Butterfly tattoo meanings
Even though butterflies are technically insects, and an insect isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when considering tattoos, butterfly tattoos have become one of the most popular tattoo designs today. Women in particular have come to love getting butterfly tattoos inked on their bodies, and this particular tattoo image has been extremely popular since the 1990s. Although many people get butterfly tattoos simply because they are beautiful creatures, there is also an underlying meaning of butterfly tattoos that can help you choose the tat that is right for you. Whether you prefer the meaning held by Japanese, Aztec, Celtic or Christian cultures, experimenting with different colors and butterfly tattoo images can help you decide your butterfly tattoo meaning and design. Because butterflies are naturally beautiful creatures, it’s hard to go wrong with a butterfly tattoo, so check out the butterfly tattoo meanings below and go from there!
Meaning of butterfly tattoos
In Japanese culture, the meaning of butterfly tattoos depends on how many butterflies are actually included in the tattoo. For example, one butterfly in a tattoo symbolizes young womanhood, while two butterflies in a tattoo stands for marital bliss. The Aztecs however, believed that butterflies represented both the souls of warriors who were killed in battle, and the souls of women who died in childbirth. In Western cultures, the meaning of butterfly tattoos focuses on the transformation of the butterfly, from the unattractive caterpillar to the rebirth of a beautiful winged creature. Similarly, Christian cultures hold that the butterfly represents the soul that has escaped the confines of the flesh, in a sort of metamorphosis. In fact, the metamorphosis of the butterfly is one of the most important butterfly tattoo meanings, as the butterfly has come to represent not only beauty itself, but also the transitory nature of beauty and even life as a whole.
Tribal butterfly tattoo meaning
Tribal tattoos in general have a unique meaning, as this tattoo design dates back centuries to ancient civilizations that used tribal tattoos to denote status within the tribe. By incorporating a tribal design within a butterfly tattoo, the wearer can add another layer of meaning to their butterfly tattoo, possibly representing not only beauty, but their heritage as well. Maori and Polynesian tribal tattoos are some of the most common tribal tattoo designs out there, and both of these designs would look great with a butterfly tattoo. For the most part, tribal butterfly tattoos represent meanings that are similar to regular butterfly tattoos, but with an ancient tribal twist. Tribal butterfly tattoos can stand for change, freedom, new beginnings, or simply a love for nature. Because butterflies are such beautiful creatures, tribal butterfly tattoos look great pretty much anywhere on the body. Small butterfly tattoos in particular look great on a woman’s back, shoulder, ankle, wrist or foot.
Butterfly tattoo meaning with flower
Because butterflies are abundant in nature, many people opt for butterfly tattoos accompanied by other natural images, including flowers. Flower tattoos have their own unique meaning, typically symbolizing divine beauty and everlasting youth. By combining butterfly and flower tattoos, depending on the type of flower represented in the tat, women can create a whole new butterfly tattoo meaning. For example, one or more butterflies depicted with an iris or lily can stand for feminine beauty, purity and innocence. If you opt for a butterfly tattoo with a lotus, however, the butterfly tattoo meaning could represent clarity of the mind and heart, or rising out of the muck and up to the light, as the lotus flower does in nature. Finally, a butterfly tattoo meaning could stand for beauty, romance and love if the butterfly is inked alongside a rose. The shape of a flower is typically compared to feminine gentleness and the grace of the female form. For this reason, butterfly tattoo meanings with flowers are often attributed to women and can usually be found on the back or shoulder.
Monarch butterfly tattoo meaning
Monarch butterflies are one of the most common butterflies found in nature, although this doesn’t take away from their beauty or their butterfly tattoo meaning. In fact, monarch butterflies are famous for their migratory habits, and are capable of traveling long distances, using the sun to orient themselves. Monarch butterflies are even able to perceive polarized light, using it for orientation when the sun is hidden. The distinctive black, orange and white coloring and wandering nature of monarch butterflies has made these creatures a popular butterfly tattoo design.
Celtic butterfly tattoo meaning
Celtic butterfly tattoos are popular tattoo designs, dating back to the Celts who lived lives closely entwined with the natural world. The Celts believed that butterflies and other winged creatures had souls, celebrating the butterfly as a symbol of rebirth, transformation and renewal. Celtic butterflies are some of the most colorful and distinctive butterfly tattoo designs, and even though they are most popular among women, some men incorporate Celtic butterfly tattoos into larger tattoo designs. The most common of Celtic designs includes Celtic knots, which the Celts believed symbolized the continuous cycle of life. It’s not hard to understand then, why Celtic butterfly tattoo meanings can truly represent rebirth and renewal. For this reason, many people choose to get Celtic butterfly tattoos to celebrate change or a time when they have overcome a difficult time in their lives.
Black butterfly tattoo meaning
Whether a butterfly tattoo is inked in a Celtic or tribal design or in a pattern that is commonly found in nature, one of the most popular butterfly tattoo colors is black. In some cases, butterfly tattoos can be found with black accents on the wings, while other butterfly tattoos may be inked completely in black. Some people may choose this design because they prefer not to have color in their tattoos, while others may choose a black butterfly tattoo for a specific purpose and meaning. In some parts of the world, including China and Central America, black butterfly tattoos represent a symbol of death, while other civilizations, like the Celts, believe that black butterflies are the souls of the deceased who have failed to discover their afterlife.
Blue butterfly tattoo meaning
One of the most common colors used in butterfly tattoos is blue, most often a light blue accompanied by a black accent color. Blue isn’t just used in butterfly tattoos for aesthetic purposes though; the meaning of a blue butterfly tattoo typically represents joy or a change in luck. In some instances, a blue butterfly may even be seen as a granter of wishes. The Blue Morpho butterfly is one of the largest and most beautiful blue butterflies and lives in the tropical rain forests of Latin America. Although the color of a butterfly tattoo, whether it is a blue butterfly or black butterfly, typically denotes its meaning, sometimes the design on a butterfly’s wings can also give a hint to its meaning. Regardless of color or design though, butterfly tattoo meanings are most often a symbol of freedom, femininity, beauty and nature.
Butterfly tattoo designs
Butterfly tattoo meanings can represent a number of different things for different people, as the symbolism of butterflies differs among cultures and has transformed over the course of centuries. For some people, a butterfly tattoo meaning can represent femininity and beauty, while for others, the meaning of a butterfly tattoo could represent freedom, new beginnings and rebirth. Some people get simple butterfly tattoos with only one butterfly, while other people opt for multiple butterflies or a trail of butterflies, and still others accentuate their butterfly tattoos with other images like flowers and tribal designs. The great thing about butterfly tattoos is that they are extremely versatile and they can suit almost anyone, regardless of what they want their butterfly tattoo meaning to say about their personality. So, if you’re planning on getting a butterfly tattoo, use this valuable information to decide what you want your butterfly tattoo meaning to be!