Dragonfly Tattoos

Some Native American tribes believed that the dragonfly was like a guardian, protecting everyone, regardless of age or sex. It was also believed that they could hold the souls of the dead, thus when one landed on a person, it was considered a loved one stopping to say hello. A great dragonfly tattoo could be a dedication to a lost loved one, with or without dates in the design. One design even puts the dates inside the wings. 

In some parts of Japan it is thought that a dragonfly represents happiness, strength, and courage. This is because of the strength and courage it takes to survive from birth to adulthood. Only a few eggs make it out of the 100,000 that are laid. The lotus flower stands for inner strength, therefore the meaning of a tattoo with a dragonfly hovering over one could be peace and strength combined. 

In America, it is believed the dragonfly represents a great change after a hardship because the larvae survive being born in a pool of murky water and change into a beautiful creature with wispy wings. One dragonfly tattoo design for men or women could be of the creature with or without color, rising from a cloudy pool of water, as if it just emerged. 

Another design that would look great on either sex is a Celtic dragonfly tattoo. Using a Celtic type knot, the design can be done in vivid colors or black ink only, with or without a background.  The knot shape can be more rounded or have straighter lines, depending on which design you would prefer. 

Other designs can include a dragonfly outline that appears unfinished, showing that it is still transforming or going through a change. A dragonfly surrounded by tribal markings can symbolize dreams and hopes, while one with a butterfly can mean change or metamorphosis. Dragonflies come in a variety of colors and designs, from realistic ones to cartoonish ones.  These tattoos can be large or small, giving more places on the body to have them, from the top of the feet to the back of the neck.

Raven Tattoos

While it tends to be associated with negativity, a raven tattoo can represent many positive attributes as well. It may not be the most popular of tattoos, but has been seen on men and women alike with different designs. The good thing about raven tattoos are that they can be any size, and work well as a single tattoo or as a part of a larger one.

One popular raven tattoo meaning was that it was the harbinger of death. This is because it is a carrion bird, eating the carcasses of decaying animals and even dead people. However, in Native American rituals, the bird was called upon for healing purposes and to bring magic. It was also thought to be a trickster because it had transforming attributes.

In Celtic culture, it symbolizes wisdom and knowledge. It is thought to have the ability to help one “remember” hidden or forgotten memories. Many of these tattoos are done with Celtic designs as it is associated heavily in this culture.

What this bird stands for in a design depends heavily on what else is included in the tattoo as well as what it means to the wearer. For instance, a raven with a sun in the design enhances the attribute of wisdom since both are believed to symbols of such.

A raven tattoo design with a skull can have several meanings depending on the location of each item. If it is sitting on top of a skull, it can show triumph over the fear of death and one with a decaying body can symbolize a raging war inside.

A tattoo can also show the equal light and dark in a soul by having a raven and a dove of equal size sitting near each other. Two ravens sitting close on a branch of other item with their backs to each other can state a person is loyal.

Turtle Tattoo

A turtle tattoo is a great idea for anyone wanting to get some ink with a lot of history and meaning. Turtles are tough and resilient creatures that live long lives and are great navigators on land and in the sea with a super hard shell that protects them from predators. This is why there are so many myths about the turtle and why they are the symbol of strength, stability, and stamina.

The turtle is an animal of great myth in Hawaii. It is believed to have led the first inhabitants to the island centuries ago. Some of the tribal turtle tattoos of their culture depict a turtle with a shell made of a Hawaiian flower, or with the flower a part of the shell. Other great tribal designs include the turtle with Hawaiian or Polynesian art embedded in the shell.

For Polynesians, the meaning of the turtle tattoo was to explain their status and role in the tribe as well as to be used as talismans of protection and spirituality. This was because they had no writing in their culture. In some of the tribes, the turtle was used by certain members only, usually the chief. The tattoos meaning depended on the placement as well as the actual design itself.

A popular turtle tattoo design is a turtle carrying the Earth on its shell. Some believe earthquakes are a reaction to the turtle stretching or readjusting the weight. In India, there are elephants that hold a flat planet while standing on top of a large turtle shell.

When it comes to a turtle tattoo design, you can choose between a tribal design, a cartoon one, or a realistic one. They can be drawn out in black ink only, usually for tribal tattoos, or you can be creative and have it colored in with realistic or bright colors.

Vine Tattoos

Vine tattoos are a great design that anybody can have because it can be the main focus of the tattoo or as an enhancement on another design. They can be drawn with great detail on the stems and leaves or as a line that connects leaves and other items. You can get a vine tattoo so small that it fits on your pinky toe or so large that it covers your entire body.

A great use for the vine tattoo is to string together more than one item, such as hearts or flowers. Rose vine tattoos are a good example of this. Roses can have different meanings depending on the color, generally red for love, black for death, yellow for friendship or happiness, etc. The vine in the tattoo design can mean strength and durability as no matter how many times it is cut down, it grows right back.

Another variation is the grape vine tattoo. While the grape may not be the most popular of tattoo designs, it does have some Greek myth to it that means “In wine there is wisdom.” The wine from grapes was considered to be the nectar of the Gods and was seen as the purest essence of godliness. The grape is also seen in Christian drawings to represent the blood of Christ.

