Swallow Tattoos - Exploring the Symbolic Meaning of Swallow Tattoo Designs

Swallow tattoos have played a special symbolic part among various world cultures for thousands of years. Nowadays, these tattoos are still immensely popular and are often considered merely for the fashion and beauty aspect of swallow art. However, some of these designs have a deeper personal meaning as well.

Meaning of Swallow Tattoos

Since swallow tattoos have been an incredibly popular choice for body art fans, it naturally lends the question: What swallow tattoo meaning could apply to you?

The historic designs of swallow tattoos goes back hundreds of years and begins with the plight of sailors. When a crew was sailing a long distance on the ocean, typically 5,000 nautical miles or across the equator, the travels were often full of hardship, sickness, starvation, and quite commonly, death. One sign that their travels were nearing an end was the appearance of swallows. Because these birds never traveled far out to sea, their sighting meant that land was near and the long voyage was coming to an end. This fact led many sailors to start adopting swallow tattoo designs as a symbol of hope and a successful finish to a long journey. As a followup to this story, having a tattoo depicting 2 swallows indicated going on a very long journey (10,000 nautical miles or more) and a swallow tattoo with a dagger through its heart symbolized a memorial for a friend lost at sea.

A different anecdote describes swallow tattoos as a symbol of a mutiny that occurred on a ship called 'The Swallow'. Each of the 7 sailors described in this story had a swallow bird design on their chest to show their support for the mutiny.

As time passed, swallow tattoos have come to symbolize different meanings to different people. Some see the swallow art as a symbol of success or triumph. Others decide to get swallow bird tattoos to signify the return home after a long departure, such as a soldier coming back from war. Another popular meaning is that of freedom, as some people released from prison have chosen this bird tattoo as a sign of their entrance back into society. Yet another interpretation is for an everlasting love and loyalty, related to the fact that swallows mate for life.

Swallow Tattoos - Learn About Early Swallow Art and Culture

When it came to the artistic depictions of swallow tattoos, it is interesting to note that for centuries humans bestowed upon these birds a symbolism of both good luck as well as bad. Therefore, by learning the origins of swallow art history, you can rest assured that the exact symbolic meaning you wish to convey is indeed the one that gets tattooed. Here are some examples of swallow art depictions from various cultures:

• In ancient times, prior to swallow tattoos gaining prominence, the birds themselves were associated with the all-powerful gods, as well as the souls of the dead. For instance, according to Greek and Roman mythology, deities were able to change their form into a swallow. On the other hand, grieving mothers considered the bird to be sacred, as it was thought to carry the soul of their deceased children. Consequently, killing a swallow was deemed unlucky.


• Similarly, an ancient Egyptian artwork depicts a swallow as it enters the underworld, however, Egyptian poetry made a departure to a more positive tone, describing the swallow as bringing the first sign of a new love.


• The expression "one swallow does not make a summer" is derived from a fable by Aesop and is intended as an advice for being cautious and deliberative.


• During the yearly pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, the swallow was considered to be the symbol of faith and steadiness.


• In classical Chinese paintings, the swallow represented happiness and the arrival of spring, and was often depicted as part of the flowering peach branch. Additional portrayals show the bird as: daring, risk-seeking, and a symbol of change for good in the future.


• Despite a mostly favorable characterization of swallows as representing lifelong partnership, in Japan, swallows symbolized unfaithfulness and were described in legends as flying through the house while carrying tidings of displeasure and bad luck from the gods.

All in all, the meaning conveyed by swallow art is that of a region-specific symbolism, which you may wish to further consider for your own swallow tattoos.
Swallow Tattoos - Get to Know the Species

There are literally thousands of bird species, so what makes the swallow a popular bird to ink? Notably, to make sure you get the right tattoo, it is useful to know that the swallow is sometimes mistaken for the bluebird. The eastern Bluebird and the Barn Swallow have similar coloring, with bright accents of orange and blue, converging on both yellow and red. Therefore, you and your tattoo artist should know the right colors and patterns needed to ink an accurate and attractive swallow tattoo. Additionally, the sheer fact that the swallow bird species makes its appearance most prominently during spring can be applied to swallow tattoos as a representation of fertility, hope, and happiness.

These are the main reasons for getting this particular body art, as it seems each new generation and culture finds its own symbolic meaning of the time-honored, simple yet beautiful, swallow tattoos.

