Butterfly tattoos are characterized by its grace, femininity and happiness. This is why it is commonly donned by women than men. And as with any tattoo symbol, butterflies also come with a deep meaning.
The meaning of butterfly tattoos may vary from culture to culture. For example, in European culture, butterflies are believed to be the physical form of the human soul. Once a person dies, his soul will then transform into a butterfly before he could finally leave the portals of purgatory going to his last destination. Another Western interpretation is that a butterfly represents the soul of a person who is about to be born in this world.
Scientifically speaking, butterflies demonstrate metamorphosis in which from cocoon stage they would transform into a flying adult insect. This physical transformation is considered as one of the most brilliant mysteries of Mother Nature that even scholars find it difficult to explain how such things happen, without putting the Creator into the picture.
It is believed that God is the force behind metamorphosis which gives butterflies the ability to fly upon reaching the adult stage. This could be one of the reasons why it is easily liked by a lot of people. Plus, its size may vary so its placement, whether in a hidden body part or not, does not cause any big issue at all.
Overall, butterfly tattoos symbolize life, fecundity, femininity, aesthetics, spiritual development, transformation, resurrection, freedom, and dreams.
When a woman gets a butterfly tattoo anywhere in her body, it means that she’s free spirited and a lot more open to major transformations in life. Likewise to butterflies women will arrive at a blossoming stage at some point in their lives, and this phase helps them transform into a more beautiful and grown up woman.
Therefore, regardless of where the butterfly tattoo is placed on a woman’s body, it will serve as a source of both physical and spiritual energies. But the different patterns and styles of the butterfly tattoo on women can mean delicateness, patience, attentiveness, intelligence, and creativity. And since the insect shares close ties to nature, it can also mean fertility, friendship and traditional.
In most cases, butterfly tattoos are placed anywhere near or right on the chakra points of the body. Some women do not even realize this but they do have it inked on one of the seven significant areas in the body such as the forehead, head, lower belly or back, heart or chest, throat, groin, and the celiac plexus.
Each of these chakra points has a distinct meaning. So, if you are interest in getting a butterfly tattoo, you might as well take this fact into consideration. Although placing it on your forehead (right on the third eye) is quite a bizarre idea, doing so is entirely possible. It all depends on the design and style of the butterfly tattoo and it can actually look visually appealing.
If you are a dreamer and a very idealistic person, you should consider placing your tattoo on the shoulder blade. But if you have nothing but love and compassion for every being in this world, a butterfly tat on the chest would be the best option. As for signifying survival and self-preservation you should have it inked on your lower back.
Fertility and virginity is best represented right beneath the belly. This belief is based on the tradition of ancient civilizations that virgin women are either a gift to gods or they were just bounded to live a life in celibacy and abstinence. The demise of innocence was never an intention for these virginal women, so it is only appropriate to have a butterfly tattoo on the lower belly.
Butterfly tattoos are one of the most versatile designs there is out there. It can be done with intricate details, multiple colors and shapes. Its versatility simply gives plenty of room for creative expression and experimentation. Your tattoo artist may either design it based on its realistic characteristics or it can look as dreamy as the heavens.
To put simply, butterfly tattoos can be executed with other symbols like fairies, trees, flowers, stars, tribal symbols, etc. Here are some design ideas to help you get started
It can either be open- or closed-wing(ed) depending on your own preferences. The open-winged design is the top choice by most people. It is because it can take almost any forms and styles, allowing the tattoo artist to freely experiment with the tattoo. You, as the customer, can also pick from a wide variety of shapes that look compatible with open-winged butterfly tats. You can take curved wings and antenna as examples and then add some more details to it by thinking of a certain style and pattern. Keep in mind though that this design is supposed to show the butterfly in a flying stance, or is poised to fly, so place it on your body art that allows such that like on your shoulder, lower back or arm.
Meanwhile, closed-wing butterfly tattoos make an excellent choice for individuals who want to have a small tattoo that they can easily hide from the public. However, the design and style choices are quite limited to a few numbers only which is why only few people choose this one.
Closed-wing butterflies are usually drawn in a resting stance like being perched on a leaf or a flower. Thus, you may consider placing it on your ankle, groin, or upper part of the hip.
A tribal armband can be adorned with a butterfly for example. It can’t be helped that tribal armbands are typically colored in plain colors so adding pieces of colorful butterflies around it can make a difference. Having said this, the butterflies should come in large sizes in order for the artist to paint them with multiple colors.
Celtic knot is a good variant of Celtic butterfly tattoo. The knot symbolizes the continuity while the butterfly can mean life; therefore, you will have immortality as the overall meaning.
This is usually preferred by women who love something exotic, enchanting and strangely beautiful. However, this is one of the most difficult butterfly tattoo designs that can be done. The round shapes located at each lower part of the wings look like a pair of eyes. Butterflies use this as a defense mechanism against their predators as it can scare them away.
Decorative designs tend to look very imaginative and idealistic. And when applied in butterfly tattoos, it may not look exactly a lot like a regular butterfly but multiple layers of symbols. Tattoo artists usually mean to show hidden images in this kind of design as they try to combine various images fit into the main picture.
