What does owl tattoo mean

When considering your owl tattoo, remember that although many see this night creature as a symbol of death, it does have several endearing qualities like illumination and knowledge, being able to guide humanity through the unknown and into greatness.

It has become popular lately to incorporate two meanings into one design, allowing one to see the positive and dark side of this creature. This is what endears this mysterious animal to many considering a unique tattoo that expresses the hidden traits as well as the obvious.

Com is a site where you can find tons of tattoo meanings and symbolism, various tattoo designs and reviews of tattoo equipment. Detailed meanings of different symbols in different cultures are available here.

Friday, November 12, Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Home Designs and Meanings. They also have incredibly acute hearing. The owl was not always so well regarded in the rest of Europe.

The Romans thought of it as a funereal bird. The hoot of an owl was thought to be a death-howl foretelling death. Interestingly, the French borrowed from both sets of earlier beliefs.

In France, they have both eared and earless species of owl. Eared owls are seen as symbols of wisdom, while the earless ones were thought to be bad luck. The image of the owl as a bird of bad omen was not only confined to Europe. In Arab mythology, owls could be bad omens. There are still people in Africa today who believe that if you hear the hoot of an owl, someone will die soon. In the Americas, both the Aztecs and Maya considered the owl to be a symbol of death and destruction.

The Aztec God of Death was often depicted accompanied by owls. Many Native American tribes believed owls to be the messengers and harbingers of dark powers. The Cherokee believed that if an owl flew over you in broad daylight, someone close to you would die very soon. Many owl species have become endangered in modern times, making them something quite rare and precious. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. In most cases you will find that people will use these two meanings, but whether they are the primary owl tattoo meanings depends on the person.

Outsiders will naturally see the owl and assume that the owner of the tat is someone who either seeks wisdom or dishes it out regardless of whether or not that is the reason the person got their owl tattoo. This is something to keep in mind if you do want to get one of these designs. Owls have been thought of as magical and mysterious creatures as well. In western and central Europe during medieval times, owls were thought to be witches and wizards in disguise.

This fable is what sparked the linking of the owl with the world of magic and wizardry. Owls are a nocturnal member of the Srigiformes group of birds. They sleep during the day and are awake at night. If you do want to get the owl tattoo for this meaning, it might be a good idea to add in a night scene around the owl so the meaning shines through a bit more.

Owls typically eat a mixed diet of small birds and insects. While this does not add in any more meaning to an owl tattoo, you can definitely get a couple of their prey with your tattoo for a more striking effect. You can also get these extra images if you want to get a more aggressive-looking owl tattoo. In Greek mythology the owl is sacred to Athena, the goddess of learning.

In one tattoo design you are getting the goddess of learning with an animal that represents wisdom and mysteriousness, among other things. On top of that, with the right artist you can get an extremely cool-looking tattoo of a fantastic looking owl with a goddess!