How to Learn About the Meaning of Tattoo Designs

You've looked through dozens of flash books, magazines and websites and weeded through 1,000s of different tattoo designs for the perfect piece of body art. But, does the design have a hidden meaning or symbolism and is that important to you prior to permanently placing it on your body. There are books and websites available that offer suggestions as to the meanings of some common tattoo designs that you might want to take a look at, in case the meaning behind the ink is something you might not like.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Read the book "The Tattoo Encyclopedia: A Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo" By Terisa Green, PhD, which contains over 800 tattoo symbols and their meanings for your reading pleasure.

2. Visit the Vanishing Tattoo website, which is one of the best online resources for meanings behind tattoo. Indexed in various categories, there is a lot you can learn from the site. Also browse through Tattoo Symbol.com's site. Although the information is limited, there is still some interesting answers to be found here.

3. Search websites that list meanings of objects, if you can't find a direct meaning in any tattoo material. For example, the Internet Florist and the Society of American Florists have a whole list of flowers and their meanings on their websites.

4. Check out books and websites about dreams and the symbolism behind things you dream about. Although they are talking about dreams, they still offer explanations about what certain things symbolize from a psychoanalysts point of view. The Great Dreams website has a list of meanings behind animals, birds, insects and reptiles on their website and animals are one of the top ten choices for tattoo designs.

5. Study up on Celtic history if you're thinking about a Celtic knot of some kind. There are so many conflicting accounts of the meaning behind Celtic knots which vary between there is no meaning at all (it's just art) to every single knot in each elaborate piece has its own meaning. You can find books on the subject and the Celtic Lady website is a good source, as well.

6. Learn more about astrology and Zodiac symbols, if you are thinking about adding your "sign" to a tattoo design. The Inner Self website is one place to learn more about this subject, but there are lots of websites dedicated to everything astrological.

7. Brush up on your Nautical history, if you're debating on adding one of the very popular nautical stars to your tattoo design. The meaning behind these innocent looking stars changes dramatically depending on if you're asking a sailor, a punk rocker or a bisexual. The meaning seems to have changed over the years, but there are several references stating it began as a nautical symbol.

8. Read about the history of tribal tattoos and their symbolism online and in books. Tribal designs thought to be random drawings, which many are nowadays, used to have meanings according to several sources. Studying the history behind tribal tattoos can help you decide if one of these designs is what you're looking for.

9. Find someone who is Japanese or Chinese to translate any words you want tattooed on your body. This is the surest way that the translation is correct. Commonly referred to as Kanji, you can look up the same word on many different websites and in flash and you will learn there is always more than one symbol available for each word, and you can't be sure which one is right.

10. Look through the Anti-Defamation League's website to learn about common racist symbols or symbols that have both good and bad translations. This will help you avoid inadvertently getting something that may look neat, but could offend a lot of people.

Tips & Warnings

• There are tons of references you can search through that will help you determine what, if any, meaning lies behind the tattoo design you have chosen.
• Many symbolic references are for entertainment purposes only, so if you don't like one explanation of the meaning behind a design, you don't necessarily have to take it to heart.
• Sometimes you will find more than one meaning suggested for the same tattoo design, because it can change based on the beliefs of the person or organization providing that meaning. In the end, you may have to decide what the design means to you and ignore all the other information.
• Some seemingly innocent tattoos can hold sinister meanings. One tattoo shop owner talked about a customer who wanted a set of double lighting bolts that he simply thought looked cool without realizing they are considered by many to be a sign of white supremacists.
• Don't be surprised at the vast differences in opinions about some symbols. For example, the swastika, which is considered by a majority of people as a racist symbol, actually symbolized good things in Native American history. But, you still probably wouldn't want one due to the commonly negative meaning behind this symbol.

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