Butterflies are a popular subject for tattoos among girls and women, either as a pretty skin decoration or as a symbol of a deeper meaning. Butterflies symbolize freedom, beauty and change, and are often chosen to represent a period of transformation in a woman’s life. Butterfly tattoos are often accompanied by other feminine tattoo designs such as flowers, birds and elegant patterns.

The Freedom of Butterfly Tattoos

Butterflies are flying insects that have highly decorative, colorful wings. Humans have dreamed of flying for centuries and have begun to associate the act of flight (represented by wings) with freedom. Butterflies are an attractive, patterned symbol of liberty and confidence, so butterflies are often chosen to represent a life event in which a person sets themselves free of an emotional burden, forgives another person, or allows the spirit of a deceased loved one to move on. Butterflies can be used with other symbols of femininity such as flowers, fish, birds and chalice-shapes. Using butterflies in a design adds a sense of lightness and delicate beauty to the tattoo.

 

The patterns on butterfly wings can be changed to incorporate text or other symbols, adding another dimension to the simple butterfly design. Some tattoo artists make the butterfly appear to be sitting on the skin by inking a shadow onto the skin under the wings. This makes it seem as though the wings are lifted and the butterfly is ready to fly away.

 

The Beauty of Butterfly Tattoos

Butterflies come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. The basic design of a butterfly can be transformed to create an abstract representation of a butterfly, or the pattern son the wings can be changed to contain names, sayings, portraits or other symbols. Butterfly tattoo designs are usually made up of a collection of organic shapes and curves. These design elements reflect the gentle curves and lines of a woman’s body, making butterfly tattoos an elegant symbol of female beauty, sensuality and sexuality.

 

Women have been decorating their bodies for centuries, whether with jewelry, clothing, cosmetics or tattoos. The more detailed a decoration is, the more women like it. Butterfly wings are usually highly detailed, which means that they are often a popular choice for body decoration and jewelry. A butterfly tattoo can be an attractive piece of art that accentuates a woman’s femininity; a delicate, eternal symbol of beauty. Butterflies represent spiritual and physical beauty, and seem to be forever perched between these two worlds. In many ways, butterflies are a symbol of a balance between spiritual and physical beauty, creating a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds of femininity.

 

Butterfly Tattoos Symbolize Change

Butterflies undergo an incredible process called metamorphosis, in which a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. The caterpillar seals itself into a cocoon, also known as a chrysalis. Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar’s body changes until eventually the insect breaks free and emerges from the chrysalis as a butterfly. The metamorphosis process allows a creature that was once slow-moving and clumsy to become graceful and beautiful, endowed with the gift of flight. Change is often painful, and a transition period marks a time of struggle and strife in a person’s life. To embrace the change and celebrate the results of the change is a part of human development and is one of the first signs of adulthood.

 

The process of metamorphosis has a deeper meaning for many people. Anyone who has experienced enormous change in their life can empathize with this process of transformation. Butterfly tattoo designs are often chosen as a symbol of change and transformation in a person’s life. Often, the life changing event leaves the person feeling light of heart, freed from guilt, blame or anger and a butterfly tattoo perfectly represents these emotions.

 

The meaning of butterfly tattoos depends on the artistic design of the tattoo, traditional symbolism and what butterflies represent to the owner of the tattoo.