For some, he represents a being straight out of hell, and the further away he is the better. For others, the raven has very deep spiritual meanings and represents a powerful symbol. What does a person who has a raven tattooed on their skin want to radiate? What is the symbolism of this animal with the black feathers? 💉
Young tattooed man, welcome to Skull World! Today we want to deal with an exciting topic. That of a special tattoo that makes the biggest fans happy and is met with incomprehension by some.
The raven tattoo has both positive and negative meanings. It is often drawn in black. And is associated with Vikings, skulls, feathers or tribal drawings. He is particularly popular with women.
In this article we will look together at the almost infinite number of ways to decode a tattoo of the darkest bird there can be. It’s very likely that if you’re here, you like tattoos and are interested in taking action yourself. We invite you to take a look at this short-lived skull and raven tattoo that will give you a sure test. It happens right here by clicking on the image below 👇
There are many different meanings of a raven tattoo. They can be both positive and negative. And that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about in this article.
This bird has long been a symbol of negativity , death, and mystery. Some people think of death when they see the black bird. That’s because of the negative symbolism that’s been attributed to it over the years. Despite all of these negative symbols, some people choose to embrace the best attributes of this highly intelligent and wise animal. Just like the parrot, this bird that has the ability to speak, for example…
Before we get to the heart of the matter, it should be said that every tattoo has whatever meaning its owner wants to give it. No rule is perfect, and certainly not in the world of tattoos. But there are certain meanings that come up frequently, and that’s what we’re going to look at now.
➰The most frequently recurring negative meanings are:
- The death
- The war
- The pain
- The misery
- black magic
➰ The most frequently recurring positive meanings are:
- The protection
- The future
- The light
- The Inner Self
- The Prophecy
- The memory
- The intelligence
- The wisdom
Raven tattoos can be done in many different variations and styles. The bird can be represented by various symbols representing death, such as B. the symbol of the skull.
💀 It is also not uncommon to see raven tattoo designs with blood.
The Meaning of the Black Raven Tattoo
A tattoo symbolizes the life and personality of its wearer, and the raven is no exception. Anyone who gets it stuck on their skin wants to claim the qualities of this spiritually pure and very rich bird . This bird’s wisdom is proof that it can learn from its mistakes, making them incredibly difficult to catch or fool in the real world. That is what the owner of this dark tattoo wants to express. 😈
Also known for being difficult to catch (or kill) thanks to his intelligence that some people don’t even suspect. He knows how to pull himself out of the affair without great complexity. That kind of ” rebellion .” » is another symbolic aspect of this creative bird. And communities like Gothic are absolutely fanatical about this kind of symbolism.
The meaning of the raven tattoo for the Vikings
The Vikings have their own meaning and mythology related to the raven. Known as “hrafn” in Old Norse, it was also a personal name borne by some men long ago. Also, Odin, the great Norse god, had a pair of ravens called Huginn and Muninn. These birds are described as sitting on Odin’s shoulder and whispering in his ear. Much like the “good and bad” devils who are said to perch on everyone’s shoulder and show them the way to a particular decision.
According to this ancient tradition Odin used his ravensto travel around the world. They reported to him at the end of the day what was going on in each part of the world. Because of this connection with their chief god, many Vikings had a deep and sincere respect for these creatures, perhaps more than any other culture in ancient times. ⚔️
As a symbol of balance and the bearer of a certain protective magic, ravens helped Vikings win fights on the battlefield. Unlike other societies where the presence of carnivorous birds disturbed and deterred soldiers, the Vikings preferred to see ravens flying over a battlefield, for any pair of them could be Odin’s ravens, reverberating to him the valiant efforts of fallen warriors could bring back.
The meaning of the skull and raven tattoo
Many people think of death when they think of the raven, because this bird has long been a symbol of darkness, death, and mystery. Where does the connection between the raven and death come from ?
As a scavenging bird, meaning the one that forages instead of hunting, it is associated with death. Because he eats corpses. Also, in the medieval cities stricken by plague and war, they were almost always found pecking at the decaying corpses… Just as you can see them by the roadside when it comes to an animal that has been hit by a car. They were therefore very quickly associated with death . ☠️
And what symbol represents death and its spirituality better than the skull? Obviously none. So the combination of the two is a guarantee that you can go in search of quite complex meanings. But be careful not to fall into the negative trap. Because the meaning of the skull can be quite positive, and it is even the spiritual emblem of many communities.
The meaning of the raven tattoo on a woman
It goes without saying that a tattoo has whatever meaning the person wearing it wants to give it. And that the representations of the tattoo do not have any special meaning, whether you are a man or a woman. However, here is a list of the different ideas behind attaching the black feathered bird to the skin. 🌚
- Protection (because he monitors the events)
- Magic (usually dark, pagan, or otherworldly)
- future (their bird’s-eye view gives them a kind of omniscience).
- Secrets (for the same reason they can see the future).
- Death (not as a cause of death, but perhaps as an omen).
Light (Native Americans believed that it brings light to earth). - The Shadows (literal and psychological; ravens represent the unconscious and unknown side of a personality).
The Inside (Jung connected the ravens to the parts of our psyche we don’t want to see). - War (they come to help clean up the battlefield).
prophecy (due to their advantageous position). - Memory (they represent the shadows of all people and events of the past).
- misery or pain (perhaps because of their association with war and death).
Intelligence or wisdom (of course, ravens are extremely intelligent creatures). - Thoughts (they draw our attention to unconscious thoughts, memories and desires)
These are the most interesting facts that came to our mind when asking the question of a person who owns a raven tattoo . 🤓 Feel free to drop us a comment (at the bottom of this article) if you think we could add anything to this list.
The Meaning of the Tribal Raven Tattoo
Popular culture in films, magazines and many other fields has made the raven even more iconic for artists. By creating a character that represents equal parts pain and hope, they become a real symbol with multiple meanings. The tribal raven is a popular form of tattoo worn by people interested in Native American myths. Most tribes saw the raven as a bearer of wisdom and cunning, although often the positive outweighed the negative. ✍️
The mental realms that the raven inhabited and that he was able to traverse thanks to his intelligence made him a hero in many stories, or at least a harbinger of luck for the hero of the story. With a raven to guide them and give them hints, everyone could get ahead even in the most difficult situations. Therefore, it is not surprising that this bird is associated with tribal drawings, sometimes offering beautiful and unusual tattoos. This is one of our favorite associations. This is Louis Loveless ‘ favorite tattoo animal .
The meaning of the raven feather tattoo
Many people also recognize the raven in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, The Raven , which states that a crow “never speaks again” to the narrator. This crow reminds us of the ever present nature of death that accompanies us throughout our lives. Although we can deal with trifles during our lives, eventually death comes for all of us and therefore we must remain aware of our mortality in order to fully accept it. 🙏
The raven and feather tattoo is therefore very often a reference to this poem. Or at least what it means and what message it conveys. It’s a powerful message, echoed by the well-known « Carp et Diem » is very similar, but in a much more gothic and somber style.
Also accept a tattoo full of power
We have just seen together what are the different meanings of the raven tattoo. If you have a friend or acquaintance who has a tattoo, you will know more about their intentions and what they want to express with their tattoo. You also know what to expect if you want to get a tattoo on your skin yourself. 🙃
As we have seen above, the skull and raven combination always makes a devilish, meaningful and most importantly beautiful tattoo. If you like this style of tattoos, you will love the skull tattoos ! And we invite you to discover the hottest ephemeral tattoos by just clicking on the image below.