A dagger (or the knife) is a double edged blade used for stabbing or thrusting and usually used for as a secondary defense weapon. The first daggers evolved out of prehistoric tools and were made of flint, ivory and bone. They were one of the earliest weapons. The ability to spill blood, which is the very essence of life, is a powerful image and the biggest symbol of power. On the most primal levels, the dagger represents Death and the power to bring it. Daggers were also used to a basic tool. Man needed them to kill andskin animals, to make shelter and to eat with.
Aztecs also used special ceremonial daggers to cut the hearts out of their live human sacrifices in acts of homage to their Gods. Their daggers represented the fearsome andfickle power of their Gods. Ancient Egyptians used them as ceremonial objects with ornate hilts and construction. Later, knights and nobleman would carry daggers as their last line of defense in a battle after all their other weapons had been exhausted. Nobles would care bejeweled and ornate daggers as a status item to display their wealth.
Daggers symbolize death and danger at the basest level. They also represent ferocity, quickness and tenacity. They are popular elements in military tattoos, especially Special Forces, for their perfect ability to aid in close fights with silence success. They can also represent assassins or traitors, as in the phrase "stabbed in the back". A tattoo with adagger through a heart represents betrayal in love, usually infidelity. It can also represent being cynical about love or the existence of true love. A dagger through the human headis common for soldiers going to war. A dagger tattoos that goes through flesh indicates that the wearer has been wounded for life and a certain world weariness.
