The History of Wing Tattoos
Many people look at wing tattoos and see whatever their eyes are trained to see. For religious individuals, an angel usually comes to mind, while for Wiccan practitioners, they may automatically see a raven. Wing tattoos have a multitude of meanings because they are one of the oldest symbols that have been used in history. They are a universal representation of flight, regardless of where you may live on the planet.
Angel Wings
It is interesting to note that the Western bible never actually spoke of all angels wearing wings. They were depicted as being quite close to human form, traveling to the Earth to deliver messages to people from God.
Brilliant artists simply began incorporating wings on angels some time during history. Because of this tradition, it is nearly impossible to think of an angel without large, powerful, magical wings. After all, they needed some means of transportation from the skies down to Earth.
Historical Wings
Archeologists have actually revealed mummies from around the globe with wing tattoos which proves they have been a strong symbol used in many cultures. Unfortunately it is impossible to know why exactly these people from past times wore them.
In the ancient world, speed and power were represented by wings. In fact, images and statues from civilizations of many years ago depicted animals of speed such as horses or lions with wings. Many gods were often winged as well, suggesting that they were more than capable of flying through the air. Hermes, a Greek god, wore wings on his ankles and Mercury, the Roman god, was displayed in quite a similar way.
Flight
Wing tattoos have been worn throughout time by people of all culture and every religion for their simple representation of flight. They can signify an escape from an earthly existence or represent limitless freedom. Wings that are associated with mythological creatures such as unicorns, griffins and dragons hold the same meaning as flying animals of the planet such as butterflies, bees and birds. They are all free to move about freely as they choose.
Wing tattoos have also been worn by some individuals in history as a representation of transformation in those that study magic. The very presence of wings allows for various combinations of the four elements, fire and wind, sky and earth. Individuals that wear wing tattoos to celebrate Mother Nature’s powers traditionally choose ravens, hawks and falcons. They can symbolize strength and freedom as well as paganism, voodoo and black magic.