Grape Tattoo Designs

Grape Tattoo Designs - Images, designs and symbols of lush clusters of ripe, or pregnant grapes - whether on vines, in bowls, or in the still life painting of the Masters -- are a reminder of the pleasures that humans have drawn from grapes since their earliest discovery. In tattoos, the single cluster of grapes says joi de vivre, but together with the vine and its spiralling tendrils and leaves, the grape design becomes a sensuous body-covering motif. Grapes and vines are wonderful tattoo designs to drape sensuously around an arm, over a shoulder or around a waist.
   

The glory of grapes may be attributed to our cave-dwelling ancestors. Observing how birds seem addicted to fermenting fruit, our earliest ancestors soon learned the benefits of fermented grapes. Or, so recent archeological findings suggest. Details from ancient wall carvings, stone inscriptions, and papyrus, show grapes imagery - including wine-stompers and drinkers - dating back many thousands of years. There's even evidence that hints of Noah growing his own vineyard after the flood.

Historians say that wine reached the Mediterranean via Asia Minor as much as 8,000 years ago, and that the art of wine making flourished in the ancient cultures of Turkey and Greece. Dionysus, the Greek god of wine (Bacchus in ancient Rome), is credited with establishing the 'cult of the grape' and raising it to the sacred. Intoxication became a ritual for escaping the cares of the world and for initiation into secret rites. Festivals with processions, dances and choruses gave rise to Greek drama and theatre. Dionysian revellers wore wreaths of grape-vines.

Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest importers of the grape, welcoming it from vineyards in Palestine. Descriptions of wine-making appear on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs. It was also an important item on the 'menu' for the afterlife.

In religious texts, the grape is revered as a symbol of gladness, fruitfulness, and ripe harvest. In the Old Testament, the grape is associated with immortality. In the New Testament, the grape and vine with its many branches was a symbol of the union between believers and Christ.

During the Dark Ages in Europe (circa 500 AD, after the fall of the Roman Empire) European civilization became a wilderness, threatening many cultural traditions. The monasteries were left standing, however. Inside the walls, the monks' simple daily rituals were preserved, not the least of which was the technology of wine making. All was not lost. The preservation of the rituals surrounding the grape represented the preservation of the arts of civilization. And we'll all drink to that!
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_grapes.htm

Gargoyle Tattoo Designs

Gargoyle Tattoo Designs - Gargoyles are increasingly popular as tattoo designs and have been around for thousands of years as the water spouts with the not-so-cuddly faces. You have probably seen them as architectural decoration, usually at the roof line channelling water from the gutters. It became generally believed that these elaborately grotesque characters could keep away evil spirits and protect the buildings and their occupants from harm. The figures are meant to act as amulets and talismans of protection.
  

Medieval believers claimed that as the rainwater gushed out of the open-mouthed creature, it turned into holy water. These demonic humanoids usually display their talons, tails and horns, and often come with wings and fins. The word 'gargoyle' has its roots in French and Latin for 'throat' and 'swallow'. Think 'gargle', and you'll know what Gargoyles are all about.

Gargoyle pictures

In ancient Egypt gargoyles were used for spouting out the water used for washing ceremonial vessels on the temple roofs. In Greek temples, the marble water spouts often took the shape of lion heads. The gargoyles that we have come to know and love adorned the medieval cathedrals of Europe. Nobody can say for sure what these fantastic carvings depicted, since no definitive historical records exist to enlighten us. They probably served, however, to incite the imagination into fits of storytelling, since this was a pre-literate age.

Not all gargoyles spout water. Some of these stone carvings are purely ornamental, and are more properly referred to as 'chimera'. Chimera are mythical creatures dating back to a number of cultures, including Ancient Greece, Egypt, Persia and China and are creatures combining the features of two or more different animals.

One of the most famous of the chimera is the Griffon, Griffin, or Gryphon (spelling depending upon culture of origin), the legendary figure with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Sometimes the griffin is depicted with an eagle's talons, or a lion's claws, and occasionally the griffon has elongated ears. Such creatures were often featured in heraldic crests, as the lion and the eagle were both considered to symbolize nobility.

