With evolution and increase in the number of admirers of body art, butterfly designs have gained immense popularity among ladies of all ages. This article throws light on the significance and versatility of the butterfly lower back tattoos.
Tattoos are a form of art in which designs are made by filling ink in the cells of the skin after puncturing them with a needle. This is not a new concept, although it had an important role to play in the culture of a number of tribes. Over the last couple of decades it has become a popular form of body adornment. Designs on the lower back have been quite popular with women, as they enhance the feminine grace of their physical form. With celebrities, like Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, and Drew Barrymore sporting lower back body art with the butterfly design, they have gained immense popularity with young girls as well as older women.
Symbolism
Butterflies are one of the most popular body art designs for girls. Not only is it a graceful and colorful insect, its association with flowers and their sweet nectar enhance its association with feminine qualities. However, this design may also be used to depict more innate qualities of the human soul. The visual appeal of this beautiful insect and its fluttering movement from one flower to another has made it an emblem of the superficial aspects of human nature.
Ancient people often regarded its short life span as an embodiment of the impermanence of everything material. In Greek mythology, Psyche, the goddess of soul, was often represented with butterfly wings. The emergence of a butterfly from its cocoon was taken to symbolize emancipation of the human soul from all things material and transient. It is because of its physical as well as behavioral attributes that this insect has been associated with transformation and regeneration in different cultures. A butterfly, with its beautiful and colorful wings soaring up in the clear wind, is often considered to symbolize a beautiful free spirit.
Designs
Popularity of lower back body art can be gauged from the fact that everyday, on an average, more than 7544 and 6200 searches are made online for the terms ‘butterfly tattoos’ and ‘lower back tattoos’ respectively.
A large number of women prefer to get feminine designs inked on their lower back, as no other part of the body personifies feminine grace more. It is the lower back where the curves of the body converge to highlight a woman’s hourglass figure.
Body art designs on this part of the body characteristically spread horizontally from a central theme.
Association of butterflies with flowers makes these one of the most suitable designs for the lower back. In this scheme of designs, one with a butterfly sitting in the middle of the back, with vines and tendrils trailing out from the sides would be the most suitable one. It is this very association that allows an artist to incorporate flower designs along with the image of a butterfly.
The popularity of these designs stem from the fact that they are versatile, and they can be incorporated into traditional designs as well. Celtic and tribal butterfly tattoos are examples of these designs being blended with traditional body art forms.
Besides this, the wings of this insect allow a tattoo artist to add lot of details that may consist of trailing and curving lines.
However, those who are ardent admirers of butterfly designs but are scared of needles need not despair. Such people can quench their urge to flaunt this design on their back by wearing a temporary tattoo. There are two options for temporary body art: one is using henna, whereas the other is the stick-on body art. The stick-on designs entail minimum fuss, as only water is required to wear them. However, in case of henna tattoos, one needs to ensure that the artist maintains hygiene and uses genuine components in the henna mixture.
