I don't remember much else of this dream, but I was going with someone else to get a tattoo and I decided on the spot that I needed a tattoo, so I was trying to figure out where to get it. I decided on a monarch-type butterfly on the back of my right calf.
To see your body appearing tattooed, foretells that some difficulty will cause you to make a long and tedious absence from your home.
To see tattooes on others, foretells that strange loves will make you an object of jealousy.
To dream you are a tattooist, is a sign that you will estrange yourself from friends because of your fancy for some strange experience.
To dream that you have tattoos, represent your sense of individuality and the desire to stand out in a crowd. You want to be unique and different from everybody else, particularly if you do not have any tattoos in real life. Consider also what the tattoo is and what significance it has in your life. It may represent something that has left a lasting impression on you. Alternatively, to dream that you have a tattoo, suggests that a waking situation or decision is having a much longer lasting effect that you had expected.
To dream that you are a tattoo artist, suggests that your exotic tastes and strange experiences may turn off those around you. If you are a tattooist in real life, then the dream is just a reflection of who you are.
Dreaming that you have tattoos means that some urgent and difficult business will call you away from your home for an extended period of time. It may also signal a new stage in your life. Seeing tattoos on others in your dream indicates that you will be the object of jealousy. Dreaming that you are getting a tattoo with a friend, represents your deep bond and long-lasting, solid friendship. Dreaming that you are a tattoo artist means that your strange life style will alienate your friends and family.
Tattoos may represent those things in our lives that seem only skin deep, but may be interesting and fun. They could represent our thinking, our playful ways, and our seemingly unimportant habits. As time progresses, we may realise that our passing fads have become permanent. Thus, a tattoo may be symbolic of something that we inflict on ourselves, is permanent if not deep, and generally carries with it some negativity.
Among the ancients, an emblem of the soul and of unconscious
attraction towards the light (8). The purification of the soul by fire, represented
in Romanesque art by the burning ember placed by the angel in the prophet’s
mouth, is visually portrayed on a small Mattei urn by means of an image of love
holding a butterfly close to a flame (8). The Angel of Death was represented by
the Gnostics as a winged foot crushing a butterfly, from which we may deduce
that the butterfly was equated with life rather than with the soul in the sense of
the spirit or transcendent being (36). This also explains why psychoanalysis
regards the butterfly as a symbol of rebirth (56). In China, it has the secondary
meanings of joy and conjugal bliss (5).
To see a butterfly in your dream, denotes your need to settle down. Butterflies signify creativity, romance, joy and spirituality. You may be experiencing a transformation into a new way of thinking. Or you may be undergoing a transitional phase. Consider the term "social butterfly" to describe someone who is popular and outgoing. Does this describe you? Perhaps you need to be more outgoing. Alternatively, the butterfly is symbolic of longevity.
To see two butterflies in your dream, represent a long and happy marriage.
To catch or kill a butterfly, suggests that you are being too superficial.
To dream that you are mounting a butterfly on frame, symbolizes sexual oppression.
To see a butterfly among flowers and green grasses, indicates prosperity and fair attainments.
To see them flying about, denotes news from absent friends by letter, or from some one who has seen them. To a young woman, a happy love, culminating in a life union.
Dreaming of a butterfly indicates your need to settle down. Butterflies also means creativity, romance, joy and spirituality. You may be undergoing a transformation into a new way of thinking. Dreaming of a beautiful colorful butterfly indicates the positive impression you will make at a future social gathering.
Some say that the butterfly represents the spirit or the essence of the individual: the soul. Butterflies are generally symbols of transformation because they go through a metamorphosis. They are beautiful, evasive, and, at times, inspiring. Your unconscious mind may be pointing out the most positive part of yourself or another.
If you dream that a butterfly is trapped in a room, you may be facing obstacles in waking life.
Butterfly Animal Symbolism
Overwhelmingly, cultural myth and lore honor the butterfly as a symbol of transformation because of its impressive process of metamorphosis.