Gargoyle pictures

You can find some impressive modern gargoyles and chimera in New York and Chicago, while on the National Cathedral in Washington, DC., limestone demons are encrusted in the walls. But if you want to see the most spectacular medieval examples of gargoyles watching over the city, go to Paris. Want to adopt your own pet gargoyle? The homeless ones usually gather down at your local Goth and New Age retail store.

The human skull, although not officially a 'demon', performs roughly the same protective function when tattooed on the body. It's a death-defying symbol, believed to cheat death and act as an amulet and talisman of protection.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_gargoyle.htm

Dragonfly Tattoos Design

Dragonfly Tattoos - The dragonfly, like the fairy and butterfly tattoo is an extremely popular tattoo design for women. The design can be a small sexy secret or a large tribute to the wild and free spirit that the dragonfly represents. The dragonfly is the power of light. The dragonfly inhabits two realms: air and water and passes the influence of both these elements to the wearer.
   

The image of the dragonfly sparks the creative power of the imagination. Living in an aura of fantasy, the dragonfly's fluttering wings inspire thoughts of fairies and butterflies; bubbles and snowflakes. They flit from flower to flower, from tree to tree; settling on dew-kissed leaves and grass. Within sight yet always out of reach, the dragonfly has buzzed itself into the tattoo culture. Dragonfly tattoo designs are landing everywhere -on arms, chests, hips and tailbones!

Now, instead of capturing these enchanting creatures in glass jars or nets, many people have decided to eternally capture them on containers of flesh. Blue, green, or violet; pink, silver or golden; the dragonfly has proven itself a deserving addition to the world of body art.

Dragonflies lend themselves to so many other thought, ideas and associations that its pretty much futile to limit the possibilities for a dragonfly tattoo design. Any color you like would be appropriate: silver, gold, emerald green, sky blue, grey, lavender, you name it. They can appear on ankles, thighs, backsides, lower backs, shoulders, armbands and breasts.

Additionally, dragonflies certainly aten't limited to women! In Native American astrology, there is a strong belief that each person has a totem animal spirit which serves as their guardians and guides through certain phases of life. Often, an individual would have many different totems throughout life, some for just a time, some for their entire lives. And one of these totem spirits was the spirit of the dragonfly. It would adopt men and women, young and old. The dragonfly spirit means you must consciously make an effort to express your hopes, dreams, needs and wishes.

The dragonfly spirit is the essence of the winds of change, the messages of wisdom and enlightenment; and the communication from the elemental world. Its medicine beckons you to seek out the parts of your habits which need changing. You can turn to the dragonfly to guide you through the mists of illusion to the pathway of transformation.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_dragonfly.htm

Cat Tattoo Designs

Cat Tattoo Designs - Independence, quick recovery and freedom of thought, that's the spirit of the domestic feline, of which there are an estimated 600 million worldwide. The cat's famed agility - almost always seeming to land its feet after falling from great heights - has earned it a reputation for having nine lives.
   

According to paleontologists, the cat appeared about 50 million years ago as a small and clever predatory carnivore with retractable claws. It has since filled the human heart with love, hate, devotion and fear, appearing in mythology and folklore as a symbol of good and bad luck. It has been revered as sacred, even as a god, and been despised as an agent of evil.

Nowhere was the cat more revered than in Ancient Egypt, where by 3000 BC it was a powerful animal totem. Representing the feminine principle, the cat was a symbol of fertility and motherhood, and was also associated with the Moon. The cat appeared in the Book of the Dead as defeater of the evil Apep. Many Egyptian deities were depicted as cats, sometimes fully animal, sometimes a human/feline half-breed. The lion-headed goddess, Sekmet, ruler over the fate of humanity, had a twin sister, the domestic cat called Mafdet. Statuettes of the small cat - often bedecked with gold jewelry and earrings - were placed inside tombs with their deceased owners. Cat mummies are reported to have been found in the city of Bubastis, home of a temple in honour of the cat diety, Bast.

So precious was the cat in Ancient Egypt, that exporting the animal was forbidden, and killing one punishable by death. While warring with Egypt, the Persians are said to have captured thousands of cats, agreeing to spare them only upon Egyptian surrender. The Egyptians surrendered. However, around 400 BC, cat worship was banned, and subsequently lost its religious significance.

Cats can inspire tattoo designs

In Thailand, the 'Siamese' cat was the sacred temple cat. In China and Japan it was a beloved pet as well as a valued dispenser of mice for the cultivators of the silkworm. In India, cats guarded the temples of Buddha.

