You might not look at an elephant and see an animal with plenty of symbolism, but it’s actually one of the world’s top spirit animals.
If you love the look of the elephant and are looking to get an animal tattoo with a lot of meaning, then chances are you will be very happy with an elephant tattoo design. On this page we will go over some of the most popular elephant tattoo meanings and why they might work for you.
Elephants are an incredibly well-known animal whose girth is their claim to fame. Standing at upwards of 10 feet and weighing over four tons, these creatures are a behemoth in stature.
Because of this, elephants make for some excellent large tattoo designs. You can get one that covers a large portion of your arm, your entire back, or even down your ribcage. Unlike other animal tattoos, when people see a large elephant tattoo, it just makes sense to them considering how massive the animal actually is.
Due to their mammoth size, the elephant is typically seen as a symbol of strength and power. This is a tattoo meaning that a lot of people are looking for, but many don’t even factor the elephant into the equation when they’re looking for a “power” tattoo because the meaning doesn’t necessarily come across. If you do want to get the elephant for its strength or power meaning, then it might be a good idea to get other designs to make it a bit clearer.
Despite their large stature and ability to easily dominate a foe, elephants are gentle giants who have a low-key demeanor. There aren’t too many animal tattoos that represent the gentle giant in some of us, so the elephant tattoo is the perfect design to go for if you want to use that meaning.
What’s great about this is that you really don’t have to add more images to make this message come across to outside observers. It’s the perfect animal tattoo to get if you are larger in stature but more known for your kind heart.
Elephants also can represent the value of family as they are very protective of their young and of the other members of their herd. They will even give their lives to make sure their family it protected. Once again, this is the type of tattoo that plenty of people want when they go into the tattoo parlor. If you are the type of person who puts family above all else and you love the look of the elephant, then chances are this design will be perfect for you. It looks fantastic when done correctly and it has a strong “family” meaning.
In the Hindu culture, the elephant is depicted as Ganesha, the god of good luck, protection and fortune. He is considered to be a blessing on all new projects. Ganesha is also considered a deity of art and science and is revered as a god of great wisdom.
If you want to get an animal tattoo that you can look at whenever you need a little bit of good fortune, then you could do a lot worse than the elephant tattoo. To really bring the message home, you might want to add in one or two more “good luck” designs.
The elephant is also a sacred creature to Buddha, who is believed to have developed in the worm as a white elephant. This white elephant symbolism is still used in Buddhism today and represents truth, love, peace, kindness and compassion. These are the meanings that you will want to use especially if you are already a big fan of the elephant.
The unique white look will definitely turn some heads, but the most important thing with this particular elephant tattoo design is that you want to use the meanings that the Buddhists use.
In parts of Tibet, they associate the elephant with creation. They consider the elephant to be a symbol of stability and often depict them as holding up vast structures. This is one of the best spiritual meanings out the as far as animal tattoo designs go. You can have a design with the elephant standing alone, or you can put a globe or some other image on its back to show that it uses its strength for good.
You can be very creative with this type of elephant tattoo design and should be if you want everyone to understand the meaning that you want to use.
The elephant is seen as carrying the weight of the world on its shoulders and this can be great tattoo symbolism for someone who feels as if they carry the same burden. If you are the type of person who puts in a lot of work each day to take care of those around you, the elephant tattoo might be a great way to show that.
It could also be an excellent animal tattoo design if you struggle with the “weight” of everything you carry around each day; this can be used as both a reminder and as a motivational tool to give yourself a break sometimes.
Romans believed that the elephant was symbolic of immortality and longevity as they have a long life span. If one of your goals in life is to live as long as you can so you can see as much as you can, this elephant tattoo meaning might just be perfect for you. It could also be seen as a symbol of health, which could be perfect for people who are in the health field or those who put in the work every week to keep themselves in tip-top shape.
None of these meanings will be obvious to most people, though, so you can either keep it as a personal tattoo or add in some text or other designs to make this elephant tattoo’s meaning clearer.
The elephant can be used to symbolize thoughtful devotion, chastity, patience, fidelity and consideration, as per Aristotle. The male elephant will abstain from sex while his mate is pregnant, which is a duration of two years. You don’t necessarily have to use all of these meanings, but some people might find that they all work really well together.
If you are a devoted husband or wife and love that about yourself, the elephant tattoo could be the ideal way to symbolize that quality. Likewise, if you are proud of how considerate you are to others, you most definitely can share that with the world with your elephant tattoo.
The age-old term, “an elephant never forgets” leads many to associate the animal with memory and wisdom. These are unique and fantastic tattoo meanings that can be combined or separated. A person with an identic memory or just a really strong memory might not find a better animal tattoo than the elephant. As far as the wisdom meaning goes, there are plenty of tattoo designs to choose from, but the elephant is probably the best option if you want to get an animal tattoo.
As you can see, there are plenty of great elephant tattoo meanings out there. You can use just one of them, or you can use all of them if they make sense to you. You could be proud of your strength, your patience, your compassion, and your memory, or you could just have one of those qualities in spades. Either way, the elephant tattoo can be a fantastic tattoo design if you want something that both looks good and is very meaningful.
Another great thing about the elephant tattoo is that it works in multiple sizes and can be placed pretty much anywhere on the body. You could get a very personal elephant tattoo in a hidden location, or you could get a small elephant on your wrist to let everyone know that it is your spirit animal.
\It is one of those animal tattoos that looks fantastic (with the right artist, of course) no matter how it is designed.