Traditional tattoos have a long history of acceptance, and for a good reason. While maintaining its roots, the traditional tattoo style has evolved gradually over time. As a tattoo is meant to be permanent, it makes sense that early painters based their creations on symbols. By having a traditional tattoo, you are honoring the tradition of the art form and obtaining a tattoo with significant symbolic meaning.
Symbol of Body Parts
The body areas that best represent your personal ideals should be included in your tattoo design. The words “arm” and “hand,” which are directly related to the topic, stand for power and inventiveness. The need to socialize, advance, progress, be independent, and engage in
sexual activity is symbolized by the leg and the foot. The feet are linked to tangible things and concreteness as well. Hence, your body part of choice might be an arrow or a horseshoe.
Symbol of Sleeve Design
In tribal tattoos, a traditional sleeve is made up of various parts with distinct traditional styling that together cover an entire limb of the body. A “patchwork” sleeve is the name given to this kind of sleeve. The idea is comparable to quilting, where a greater work of art is constructed from a number of smaller parts. The name was given in this manner. A classic sleeve has a small area to unfill the space. It has patterns in a range of sizes, from hand-sized to “filler,” or little pieces.
A patchwork sleeve differs from other tattoo sleeves in that it is not limited to a single tattoo artist or design; in contrast, other designs, like Japanese, are frequently finished by the same tattoo artist and consist of one enormous design.
Swallow Symbol
Sailing and swallows share a lot of characteristics. Swallows, as with other birds, frequently return to the same nesting location after traversing great distances under difficult circumstances, much like a sailor at sea. It is believed that sailors would get one swallow traditional tattoo to symbolise setting sail and would get the other upon returning home. Swallow tattoos are frequently seen in pairs when getting inked.
Also, getting a swallow tattoo or multiple swallow tattoos was viewed as a symbol of one’s sailing prowess. Each tattoo the sailor got was a reminder of the great distances he had traveled. The theory goes that if a sailor were to perish while traveling if they had the tattoo, the bird should lift their soul to paradise. A swallow tattoo was not just considered as a representation of one’s calibre at sea.
Ship Symbolism Freedom
The representation of a ship is another element of the maritime motif. Naturally, this plays a significant role in a sailor’s life because it symbolizes freedom. No constraints are preventing you from sailing once you set off. Nothing could represent adventure more than the largest tool used to carry out their exploration and discoveries since sailors are natural explorers.
Also, ships provide a cozy atmosphere because this ship represented one’s home away from home and provided a method to get back there when the time came.
The symbolism of this tattoo expresses the wearer’s love of travel and signifies their nomadic nature, as well as their strong connection to and identity with their country of origin.
Shark Symbolise Sea Protection
On their sea voyages, sailors frequently came into contact with sharks. It was believed that getting a shark tattoo would protect you from the dangers of the water. Sharks don’t have any natural predators, which shows that they don’t like to be taken advantage of by others. Sharks are extremely peaceful despite the fact that they rarely stop moving. This exemplifies tenacity and a “keep moving forward” attitude towards life and whatever recurring difficulties one may encounter. The shark is a really badass tattoo to have, whether you get it to inspire you or to represent a powerful person in your life!
Anchor Symbolism Stability
One of the tattoo designs with the most literal meaning is the anchor. A ship’s anchor, which keeps it from drifting away, stands for stability and a person’s sense of reality. When getting it inked, a person may perceive this in themselves or in the character of a person they want the tattoo to symbolize.
Traditional tattoo anchor patterns frequently include banners that read loved ones’ names, are depicted in scenes, or are combined with another historical design to create a difference.
Heart Symbolise Strength
As the love heart pattern represents an emotion instead of an anatomical organ, you are significantly more likely to see it in traditional tattoo artwork (although from time to time, you do see this in tattoo designs too).
The sailors were also the source of the heart. When embarking on a journey, there was always a chance that you might not return. A heart tattoo served as a reminder of the people you cared about the most when you were gone, which was frequently for months at a time. You count down the time to go back home to your sweet lovers. And your beloved uses their insight when you come back. In this situation also some people seek psychic readings for their beloved ones, when they come back, when they sit together and when they have romance again.
The concept of wearing your heart on your sleeve is taken pretty literally in this design, which is sometimes titled with banners and other times on their own.
Tattoos frequently feature crying hearts, which are usually a mirror of broken hearts. Daggers in hearts are another illustration of this. This beautiful image can be a representation of surviving heartbreak and emerging stronger on the other side, even though you don’t have to be in love to get it tattooed on you.
