We all know that flowers are a very common motif for beautiful tattoo designs among tattoo lovers. One such flower is the orchid. Orchids are one of the most remarkable flowers in the world. They are the symbol of the East, femininity, and fragility, beauty and attractiveness, etc. So, they are especially in demand among a lot of women in the world.
There is simply something about orchid tattoos that create a wild, but still elegant style. A beautiful duality contained in one symbol, expressing the potential for gentle loveliness and crazy adventure. Because of these reasons, the orchid flower is such a common tattoo design among girls.
- Characteristics.
The Orchidaceae are a diverse and very common family of flowering plants. They have blooms that are usually colorful and fragrant. This family is better known as the orchid family.
Together with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. The orchid family has about 28.000 currently accepted species. These species are distributed in about 763 genera. It is still not determined which family is larger. This is because verified data on the members of such enormous families are constantly in flux.
Regardless, the number of orchid species almost equals the number of body fishes. It is more than twice the number of bird species too, and about four times the number of mammal species.
The family encompasses somewhere around 6-11% of all seed plants. You can easily distinguish orchids from other plants. They share some very evident and shared derived characteristics or synapomorphies. Among these is the bilateral symmetry of the flower, many resupinate flowers, an almost always highly modified petal, fused stamens and carpels, and tiny seeds.
- Tattoos, meaning, and symbolism.
In a lot of cultures around the world, the image of orchid has an exceptional place. For example, in Eastern culture, this is the symbol of wealth and luxury. However, in the Western tales, this flower finds its association with prosperity and fertility.
The orchid is the favorite motif among the floral tattoo motifs. The wild orchid was universally the symbol of fertility, particularly in Chine. Here, it was the symbol of perfection as well. In England, for instance, the purple spots on the petals were said to represent Christ’s blood. However, the flower also had other, even opposite, aspects, so that it sometimes finds its association with death.
Even so, it is a magnificent and very beautiful flower. The sun orchid, and the spider orchid are several of the descriptive names given to them.
People usually associate the orchid with human sexuality. This is partly because of the resemblance of the flower to male and female sexual anatomy. For various years, different cultures around the world used the orchid for a lot of different purposes. In some places like Africa, China, Egypt, and Germany, people considered the orchid to be a love potion and aphrodisiac. Different East Asian cultures estimated the orchid as the symbol of something rare and precious.
Some cultures even believe that the orchid could determine the sex of their children. The orchid takes a lot of different meanings, depending on the particular place and time.
Here are the most common meaning and symbolism :
- Beauty;
- Procreation;
- Strength;
- Fertility;
- Luxury;
- Death;
- Royalty;
- Innocence;
- Elegance;
- Harmony;
- Purity;
- Delicacy;
- Hope;
- Mystery, etc.
Outside of the basic meanings, the orchid tattoo’s color can change its meaning to the owner.
Here are the most common colors, and what do they symbolize:
- White orchids: Beauty, elegance, and innocence.
- Blue orchids: Rarity, meditation, and spirituality.
- Pink orchids: Happiness, joy, and innocence.
- Yellow orchids: New beginnings and friendship.
- Purple orchids: Respect, admiration, grace, and royalty.
These tattoos are quite popular with women and the occasional man. For those that wear it as body art, this flower is quite important and highly symbolic too. This is because the orchids come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. The tattoo variations are quite versatile too, and they can be placed anywhere on the body.
As there are a lot of different species, you can get it in many different colors. Such colors can be red, blue, pink, orange, and yellow, and we already said that each color has its symbolism. Tattoo artists can also put their twist on it and create a unique design only for you.
You have to remember to research all the possible designs and also take the needed time before you make your decision. It would be a very good idea to research several different tattoo artists in your living place. Also, you can read reviews on them when available. This is important because the orchid is quite a delicate flower, and not every artist will be able to make the perfect tattoo for you.
After all, believe that you will not make a mistake if you decide to get an orchid tattoo. This is especially true for female individuals.
