamboo Tattoo, we have some of the best and most experienced tattoo artists in the Salt Lake City area. We can tattoo any style you’d like, and our artists can even design your next piece as well.