Evidence suggests that the domestic cat evolved from the desert wildcat found in the Near East around 12,000 years ago. It found favour with the ancients due in part to its talent for hunting rodents. Rats and mice - the enemy of grain producing civilizations - were a destructive force to be reckoned with. Ancient peoples struck up a mutually beneficial relationship with the cat -- a good home in exchange for ridding the populace of disease carrying rodents. With its keen senses of sight, smell, hearing and touch, the cat became a hunting animal, used to retrieve birds from marshland in the same way that dogs have been deployed. Around 2000 BC, the cat entered the home as a companion, where it was accepted as a symbol of beauty and grace and even as a protector of the household.

In Europe, the domestic cat has had a mixed reception over the centuries. In its favour, the cat has often been honoured as an exalted soul, perhaps because as a mute companion it's had the good sense to mind its own business. The Norse goddess, Freya, had cats pull her chariot. At other times, its association with witches and the occult rendered it a despised creature. (See 'black cat'.) As a symbol of superstition and bad luck, the cat's reputation faded. In medieval times, the Catholic Church encouraged their extermination. During witch hunts (USA as well as Europe), cats were burnt right along with those accused of witchcraft. As a symbol of evil, no creature was held in such low esteem. With the cat population drastically reduced, the rat population boomed, bringing the Plague to Europe in the 14th century. The pendulum subsequently swung again in favour of cats, with Saint Gertrude becoming their patron saint. Saint Agatha was called Saint Gato.

For the sailor, the cat was a symbol of good luck, and accepted as a valued member of the crew for its ability to keep the rodent population down. For its highly sensitive radar system, the cat was used by the British in both World Wars. It could detect poisonous gas before humans could, hence its value in trench warfare. In WW2, cats are reported to have detected air raids in advance of defense technology. Their hair standing on end, they hissed and screeched and ran for cover.

Cat Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!Because the domestication of the cat is still relatively recent, some cats may also still live effectively in the wild, often forming small feral colonies. Often monitored by animal protection services, the numbers have been kept under control, and inoculated against disease. In regions of Hawaii and Australia (where the cat is not native), the feral cat has become a unwelcome predator for many endangered species of wildlife.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_cat.htm

Badger Tattoo Designs

Badger Tattoo Designs - The badger is either fierce, strong, and shy - or aggressive and anti-social - depending on your respect or antipathy for this nocturnal creature.

Many people came to first know the badger in Kenneth Graham's, The Wind in the Willows. Mr. Badger is a gruff, solitary figure who 'hates society'. But he is also the wise hermit, and proves himself brave, cooperating in times of need to keep the enemy away. In that famous story, the badger is the symbol of common sense.
  

In the wild, the badger frequently cleans out its den and changes its straw bedding, making it a good example of domestic order and cleanliness. As an animal that digs deep into the earth, the badger has links to the mysteries and magic of the underworld, as well as to the spirits of animals and plants. For anyone seeking a symbol of the balance between that which lies beneath the earth to that which lies above, the badger is a great teacher.

This is a compact and muscular animal, standing about 30 cm in height and a metre in length. It has family ties with otters and weasels. It's famous for its teeth, particularly the incisors, which are so powerful that gypsies and gamblers have been known to carry them as tokens of protection and good luck. The badger paw symbol is worn by those indicating the presence of the spirit animal in their lives, or wishing to call on its power. It is believed that catching sight of badger tracks signifies health and strength.

photo of a badger

The badger makes its home on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as in Africa and Asia. In Europe, it is believed that the badger's activities are a forecaster of coming weather. For the Chinese, it is a lunar animal and a shape-shifter.

In winter, the badger is a 'fair weather' animal, keeping to its den until it senses warmth in the outside world. It will then emerge and take advantage of some winter sunshine. The best time for badgers is the late spring, when it fully reclaims its faculties.

As a Native American spirit guide, the badger represents positive attributes that reflect its natural characteristics. As a fierce and tenacious hunter, it is a symbol of courage and determination. It is honoured for its self-reliance and cunning, and for its strategy and defense, and is a powerful symbol as a protector of the family. It is also a symbol of wisdom in choosing friends, perhaps because of its partnership with the coyote. With their powerful forelegs, badgers can root out rodents from their holes, but can't compete with them in the chase. The coyote can, and together their shared skills make for a successful hunting team.