Vine tattoo designs can also mean commitment as they connect other things together. Vines are also everlasting, as mentioned above they must be completely destroyed to prevent them from growing back, and even that is no guarantee. Vine tattoos make a great addition to almost any tattoo as they can be incorporated into the design fairly easy.  They can also be a masterpiece of their own, twining and twirling all over a specified body part. From connecting hearts to roses to grapes to names, if you are debating your next tattoo design, think about using a vine in some way.

Zombie Tattoos

While there are people who would never dream of getting something as scary as a zombie tattoo put on their body, these tattoos are becoming more and more popular recently, especially since the hit show “The Walking Dead” came out. For some, this type of tattoo is a face your fear type of thing, and what better way to do that than to have a zombie permanently inked on your skin? For others, a tattoo of this nature might tell others of the lack of fear for such things, and for others it may just be a way to attract attention. No matter what the reasoning behind getting one, there are plenty of different zombie tattoo designs that can be done to make an individual tattoo stand out. 

“The Walking Dead” tattoo can show your love of the popular hit series and there are more than enough gory scenes to get a great tattoo idea from. You can choose a specific zombie from one of the scenes or design one that looks like it belongs in the show. Adding the title of the show can be helpful for those few who do not watch it. 

Favourite TV characters can be drawn out as zombies; from Bart Simpson to one of the Disney Princesses, or Curt Cobain to Michael Jackson, there is no limit on which one of your favourite stars, alive or dead, can be pictured as a zombie. Zombies can be depicted as cartoons, anime, or real people. You can have them as a new age teen with piercings and tattoos or as a mobster from the 1920’s. 

You can also do a picture of a loved one that has passed, or one that broke your heart. Adding red roses to the design shows love for that person and black ones can mean hate. 

A zombie tattoo can be drawn however you like, from a scary monster type to a cute friendly one. The only limit to your tattoo design is your imagination and the abilities of your artist. Just remember that your tattoo is pretty much permanent, so make sure to get the right one the first time. 

Nautical Tattoos

Among popular nautical tattoos you will find such significant symbols such as sail ships, boats, anchors, rudders and compasses, mermaids and water-nymphs. They come in a great variety of designs and symbolic meanings. The most popular of these and pretty trendy nowadays are nautical star tattoos. This specific kind of a star actually is a symbol of the armed forces of the United States, but not many people take it in account getting these tattoos.

Nautical star tattoo meanings nowadays vary depending on personal meanings people add to this symbol: from the informal sign of a person really being a part of maritime forces of the United States to being a guide showing the way in life. Basically that’s a symbol of military and ability to find the right direction to get back home after wars, fights and other trouble military might get into. In all cases it is related to finding the right direction, although many people simply get it inked considering only the symbolic meaning of a star that holds a bit different meaning within than a nautical star. It truly looks nice and elegant coloured in different tones and many people get them as symbols of following their dreams.

Pay attention to the star colours! Traditional US maritime forces have this star in red and black. Nautical star in black and green stands for Irish culture and strength, but the one with black and pink symbolize the fight with breast cancer.

But there is one warning – many gangs nowadays use this star and having it might be even dangerous…

Dangerous this tattoo becomes when you get it in the wrong place or in wrong colours. For example, for Russian mafia nautical stars inked on both shoulders are tattoos one should earn not have for granted. The person who is not related to criminal society, but is wearing this tattoo on both shoulders might really get into trouble if getting into the way of Russian mafia.

Of course, nautical tattoos nowadays are not only for sailors or those related to waters, but research is pretty essential. Sailors where those who brought the tattoo art in spotlights, and their tattoos are pretty old symbols used in Western culture. It means – they have overgrown with different meanings, traditions and practical uses, for example, for recognition as it is in the case of Russian mafia.

Joker Tattoo

Not every person would wear a joker tattoo because it’s a really specific one. Those who play card games might now the nature of a joker, but jokers undoubtedly are related to jesters or court fools who were there to entertain others.  

To get to the root of numerous variations of joker tattoo designs, we should take a look at its meaning in card games.  In some games joker card really goes wild or ranks higher than any other card – it can make unexpected surprises for all involved in the game. You can fool many people, but you can’t fool a joker - that’s one of messages this tattoo tells about its’ wearer.

The Joker card in fact is not that old as other cards, but has been developed from “The Fool” card in Tarot. Joker stands for sharp mind and cleverness, ability to improvise and act without concrete script or plan, ability to deal with unexpected and make people laugh more about themselves than at a joker.  This definition pretty clearly stands for improvisation theatre actors as we know them nowadays. It’s not just a fool who can crack jokes he/she has learned by heart, but someone who has ability to observe, listen, analyse, dare and speak up and show the spectators themselves in a way that they even laugh about it.  It’s always related to taking risks.

Joker face tattoos you can see nowadays inked wouldn’t seem nice or cute at all. They mostly have artful, fraudulent and even devilish facial expressions. So do they really mean fooling people in a way that brings benefit to the joker and does bad to others? Some horror movies definitely have added a bad meaning to this character. Is joker tattoo nowadays really standing for values from “the dark side”? That’s an arguable questions and the answer you can get only from the wearer of such tattoo, or from yourself if you are planning to get one like that as well!