Animal tattoos are some of the most symbolic and beautiful tattoos someone can get. For every animal on the planet, you are likely to find some sort of symbolism that applies to you. You’ve got animals like lions and gorillas that represent courage, strength and power.
These images look great when tattooed. They are fierce and make the person wearing it look pretty damn tough. Then you’ve got other animals like the one we are going to be talking about. Animals that might represent strength in different ways. The definitions of strength and courage differ depending on who you ask, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The people that get the swan tattoo have a different definition of what is “badass”.
The swan makes for a beautiful tattoo and while others covet the bigger more popular animals, those with the swan tattoo sit back comfortably and appreciate their symbolic tattoo for the traits it represents. We think you will be surprised once you learn a little more.
In this post, we are going to be talking about the swan and the symbolic meaning behind the image. We will be talking about what it means for those with this tattoo and will talk about some of the different variations of the swan tattoo. By the end of this post, we hope you have a better understanding of the meaning of the swan tattoo than before you started.
About the Swan
We thought that before you get your own swan tattoo you might want to learn a bit about this beautiful bird. When looking at swans, you will see six or seven different species of swans. These include the mute swan, tundra swan, whistling swan, black-necked swan, whooper swan, trumpeter swan and the black swan. There are a couple of other species that might look like the swan but are no longer labeled as true swans like the coscoroba swan.
Swans are known to be one of the biggest flying birds. The largest swans can grow to a length of 59 inches long and can weigh up to 33 pounds. These big birds average between 20 and 30 years however, there are some outliers. The swan’s lifespan depends on the species. The trumpeter swan is the largest North American swan and averages 24 years in the wild while it’s been known to live up to 33 years in captivity. The black swan is can live up to 40 years in the wild.
A male swan has been dubbed a cob while the female is called a pen. The swan starts to breed between the ages of 3 and 4 years old and when they lay eggs, it can take between 35 and 42 days for the eggs to hatch.
In addition to being big and living for a long time, they’re no slouches. Swans can fly up to 60 miles per hour so if you are trying to get away, it’s probably not going to happen. You might be asking yourself why someone would want to get away so if you didn’t know, the fear of swans is called kiknophobia or cynophobia.
Swan Symbolism
In a lot of ways, the swan represents the presence of angels in the area and a devotion to the spiritual side of things. This is more relevant if the swan is your spirit animal. The swan always seems to be surrounded by a glow that speaks of inner healing and peace when it is floating calmly on the pond. The beauty and grace of the swan can be breathtaking.
The swan tattoo is said to symbolize calm, beauty, grace, poise and love. Depending on how you choose to have your swan tattoo will tell the story of what it means to you.
The color of the swan is a symbol of light in certain areas of the world. White is the color of purity, so the swan tattoo can symbolize these sorts of traits.
Swan Tattoo Variations
With the mythology behind the swan and the different ways it can be tattooed, there are some cool traits that are represented by the swan. We are going to talk about a few examples of the swan tattoo and talk about what they might mean to the person wearing it. We understand there are plenty more examples, but we wanted to show you a few ways people choose to go about getting their swan tattoo.
Black Swan Tattoo
The black swan tattoo might represent a few things. Because the swan is normally white, the black swan might represent the opposite of what the white swan symbolizes. If the white swan represents grace, peace and love, the black swan might represent the opposite of that. The movie Black Swan depicts a ballet dancer who taps into a darker part of herself to get the part she wants.
There is also such a thing called the black swan theory. This black swan theory is a metaphor for a surprise event that comes up and has a major impact on your life. It is often rationalized after the event is over with hindsight. The phrase is used because it was presumed that black swans didn’t exist but were later discovered.
Swan Outline Tattoo
The swan outline is just a very simplistic way to get the swan tattoo. It is clean and classy-looking tattoo that can be placed anywhere without being too gaudy. The outline of the swan tattoo symbolizes the same traits but gets the message across in a smaller package.
Couples Swan Tattoo
The couple swan tattoo is a great way to show your affection for someone with a classy-looking tattoo. If you put two swans together as they face each other, the shape looks like a heart. We see many couples get one swan tattooed on their body so when they put them together, the head and necks form the heart. It’s a cool way to show your connection to another person.
These are just a few examples of the swan tattoos we’ve seen but if you come up with something original, we would love to see it and we might even post it on this page.