The Iris flower tattoo meaning is wise love. If you want to make on your body a symbol of wisdom and advantage than you have to choose purple or blue Iris tattoo design. Iris is a flower that means cleanliness, greatness, and innocence. Iris tattoo is mostly a female tattoo, girls usually choose small and tiny designs.
The traditional colors for the Iris tattoo are blue and purple, though you can also meet black and white or watercolor tattoos. The name of this flower is given in honor of the Greek goddess of rainbow Iris. At the different nationalities, the Iris has different meanings, so as well as the tattoo ideas of this flower.
Iris flower meanings
This flower is known to people already for a very long time ago. The Iris images were found on Crete among lists of the Knossos palace constructed at the end of the III millennium B.C.
For motley flowers of all colors of the rainbow, this plant is named with the name of the Greek goddess Iris who came down on the earth to announce people the will of gods. And the name “Iris” which means “Rainbow” in the Greek language was given to it by the doctor and scientist Hippocrates.
The Iris flaunted on the municipal arm of Florence. Romans named the city surrounded by plantations of white Iris, Florence which means “blossoming”.
In Japan Iris protects houses from fatal influence. In any Japanese family where there are sons, in traditional Day of boys (the fifth day of the fifth moon) from flowers of iris and wild orange is made a magic talisman “May pearls”. In the Japanese language, the word Iris and the word “martial spirit” are designated with the same hieroglyphs. According to the legend “The May pearls” has to install courage in the soul of the young man: even the leaves of this plant are very similar to swords.
At Christians Iris flower itself and blue Iris, tattoo means cleanliness, protection, but it also became a symbol of grief and pain, the reason for that is its sharp wedge leaves which likely personified the sufferings and grief of heart of the Mother of God from sufferings of the Christ. Very often you can meet blue iris as such a symbol on the images of Maiden Maria. The Iris can also symbolize Immaculate Conception.
As a religious symbol for the first time Iris appears in the paintings of early Flemish masters, and on the images of Maiden Maria as with lily, and instead of it. This symbolical sense is connected with the thing that the name “Iris” means “A lily with a sword” in that there is a hint on Maria’s grief about Christ.
Legends about Iris flower
A wonderful flower has blossomed on one edge of the forest. And the wood animals and birds started to argue to whom it belongs. They argued for four days until the dispute was resolved by itself. The seeds of Iris have ripened, and the wind has carried them every which way.
According to a legend the first iris has blossomed a couple of million years ago and was so beautiful that not only animals, birds, and insects came to admire it, but also water and wind which then have carried the ripened seeds on all over the Earth. And when the seeds sprouted and blossomed, the blue iris became one of the favorite human plants. From a long distance, irises look like small lighthouses, specifying the way to seamen.
And here is one more legend about irises. Once the rainbow before to disappear was scattered on parts. The wonderful splinters of the rainbow have fallen on the ground and charming flowers have sprouted. So the irises have blossomed because of rainbow pieces. There is one more sea legend according to which the irises grew from the tears of a fisherwoman who cried a lot because of the long separation with her husband.
Another legend says. When titan Prometheus stole heavenly fire from the Olympus and presented it to people, a rainbow of marvelous colors has flashed on the Earth- so great was the pleasure of all creatures. Already the sunset was over, and the day ended, and the sun went away, but the rainbow still shone over the world, granting hope to people. And didn’t go out till dawn. And when the sun came back on its place in the morning has again returned, on the place where the magic rainbow was burning and shining have blossomed irises.
Iris tattoo ideas and designs
