The butterfly tattoos are one of the most popular designs ever.
Graceful and charming there bear a big importance for many people. These tattoos are often associated with beauty. Symbolizing the burst from the cocoon after the hard cold winter. The butterfly tattoos are women's top choice, revealing grace and femininity.
A very versatile tattoo, the butterfly can be fitted nice on any body area.
A butterfly’s wings are known as very delicate and supple, thus making the design easily accommodated to the natural shapes of the body.
There are thousands of known butterfly varieties, so the options are endless when it comes to design. You can opt for a realistic tattoo, taken from an actual butterfly picture; or go for something more abstract, like a tribal butterfly drawing. Open winged, or in flight the beautiful colors will be displayed non the less. Combining the butterfly idea with some floral or filigree designs will give it a more "natural flow" look; you can also add leaves or other natural themes.
This type of tattoo bears many meanings, beside grace and beauty, individual and international symbols. Here are some of the most common and well known meanings of the butterfly tattoo:
- Ancient Japanese warlords adopted the butterfly symbol as a family ornament;
- In the ancient Mexican culture it was known as the symbol of fire, also warrior priests wore this design as a motif, localized on their breastplates;
- In the European mythology is known as a symbol for the human soul;
- The Greeks believe that a butterfly rising form the cocoon signals a new born human soul;
- For Germans, butterflies symbolize the birth of a child, in a family with other children;
- Butterflies are considered to be the souls of the dead, awaiting to begin their path through purgatory, in the Irish culture;
- American culture says that butterflies are people's messengers towards heaven and gods;
- The Celts take the butterfly as the symbol for rebirth and fertilization. This led to an immense popularity in Celtic style butterfly tattoos.
