Fairy Tattoos

Fairy tattoos are a fairly recent development and they represent a certain range of interests or way of thinking. A fairy tattoo design can be cute and rather precious, like something out of a children’s book. In fact, for some people, that’s the whole appeal – fairy tattoos have a nostalgic appeal for those who remember childhood fondly and wish to keep the images of childhood part of their lives on an ongoing basis.

On the other hand, not all fairy tattoos are as innocent – and when you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. In traditional fairy tales, fairies are not always good – in fact, they are far more likely to be mischievous or even fearsome. Among medieval societies fairies were feared; according to legend they would sometimes steal a baby and leave one of their own in its place. They could poison livestock and ruin a harvest – in short, they were to be respected and feared. So while there are some pretty and cute fairy tattoos, there are also fairy tattoos that are decidedly Gothic in tone and appearance.

Fairy tattoos are very versatile therefore. They appeal to a wide variety of people and they can represent a variety of lifestyles. Tattoos of fairies blend well with butterfly or moon tattoos and these can create a delicate and pretty set of tattoo images – very feminine. A lone fairy tattoo on an upper arm or ankle is a nice, subtle tattoo. It’s quite unobtrusive, but more individualistic – even quirky - than many flower or sun designs. They don’t lend themselves to abstract patterns, but they can be made to blend in with tribal or Celtic designs.

Fairy tattoos are perhaps not common enough to be called a trend - but they do have a fair following. Tattoos of fairies can be appealing for a great variety of reasons, as mentioned before. A striking fairy design has a naked fairy seated on a crescent moon for example; another tattoo design covers a woman’s whole back and the fairy itself has a naturalistic, seated human form with fabulous, butterfly-like wings. Other fairy tattoos are tiny – even minimalist. According to legend, there is little consensus regarding how big fairies wer, and how human-like they were in form. The tiny, Tinkerbelle – type fairy is only one interpretation. Fairy tattoos represent the entire range of this unique and engaging aspect of folklore.