Water Tattoo design

Water Tattoo Designs - Water tattoo designs, or tattoo designs where water is a prominent feature are both very old and very popular across a wide variety of tattoo genres.

The world was once thought to be composed of the four basic elements of water, fire, earth and air. In both the West and the East, there are many symbols associated with the different elements.
  

The four elements still maintain a powerful symbolism within the overall realm of imaginative experience and are thought to still possess a strong correspondence to internal states and emotions.

The twelve Zodiac signs in Astrology are each assigned a primary elemental influence - people are often described as a Water Sign, a Fire Sign, an Earth Sign and an Air Sign.
The Water signs are:
In China and Japan, the Koi or Carp are representative Water Symbols. In Asian mythology, there are dragons that represent all four Elements and Water Dragons are symbolic rulers of the weather and water, and a potent symbol of power. Of all the dragons, Water Dragons are thought to be the most serene. Almost every body of water, river and stream is thought to have it's Water Dragon protector. Asian tattooing often features water and waves as a motif.

In traditional tattooing among the Polynesians, water and waves form a strong graphic element among the standard design elements.

In the West, the whole genre of Nautical tattooing based around the life of sailors and seamen prominently features water. A life spent on the sea represented travel and adventure and while often rewarding, was not without great risk.

Perhaps the most obvious general symbolism of the elements is the division between masculine and feminine. Fire and air represent the Yang within Chinese thought and symbolize the masculine archetype, the active state and the thinking function. Water and earth represent the Yin within Chinese philosophy and symbolize the feminine archetype, the passive state and the intuitive function. Fire and air have found a historical association with the sky and a relationship with the well-known symbolism of the Sky Father. The earth and water have been associated with the symbolism of Mother Earth.

Water Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!Water as an Element is thought to represent the Feminine, and is see as a powerful force for change. Water is associated with the principle of "moisture" and the circulatory movement of blood and sap as life within vegetation and animals. It is also associated with the water of the womb where individual life comes from and from the water of the oceans where human life evolved from. Water has the power to abolish, dissolve, purify, wash away and regenerate. In opposition to this is the principle of "dryness" and the static condition of life.