Lily flower tattoo designs

Lily flower tattoo designs can be enjoyed strictly for the beauty of it, but this flower does carry various meanings making it even more attractive. With its gorgeous petals and vibrant colors, a lot of people especially women just can't stop admiring its charm, they just have to have it tattooed on their body.

Lily flowers are said to speak of purity, innocence, and chastity. In some cultures, the trumpet-like flower has evoked associations of erotic love and procreation. In Greco-Roman mythology, it was believed to have come from the milk of the goddess Juno. To the Jews, its the emblem of the tribe of Judah. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks connected the flower with fertility because of its erotic fragrance. In Christianity, its associated with Virgin Mary representing her purity as seen in early paintings and art.

The choices and styles for lily flower tattoo designs are seemingly endless, from a realistic full-color image to a black tribal floral design, anything is possible. It can also be incorporated into many different styles and imagery, making them a great accent to other pieces or even used as filler in full sleeve and full back tattoos.

In terms of placement, you can either go for the foot, wrist, ankle or lower stomach if you want to go for designs on a smaller scale. For elaborate and detailed lily flower designs, the rib, arm, shoulder blade and back are good body canvas and perfect for accomodating size on a larger scale.

There are indeed a myriad of ways to work with the lily flower as a tattoo design. You just have to use your own creativity and imagination to come up with something that you will be happy and be proud of for the rest of your life.

The lily is native of the Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe, from where it was imported in other European countries, where it became first one of the most admired flowers and then on of the most popular flower tattoos.

Tribal Tattoos

Tribal tattoos go back to ancient times when almost every culture used tattooing - the oldest being that of a Bronze Age warrior who lived more than five thousand years ago. People like the Celts, the Aztecs, the ancient Egyptians and others all used tattoos for different reasons. Sometimes tattoos were purely for personal adornment, to denote rank, or as a way of proclaiming oneself as a member of a certain tribe - sometimes tattoos had religious significance and often temporary tattooing was used during times of war. Many African tribes would use this type of tattooing to make themselves appear more frightening to their enemies.

Tribal art tattooing is becoming something of a modern phenomenon as they are among the most requested designs around. Almost everyone seems to have heard of tribal tattoos and they want the bold, often black outlined designs tattooed on their bodies. Tribal designs often depict animals or birds, whatever seemed important to the ancient mind. Even now, tribal tattoos are not just a matter of adornment; they are most often a personal statement about who a person is and what they are like. African and Pacific Island tribes created the most distinctive tattoo designs - many of them reflecting the world that these people inhabited. Much tribal tattooing was facial and in some parts of the world these facial tattoos are most often used as a reminder of a person's tribal or family history. New Zealand Maoris in particular use this type of facial tattooing and their tattoos are usually quite distinctive.

Native Americans also used tribal tattooing and very often this was a way of distinguishing one tribe from another tribe. The Native Americans used tattoos when they were going to war - not so much to frighten their enemies but to provide them with protection. In the tribal world, things are not always as they seem and tattooing and tattoo designs were not just mere ornaments, they meant something. They were also a way of defining who was a member of the tribe and who was outside of it. Tribal tattooing was brought to the West by sailors in the nineteenth century who also brought with them the expertise and the special inks and needles of the tribal tattooist.