There are a lot of things that define humankind. However, nothing can be more important than intelligence. It is the innovation and knowledge of humankind which led to the discovery of fire, several centuries ago, during the many stages of evolution.
- Fire and its history.
Since the time humanity got fascinated with fire and found different things to do with it, life started to be impossible without it. This phenomenon definitely caused the improvement of humanity in a lot of ways.
When humankind made a fire for the first time, it was definitely an enormous achievement, and it also changed its destiny forever. Fire gives us warmth during the cold winter days and offers protection from dangerous animals or other men. We are able to cook, clear brush and forest, and even make tools. Fire gives us light in the dark, and it became part of a lot of religious rites and ceremonies. The fire had a key role in the evolution of humankind.
Fire and man go way back, and we can say that if the fire never existed, we as human beings would not be able to come as far as we did through all these centuries. When a man had the ability to control fire, the whole world was his.
The things which people were able to do with fire centuries ago are the same ones even today. However, we found many ways of permanently reminding us of the awesome power of fire, such as representing it as a tattoo design.
Nowadays, the fire and the flames may represent power, enlightenment, dominance, and burning desire or drive.
- The legends about it.
Part of the common use of flames in tattoo art is because of the rich history fire has in mythology. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus stole the fire from gods in order for the mortals on earth to put it to food use.
Fast forward several years, and we will see that the Phoenix is comprised of flames. Also, it has the ability to reincarnate itself from the ashes every 500 years. When such images find their uses in tattoo designs, they can symbolize rebirth, a circle of life, and reincarnation.
Christians associated the flames with hell. Also, those who sin on Earth will spend their time in the fiery pits of hell for all eternity.
The fire was also the symbol of the Holy Ghost and might even represent the burning bush which Moses saw.
- Fire and flames tattoos, meaning, and symbolism.
Considered one of the key elements of nature in a lot of cultures, flames possess conflicting symbolic associations. We can expect from them to warm and illuminate, but also to destroy and consume.
The Judeo-Christian tradition contains a lot of examples of holy fire, from Moses’ burning bush to Pentecost. For the Hindus, fire can come in a lot of different forms which include lightning and the Sun. It even found its use as the symbol of renewal and purification from the Americas to Japan.
A lot of these symbolic meanings have their use in tattoo art, where the fire and flames add more passion, an ardor to everything from hot rods to the sacred heart, and brilliance. With a long and rich history, flames tattoos may symbolize a lot of different things for different tattoo wearers.
Circling a heart, the flames may be the symbol of love, passion, and desire. Only the flames, without being in a combination, may represent temptation, danger, lust, change, and warning. For those of you that want a more religious connection, the flames will represent the Sun, the Holy Spirit, the Hell, and sin. Some more common symbolism ranges from wisdom, destruction, light, knowledge, energy, and creation.
With a lot of different meanings of these tattoos, you have several good reasons why to choose this particular design. They can have negative, as well as positive associations; hence, the meanings are more representative of the individual that has this artwork.
When we look at the representation of the flames, we may see that they are quite diverse in associated meanings. Flames may find their use in positive manners, although they can even cause devastation and destruction of wide proportions. As we know, they give off heat, which can give us warmth. Moreover, it may give us light in the dark. However, they can be quite destructive too, as it can burn almost everything on its way down to ashes. Almost everything that is on the path of the flames will disappear, and it will be destroyed.
As fire and flames have a lot of different meanings, we can see a variety of different reasons why they are commonly used as tattoo designs. Most of the meanings depend on the tattoo symbol which can be portrayed with the flames. For instance alone, a heart will represent love, but when it’s combined with flames, it will represent deep and burning passion, lust, and desire. This is by far one of the most important inventions in human history, as we already mentioned, have positive and negative associations, that’s why the meanings behind the tattoo will be positive or negative too.
