Nowadays, a lot of people around the world decide to get a tattoo and within it, to incorporate some symbol, which to them deems fitting to their character, personality traits, and has a meaning within their life, or they simply decide to have something which will represent a specific time of their life – no matter if it is the past, present or the future. Regarding a lot of people in the world, every single tattoo has a specific meaning and symbolism for everyone. One of those numerous tattoo designs is the crow tattoo. For a lot of people, the crow symbolizes returning to their roots, somewhere they belong. However, everyone may have his or her meaning of this tattoo.
Below, we are going to discuss more the crow tattoo, as well as about its meaning and symbolism.
- The crow bird symbolism throughout history and mythology in different cultures.
Very much like the raven, it is not a surprise that much of mythology does not often make a distinction between these two black-colored birds. Despite more association of this bird with death or bad luck, which was attributed recently, the crow was associated with good aspects in a lot of different parts in the world.
For example, in Japan, as well as the Scandinavian countries, a black-colored bird was considered to be the messenger of the gods. Moreover, in Japan and China, this design is also considered a symbol of family affection. In Ireland, the war goddess took the name of ‘carrion-crow’ and usually appeared in this shape, too, while in ancient Greece, the bird was sacred to Athena.
A grouping of crows is described as a ‘murder’ of crows. In western countries, this bird was considered a bad omen. Even some cultures in which the crow is seen as the keeper of sacred laws, it is also symbolic of the ‘dark side’ – the one which is not known.
The idea of the crow representing a bad omen originated in Europe. This was believed to be like that as it was observed neglecting its young.
The crow is an animal that made its presence well-known. For the ancient Celts, the crow was considered the omen of death, as well as conflict, while in England, seeing a solitary crow has been a warning of ill-fortune. Together with this, it was also said that when this bird caws three times as it flies over the house of someone, portended death. Encountering a dead crow was also a sign of good fortune.
We already mentioned about Japan and China, but we will add that Chinese and Japanese myths chose to portray this as a loving symbol. One Chinese legend recounts how a crow became a solar symbol. It became the sun itself. Being a solar symbol, the bird also represented the creative principle.
- Crow tattoo, meaning, and symbolism.
When it comes to choosing a specific symbol, a person has to take into consideration that there are a lot of interpretations out there; it is quite important that one manages to incorporate that symbol to the own interpretation of the person and go from there.
Here, we will mainly focus on the meaning of getting a crow tattoo done, a single crow, or many crows in a group. Getting a crow tattoo may mean a lot of different things, which may range from the profane to the sublime. It is during this point that a person has to enter the tattoo studio with enough knowledge on the tattoo he or she wants to get done.
So, what you have to know about the crow is that it is an animal which is considered very wise and clever – this, in turn, has to be seen as something positive, and also as an inspiration. Regarding this, the northern American cultures saw crows as a spirit guide – messengers of prophets.
Crows are also animals that are known to have a language, and although it sounds like crawling, each noise is a representation of a different meaning. The intelligence of crows means that they can utilize and make tools.
A lot of people choose to get this tattoo in order to represent wisdom, love, and the future too. While some of them may see crows as a bad omen, there are the ones that see them as a new beginning or also a mother’s womb before the light of new birth.
Crow tattoos may have a meaning of change, and it will depend on the perception of the individual when it comes to deciding whether their tattoo is to be a good or bad change.
On the other hand, multiple crows within one tattoo are meant to represent different things, and depending on the number of crows, their symbolism varies. So, one crow means bad, two crows mean luck, three mean health, four mean wealth, five mean sickness, and six crows mean death.
This tattoo design is also a common one, and a lot of people choose the design of multiple crows instead of one single crow.
