The Interpretation of Yin Yang Tattoos
All of life’s contrasts can be expressed in yin yang tattoos. The symbol is quite often meant to be a representation of love because yin is unable to exist without yang. There is also the suggestion that opposites are attracted to each other because they need one another to survive.
Traditional yin yang tattoos are created in black and white but neither part is exclusive to its own color. Both halves of the design display a circle of the opposite color, which symbolizes the presence of one is always in the other. This can be a representation of not only love but light and darkness, life and death, good and evil, etc.
Although yin yang tattoos are most commonly created in black and white, there is no rule that says it has to be this way. It is not uncommon to have one morphed into the shape of a heart or surrounded by flowers. Some people wear yin yang tattoos as a symbol of bravery or strength while others will wrap mythical creatures like dragons around them.
Yin yang tattoos can also represent contrasting elements like fire and water or earth and air which can be shown with additional design. Everything has a direct opposite, so this is a symbol that can represent an exhausting list of ideas. It is really a piece of self-reflection and means whatever the wearer wants it to mean.
There is a balance of life represented by yin yang tattoos. Where one exists, you will also find the other. Some suggest that yin (the dark half) is female while yang (the light half) is male. In Taoism, this symbol reflects the natural intertwined duality in every living object.
There are six concepts represented by these types of tattoos, being:
1. Everything is Equal – The dots in yin yang tattoos offer a meaning of equality because there is always a trace of one in the other so neither is better or more important than the other.
2. Subjects can be Subdivided – Each aspect can be subdivided to form the other. Every second of your day represents the end of the time passed and the beginning of the time coming.
3. Offer Support – Each half of yin yang supports each other to maintain a constant, harmonic balance.
4. Exact Opposite – Yin yang tattoos suggest that no one thing can be completely yin or yang. Each one needs a part of each other for existence.
5. Transitioning – At one point, yin is always capable of transforming into yang and vice verse. Yin yang tattoos can represent a transitioning period in one’s life.
6. Need – No one thing can exist independently without needing another. A good example is that day cannot exist without night and the darkness would be nothing without light.