As a totem, the badger plays a role as the keeper of medicinal roots. Knowledge of the treasures that lie under the earth - herbs, plants, minerals - has made the badger symbolic of wisdom, knowledge, and natural healing. Its nocturnal and solitary nature has earned it the status of 'keeper of stories'.

Badger Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!Identifying with the badger - and taking on a badger tattoo - should be preceded by an examination of the animal's negative aspects, particularly its reputation for being anti-social. Badger folk may have to work on their relationships with others, particularly with authority. Though loyal to friends, the introspective badger individual may benefit from acquiring communication skills for dealing with strangers. Cooperation and sharing of skills by strengthening non-physical abilities is encouraged by badger medicine.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_badger.htm

Crown Tattoos Design

Crown Tattoos - The crown has long been used as a symbol of royal power and authority. Like the sceptre, the crown is a visible badge of office, granting the wearer, it's possessor, the absolute right to rule. That authority to rule was often held to be divinely inspired. In the Christian tradition the garland of thorns placed on Christ's head during the ordeal of his crucifixion is know as the "Crown of Thorns". The centerpiece of any coronation of a new monarch is always the moment when the new King, Queen, or Emperor has the state crown placed upon their head. At that moment the power to rule is transferred to the new monarch.
  

Many groups have used the crown to symbolize the power and authority to lead or command. When it is combined with a cross, one of the meanings of the crown is "victory," and the cross symbolizes Christianity. Many Royal crowns in Europe

incorporated the Christian Cross into their design, reinforcing the Monarch's claim that their right to the throne was a divine right and that the Monarch was guided by the hand of God.

As a symbol, the crown also symbolizes leadership, and the rightful authority which comes from being elected by a group to serve as their leader.

crown photos

Crown Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!As a tattoo symbol, the crown doesn't just mean the right of one person to command another. It symbolizes and individual's sovereignty over their own life, feelings, thoughts, and actions. The crown symbolizes self-control, and is a reminder to use power and authority wisely and justly.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_crown.htm

Acorn Tattoo Designs cool

Acorn Tattoo Designs - "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow." The acorn has long been valued for its potential strength and virility, and was a widespread symbol of regeneration. From the little acorn springs the mighty oak, prompting various cultures to see in it the qualities of fecundity and patience, and urging those who start small projects to persevere.
   

In ancient cultures, the acorn was taken as a talisman to ward off evil spirits. In Britain, to carry around an acorn meant long life, good luck, and guidance when lost. Old English folklore says that a woman who carried an acorn on her person kept wrinkles at bay. For Thor, the Norse god of thunder, the oak was sacred because it withstood lightning strikes. The acorn subsequently became associated with protection from storms. Keeping an acorn on the window sill was recommended for just this purpose.

The acorn motif is found in ancient statues and carvings -- on Greek statues of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and on the necklace of her Roman equivalent, Diana. Celtic goddesses also liked the acorn for its association with fertility and immortality.

The oak has long been associated with England, and its fruit, the acorn, frequently showing up in heraldry as a symbol of antiquity and strength. Shown with leaves, the acorn represents new growth and development. Beloved by royalty, the acorn was embroidered into cloth as symbols of fertility and life. Perhaps no one appreciated the acorn more than Charles II, who, after defeat in battle, successfully concealed himself in an oak tree. The ancient Druids believed oak trees were home to fairies, and today the acorn remains a favourite image in woodland tales. If you're an elf, you're probably depicted of wearing an acorn cap.

For the Native American, the acorn was a traditional ration in times of food shortages. In Japan, Korea, and Europe, acorns were soaked to release tannins before being dried and later ground for meal. Legend has it that English drunkards of the 1600s were given the juice from the acorn as a hangover cure, and for strength in resisting drink thereafter.

Acorn Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!In tattoo designs, acorns and squirrels are often paired together. A circular charm of oak leaves and acorns recalls an ancient 'emblem of abundance' and is a popular tattoo motif. A pair of acorns may suggest the owner is 'well hung' -- and willing to, either advertise the fact, or perhaps is a bit insecure about it!
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_acorn.htm