It is quite common for people to share tattoo themes, in the same way, they share names. Whether they are some nautical-themes or tribal ones, there are certain themes and styles that a lot of people relate to.
Why sometimes we gravitate toward the same themes? Well, for the most part, we are all built the same. We all love, hurt, laugh, as well as experience the same emotions. However, we usually take different roads in order to get there.
And, while we all share experiences, every one of us expresses their experience in entirely unique ways. Regardless of the reason for your tattoo, it is always an excellent thing to learn more about the meanings behind great symbols. Not only symbols from our times, but from past times, in order to find inspiration and create our own design.
Here, we are going to represent several tattoo themes that were meaningful in the past, and are still nowadays.
They are the following:
- Grasshopper
In the Old Testament, the grasshoppers have been a euphemism for a significant number of people. They considered them the blight on the land. For instance, in Japan, people were keeping both grasshoppers and crickets as pets. They kept them in beautifully crafted cages and admired for their singing abilities. Among the Chinese, the grasshopper was the symbol of flourishing descendants and, therefore, abundance too.
Tattoos of grasshoppers are sometimes ultra-realistic. They show the grasshopper in much more detail than we can see with the unaided eye. Other times, they are shown in unreal and vivid colors, among grass and leaves. They can also be in the process of rubbing their legs to create their chirping sound.
- Harp
When harps find their uses alone in tattoo imagery, they are virtually all of the Celtic variety. From the evidence of Pictish engraved stones from the 8th century, we can see that the Picts possessed some form of the instrument with which we are familiar today, which is the triangular clarsach.
Ireland used it as a national symbol, and it was also present on Irish coins. Moreover, people played it on the front line of battlefields. The English invaders unsuccessfully attempted to eradicate harp-playing. In this way, they have the harp the added symbolism of resistance.
- Interlocked armband
The flowing, as well as intricate scroll patterns in the illuminated manuscripts, which made the Celtic art famous, aren’t particularly symbolic. Rather than that, they serve a more decorative purpose. However, delving a bit deeper, the single thread which reconnects with itself usually symbolized eternity.
- Jack-in-the-box
The jack-in-the-box is actually a musical box toy, which has a handle crank on the side. When you wound the crank, music starts playing, and the tension increases in the handle. The crank becomes quite more challenging to turn. This is until the clown or jack springs out of the top of the box from beneath the lid.
In tattoo artwork, artists usually show jack-in-the-box sprung. However, what comes out of the box is anybody’s guess. In tattoo artwork, the little emerging puppet is rarely a simple clown. Sometimes, it will be a skull or any other type of head.
A common head to pop out may the evil clown, having wacky hair, makeup, and bulbous nose. However, it also has a sneer and wicked look about the face. This isn’t far from the actual purpose of the toy.
- Kalachakra
Kalachakra is actually Sanskrit for “time” (Kala) and wheel (Chakra). Its meaning is wider, and it often means cycles of time, especially n Tibetan Buddhism. The complex symbol for this esoteric component of Buddhist teachings finds its basis upon Sanskrit letters. These letters spell the main Kalachakra mantra.
The stylized syllables appear on the left side of the logo, with vertical lines connecting them to the right side. From bottom to the top, there is the black YA, the red RA, the white VA, the yellow LA, the multicolored MA, the green KSHA< and the blue HAM.
Above the horizontal bar at the top is the red or white crescent moon. Then, there is the red, yellow, or white sun disk. Then, there is a little blue, black, or green flame on the top. Beyond the main symbol, there is often a kind of frame made of fire. This frame corresponds to the outermost “circle of wisdom” of the Mandala.
- Lady Luck
Lady luck is often famous for her depiction in the nose art of the Second World War bombers. This was a risky profession where lady luck was no doubt, courted. She formed part of gambling enterprises and assumed the role of casting fortunes in life in general. This was since the Roman and Greek eras.
In tattoo imagery, as in bomber nose artwork, lady luck is often scantily clad. The tools of her trade, like cards, dice, and horseshoe, often accompany her in tattoos.
Do you think about getting some of these tattoos? If you do, research better and make it look beautiful.
