The butterfly tattoo is mainly female. The men rarely choose this picture.
However surprising it may seem, but the tattoo with the picture of this light-winged creature was the symbol of warlike character in Mexico. The Mayans believed that the souls of warrior, fallen in battle, turned into butterflies, fluttering over the battlefields.
In the European culture butterfly tattoo is the symbol of soul, regeneration and new life. The semantic aspect is inseparably linked with the real butterflies. The ugly crawler turns into the beautiful butterfly, surprising the world with its transformation. The sketches of butterfly tattoos also symbolize regeneration and beginning of the new life. Probably, therefore the butterfly tattoos are made in the turning-points of life, before the deciding events.
Another accepted meaning of the butterfly tattoo is the freedom and the free spirit. In nature the butterflies fly lightly and freely. That’s why the picture of butterfly on the body gives its owner the part of its freedom and lightness.
The way of picturing butterfly is very important. The wide open wings symbolize the openness to the world. The fluttering butterfly means freedom. The symmetrically located butterfly’s wings symbolize harmony.
The Christian implied sense of the butterfly tattoo is interpreted as the symbol of resurrection and immortality of the human soul. On some of the medieval engravings Jesus Christ is pictured with the butterflies in his hands (thence arises the association with resurrection).
In the East the butterfly tattoo symbolizes feminity, joy and grace, while the several fluttering butterflies symbolize family happiness. The butterfly tattoo with the plum blossom symbolizes “longevity and beauty”. The butterfly together with chrysanthemum personifies “beauty in old age”. It is noteworthy, than in Japan the butterfly, fluttering into the house, is considered the harbinger of death. That’s why the butterfly tattoo in the land of the rising sun has mystical meaning.
The style of performance doesn’t affect the meaning of butterfly tattoo. This picture can be big or small (in actual size of the butterfly), monochromatic or colored, stylized picture or the imitation of natural ornament of the butterfly’s wings.
The butterfly tattoo is often made on the back, legs or belly. You can make a small tattoo, which doesn’t have any special meaning. It will just decorate the beautiful women’s body, adding it sexuality.
