{"id":798,"date":"2012-09-03T13:07:04","date_gmt":"2012-09-03T11:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/?p=798"},"modified":"2012-09-03T13:07:04","modified_gmt":"2012-09-03T11:07:04","slug":"tattoos-of-owls-give-wisdom-to-body-ar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/tattoos-of-owls-give-wisdom-to-body-ar\/","title":{"rendered":"Tattoos of Owls give Wisdom to Body Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

The owl is a nocturnal bird of prey that has played an important role in art and spirituality for many centuries. Every culture around the world is aware of the owl’s fierce nature and either fears or reveres this bird. As a modern symbol, the owl is appearing in bird tattoos as a symbol of wisdom, darkness, death and knowledge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Meaning of Owl Tattoos<\/h1>\n

Most owls hunt at night, although some species of the bird prefer to hunt at dusk and dawn. Because of the dull color of their feathers, owls can camouflage themselves incredibly well and wait quietly for prey, blending into the shapes and shadows of trees and houses. Because of this long wait for prey, owls have become associated with patience; one of the core values of wisdom. Tattoos of owls are often a sign that the tattoo owner is willing to wait for what they want.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A colorful and creative bird tattoo of an owl holding an hourglass. In tattoo art, an hourglass is a symbol of time, mortality and patience. Because the owl is associated with death, the meaning of this tattoo is that each day death is one day closer to claiming the mortal soul. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Owl tattoos sometimes show the owl perched on a branch or rooftop. The silhouette of a sitting owl is almost always an oval with two peaks on the head for ears. The shapes created by the folded wings and the feathers around the bird’s eyes have inspired many tattoo designers to get creative with the design. In owl tattoos, the eye feathers are often portrayed in a creative, abstract fashion, drawing attention to the large, bold eyes of the bird.<\/p>\n

\"These<\/a><\/p>\n

These cute abstract owl tattoos are both meaningful and decorative. The artist has worked with the shape of the sitting owls to create a stylized design that matches the shape of the trees. Tattoos like these sometimes have a fairly obscure meaning, combining the serious nature of the tattoo’s subject with fun, colorful design styles. This tattoo could mean that the tattoo owner doesn’t fear death, or perhaps that death should be celebrated as a part of life. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tattoos of owls are often chosen as a symbol of mysticism and magic. There are stories from around the world that portray the owl as a messenger between the land of the living and the kingdom of the dead. In many storybooks about magic, including the Harry Potter series, owls are described as being companions for witches and magicians.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A tattoo of the white owl that accompanies Harry Potter on his magical adventures. Placing this tattoo on the chest has the added symbolism of being close to the heart and the lungs, parts of the body that are essential to life and linked to love, passion, speaking and laughter. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Owls are associated with darkness and the night. In many owl tattoos, the bird is accompanied by a moon or stars, each of which add their own meaning to the owl tattoo. The owl is sometimes referred to as the King of the Night because they rule the night skies, bringing silent death from above without warning. Owls can see in the night, a characteristic that tribal people once believed was a magical ability. In tattoos, an owl looking into the darkness is a symbol of courage; the ability to look into the darker aspects of life and not be afraid.<\/p>\n

\"Owl<\/a><\/p>\n

Owl tattoos are associated with the mystery and magic that accompanies the night and darkness. The tattoo artist has given this owl patterns that resemble those used in Day of the Dead sugar skull tattoos<\/a>\u00a0[source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most European cultures revere the owl as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. To this end, owl tattoos are often accompanied by other symbols of knowledge such as reading glasses, books and writing instruments. Many children’s books written by European authors include a wise old owl who often wears glasses and reads books. These birds are the keepers of knowledge, either by keeping records and diaries of the goings-on of the creatures around him, or through telling stories that have a moral.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a><\/p>\n

An owl tattoo design by tattoo artist Kelly Doty, who specializes in 3D cartoon tattoos. The owl character in this tattoo design is wearing eye glasses and reading a book, both of which are symbols of wisdom and knowledge. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Owl Tattoos; Birds in Body Art<\/h1>\n

In most cultures, owls are thought to be bringers of omens. Whether the omen is a good or a bad one differs from one culture to the next. In Africa, owls are believed to bring bad luck and to be harbingers of death; to see an owl is to see your own doom. To this day, Africans will stone an owl to death in the hopes of undoing the bird’s perceived curse. Owls are also believed to be a bad omen in some Arabic cultures.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A large chest tattoo of a flying owl holding a diamond, surrounded by rose flowers. Diamonds are a valuable type of precious stone that is associated with wealth, clarity and purity. Roses are associated with love and passion. Whether the owl is feared or respected in a culture, this bird plays an important role in myths and legends as a link between the living and the dead. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Europe, owls are associated with the spirit and the realms of the dead. Owls are thought to be able to cross between the worlds of the living and the dead, and are therefore believed to be a messenger between these worlds. Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, had an owl as her companion. This has given owl tattoos the meaning of wisdom in Europe. European owl tattoos are often accompanied by books, reading glasses or famous quotes to emphasize the symbols of wisdom and knowledge within the design.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a><\/p>\n

This tattoo design depicts two spiritual animal totems, an owl and a reindeer. Both of these animals are found in Northern Europe and North America and share similar symbolism. In both cultures, the owl accompanies the dead into the afterlife and watches over both the living and the dead. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Owls can turn their heads to see behind them, allowing the bird to see danger coming from all angles. Along with their large eyes, this ability to see behind them symbolizes awareness and sight. The owl is described in some fables as being the seer of souls – nothing can be hidden from this watchful bird.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A beautiful, artistic tattoo of an owl in an oil painting style. The bright green eyes stand out against the brown feathers, drawing attention to the bird’s watchful attitude. Owls are sometimes chosen for tattoo designs as a way to symbolize that the wearer of the tattoo is being watched over by a deity or ancestor.\u00a0[source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Owl tattoos often have a spiritual meaning to the tattoo owner. An owl tattoo can be worn as a way to honor a deceased loved one, as owls of ancient myths accompanied departed souls to the underworld. An owl tattoo can also have the spiritual meaning of secret knowledge, mysterious wisdoms learned in the darkness of the night and the land of the dead.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A cool tattoo in red and black of a flying owl carrying a red crystal heart. Because the owl is believed to be wise, whatever it chooses to carry is given great importance. A heart made of crystal is precious and fragile, so this tattoo asks the viewer to be wise and treat this guy’s heart with care. [source]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The owl is a nocturnal bird of prey that has played an important role in art and spirituality for many centuries. Every culture around the world is aware of the owl’s fierce nature and either fears or reveres this bird. As a modern symbol, the owl is appearing in bird tattoos as a symbol of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20,29,37,65,75,158,163,215,312,316,355,405,410,463,494,522,597,629,633,648,693,695],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rattatattoo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}