From egg, to larvae (caterpillar), to pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) and from the cocoon the butterfly emerges in her unfurling glory.
What a massive amount of transition this tiny creature undergoes. Consider for a moment the kind of energy this expends. I daresay if a human were to go through this kind of change we’d freak out!
Imagine the whole of your life changing to such an extreme you are unrecognizable at the end of the transformation. Mind you, this change takes place in a short span of about a month too (that’s how long the butterfly life cycle is).
Herein lies the deepest symbolic lesson of the butterfly. She asks us to accept the changes in our lives as casually as she does. The butterfly unquestioningly embraces the chances of her environment and her body.
This unwavering acceptance of her metamorphosis is also symbolic of faith. Here the butterfly beckons us to keep our faith as we undergo transitions in our lives. She understands that our toiling, fretting and anger are useless against the turning tides of nature – she asks us to recognize the same.
A quick-list of Butterfly animal symbolism:
Resurrection
Transition
Celebration
Lightness
Time
Soul
Interestingly, in many cultures the butterfly is associated with the soul – further linking our animal symbolism of faith with the butterfly.
In Greek myth, Psyche (which literally translates to mean “soul”) is represented in the form of a butterfly. Befittingly, Psyche is forever linked with love as she and Eros (the Greek god of love, also known in Roman myth as Cupid) shared an endlessly passionate bond together – both hopelessly in love with the other.
Greece doesn’t corner the market on associating the butterfly with the soul. Here are a few other ancient cultures that associated this elegant creature with the soul:
Asian (central)
Mexican – Aztec
New Zealand
Zaire
Even Christianity considers the butterfly a soulful symbol. To wit, the butterfly is depicted on ancient Christian tombs, as Christ has been illustrated holding a butterfly in Christian art.
It’s connection with the soul is rather fitting. We are all on a long journey of the soul. On this journey we encounter endless turns, shifts, and conditions that cause us to morph into ever-finer beings. At our soul-journey’s end we are inevitably changed – not at all the same as when we started on the path.
To take this analogy a step further, we can look again to the grace and eloquence of the butterfly and realize that our journey is our only guarantee. Our responsibility to make our way in faith, accept the change that comes, and emerge from our transitions as brilliantly as the butterfly.
The butterfly symbolizes intuitive transformation and consciousness. It teaches us to make changes to our lives, create new conditions, and make dreams come true. Every new idea and every step towards enlightenment reflects the development of the butterfly. The egg of a butterfly signals the birth of a life or new idea. The larvae stage represents lifes' learning and experiences. The cocoon represents the breaking free of misconceptions and beliefs for expansion. Finally, the hatching of the butterfly symbolizes the beginning of consciousness and new reality. The Butterfly reminds you that you are continually in a state of transformation and all is well.
The butterfly represents transformation and the ability to accept change.
Major transformations and transmutations taking place, outcome is different than expected. Symbol of joy, color, gentleness, lightness, and change in life. Awakens us to dance on the winds of life, teaches that growth doesn't have to be painful, allows us to discover the important issues in life for conscious transformation. Can you discern what is important right now? Don't sweat the small stuff, be joyful and thankful for your blessings.
To see mysterious figures in your dream, indicates that you are experiencing confusion and ambiguity in some aspect of your life.
To dream of figures, indicates great mental distress and wrong. You will be the loser in a big deal if not careful of your actions and conversation.
Seeing mysterious figures in your dream means great mental distress.
To remember something in your dream, indicates that you have learned something significant from your past mistakes or previous experiences. The dream may also serve as a reminder of something important that is occurring in your waking life. You are so worried that you will forget something that the preoccupation has made its way into your dream.
To see a calf in your dream, symbolizes immaturity and inexperience. You need to develop certain qualities.
Seeing a calf in your dream, symbolizes immaturity and inexperience. You need to develop certain qualities.