Ben Silver, an expert tattoo artist and the author of this article, invites you to visit his tattoo design resource site at http://www.tattoo-designs.dk to gain additional useful insights about swallow tattoos and discover FREE practical tips and knowledge on how to best obtain and maintain your tattoo art.

Various Interpretations of the Swallow Tattoo Designs

There are a lot of swallow tattoo designs that would look great on your body. The good thing about the swallow is it can look great on both male and female. The swallow is a symbol of hope, usually used for its nautical reasons meaning land is near. Sailors use swallow tattoo designs as a symbol that they have travelled five thousand nautical miles. If you have two swallow tattoos then you have travelled ten thousand nautical miles. Ancient Egyptians said that killing a swallow is unlucky. For them, swallows are the ones taking the soul of a dead child to the underworld.

The swallow tattoo designs can be associated with good and bad reasons. Ancient poets use the swallow as a sign of spring and the end of winter. Ancient Chinese and Greek paintings use the swallow for showing hope for the future. Sailors use the swallow to depict that land is near. Usually, swallows are the first signs that there is hope ahead. For Egyptians, the swallow is a sign of new love. Since swallows bring hope, the early Egyptians use the bird as a symbol for hope for a new love. However, in Japan the swallow symbolizes unfaithfulness. The same goes with China since it symbolizes danger and change for things to come.

Blue birds are often mistaken for swallow tattoo designs. It is understandable since both birds have the same blue and orange designs with some red and yellow accents. Most of the modern swallow tattoo designs are associated with love. The famous designs have the bird holding a heart or sometimes two hearts with the names on banners. For guys, they add different designs with the swallow like barb wires or lightning marks to give it a masculine touch. For sailors, it is known that a swallow with a dagger in its heart means that a close friend died.

A tattoo is all about individualism. Take that away and you just have ink. That's why you want a tattoo design that looks amazing now and in the future.

Check out my site now for some great free tips, information, designs and product reviews

John Phillips

http://ReviewTattoos.com/

Japanese Tattoo Art - The Tattoo As a Part of Underworld Gangsters

The land of the rising sun, that's how people describe Japan. This is where different types of people are situated, from popular celebrities, electronic experts, robots and gangsters. In addition to that, culture and tradition have a huge influence in their everyday living. The Japanese are also excellent when it comes to visual designs. One of the popular designs used until now is the Japanese tattoo art.

History of Japanese tattooing

Archeologists concluded that tattoos started from early settlers in Japan or the so called "Ainu" tribe. Back to the early civilization, tattoos were used as facial identities. This is how people determined what tribe they belonged and what tradition they performed. Japanese tattoo art has been present for around centuries. But as years passed, simple tattoo designs turned into innovative and meaningful images. Aside from flowers and dragons, Japanese are now featuring endless choices including heroes and weapons used in wars.

Tattoo designs featured by gangsters of Japan

Japan is also known for underworld gangsters like Yakuza for example. In the past, tattoos are illegal to Japanese people and this thing was distinguished from the rest of the population. Although, there were people who have tattoos in their bodies, still authorities marked tattooed individuals as criminals. These individuals have discriminated the whole people in Japan. This is the main reason of forming underworld gangster known as "Yakuza".

Women as part of gangland society

Since then, tattoos were worn by these people symbolizing status and dedication. As featured in several movies, Yakuza tattoos involved magnificent styles and full body masterpieces. The design is quite difficult. It comprises complex curves, circles and Japanese symbols that only tattoo experts can do. During early years, Yakuza's members only involved men. Today, many women also become integral parts of Japan's gangland society.

As part of the gangster's tradition, wives and girlfriends of top Yakuza members often undergo extensive tattooing. Even in some countries, Japanese tattoo art was still in used. Try watching WWE and you'll see that some wrestlers get inked with these designs, including the world's famous Rey Mysterio and Japanese's pride Rikishi.

Japanese tattoo art is increasingly popular in the world today. Thanks to people of Japan for creating these meaningful images. Regardless of gangsters, the art of tattoo will always represent freedom for everyone. If you're interested with this kind of art, you should decide first. You should understand that tattoos are lifetime responsibilities. In order to avoid regrets in the future, you should have the willingness to carry it for the rest or your life.

Above is all I want to share with you about Japanese Tattoo art. But for more information, I would strongly recommend you to go to Chopper Tattoo Review.