The Mystery of Snake Tattoo

When out walking, you might see people with colorful designs, symbols, or even pictures of creatures and things on their skin and might wonder what that could be. Well, those friends are called tattoos. Tattoos are basically a design of any sort put on the human or animal skin. Endless designs and ideas are now possible for people who want to get tattoos. The sky is the limit. For as long as you have a good imagination and a very good tattoo artist then you will get that tattoo you have always wanted.
Let us first define what tattoos are. Well, tattoos are pictures, markings, or traces found on the skin. These are accomplished through the use of an indelible ink with different colors. They then use extremely sharp and pointed needles to pierce through the human skin until the needle reaches the dermis layer or the inner layer of the skin. And because the dermal layer is targeted in the procedure, the results would be permanent meaning the tattoo design would not come off the skin even if washed multiple times. And because of its permanence, it is best to ask yourself if you are really ready for this.
One of the most requested tattoo designs of all time according to a bunch of surveyed tattoo artists and tattoo enthusiasts are the so-called snake tattoo. These kinds of tattoos despite having a snake in it has become quite popular especially for the gentlemen and of course, girls too! The snake symbolizes strength, power, life, and elegance. And because of these reasons and a whole lot more, the snake inspired tattoos are slowly growing in popularity.

It has been said that the snake is one of the most mysterious and complicated tattoo designs to make. This is due to the fact that the snake's body is very slender and sly and depicting that would be quite tough even for the most skilled tattoo artist. One tattoo artist stated that doing a snake tattoo requires a lot of focus and inspiration as doing a very good work would be considered perfect. People have also been mesmerized by such elegance the snake gives that is why they constantly ask for this animal to be imprinted on their skin to help show the world that like the snake, they can be sly, mysterious, and powerful as well if they wanted too.
Snake tattoo are usually portrayed as circling a particular object such as a person or a thing. Some snake inspired tattoos suggest that the snake showing its fangs symbolizes authority and power. But whatever the perspective of the tattoo is, one thing is for sure, the tattoo goers love it! The mystery of tattoos with the image of a snake still continues to bedazzle everyone maybe because the snake can be interpreted into a whole bunch of ways, ideas, and thoughts. Nonetheless, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the snake certainly is a beauty to behold and see.

Snake Tattoo Designs

It was over 50 years ago when I saw my first snake tattoo. My father proudly showed off his snake and dagger tattoo design he just had inked on his upper arm. I liked it too as he had incorporated my name in the design. He told me then he chose this design to represent strength and protection. If he were alive today, maybe he say something different, but I'm sure, in that tangled web of tattoos he eventually ended up with, this was still one of his favourites.

What is it that still draws people to this design? There are many answers to this and I will name just a couple. For example, the snake's popularity may have something to do with the rich history of myths and legends. One such myth is that of the ancient Greek myth of Medusa, the beautiful snake haired woman, who had the power to turn men into stone with a single glance, and I'm sure we know of a few women who still have that power today.

Snakes and serpents have a long mythological history associated with good and evil, life and death, beginnings and endings. When a snake sheds its skin it is seen as a symbol of rebirth, change, and healing.

Another tale of re-birth is that of the Ancient Greeks who had Ouroboros, a snake curled into a circle biting its own tail. The idea being that the continuing eating and re-growing of the tail is a symbol of the eternal cycle of ruin and re-birth.

The shedding of skin by the snake has also been associated with re-birth or new beginnings. The ancient Greeks believed snakes were sacred to the god of medicine Asclepius who had a staff with serpents wrapped around it, which you can still see today as a symbol in modern medicine.

What about the story of Hydra, a 9 headed serpent defeated by Hercules. The story goes Hercules had a difficult time killing the Hydra because when he cut one head off two heads would grow back. He eventually solved the problem by burning the stumps to stop another head growing, and the Hydra lived no more.

In some mythologies snakes are seen as the keepers of wisdom and sacred secrets. But the snake has also been show as a symbol of evil, death, or deceit. In Christianity, the serpent tricks Adam and Eve into disobeying God. Perhaps due to the deadly venom many snakes possess, myths involving snakes have often portrayed them as evil.

In Australia, India, and Africa, where snake myths are related to rainbows, and rainbows are often associated with rain and fertility. I like the story of Da, a mythological African serpent who kept the oceans and sky in place and we could catch a quick look at Da when a rainbow appeared.

Another reason for the snake's popularity as a tattoo design is that you can be incorporated with any other design, such as, hearts and daggers, or skulls and dragons. The beauty of the snake tattoo design is it doesn't look out-of-place with any other tattoo design.