Dolphins appear in many Greek and Roman myths, always helping humans. Dolphins were said to bring humans who were lost at sea back home or to save sailors from drowning. They were the messengers and errand runners of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. In Greece, killing a dolphin was considered the same as killing a human and punishable by death. The Hindus believed that dolphin heralded Ganga's, goddess of the Ganges River, descent from the heavens. She even sometimes rode a dolphin. Celts associated the dolphin with the healing power of water and Australian Aboriginal tribes claim to be direct descendants of dolphins. Amazonian's even tell stories of local river dolphins taking human form and courting young girls.
Dolphin tattoos were very popular in the sixties and continue to be common today. Those who wear dolphin tattoos are inspired by the intelligence, resourcefulness, and protection that the gentle water mammals are known for.
The name dolphin means and the species includes not only your typical dolphin, but also the orca, more popularly referred to as the killer whale. Mammals like us, these creatures are warm-blooded, intelligent and give birth to live young.
They arrange themselves into families known as pods, and have developed a very sophisticated method of communicating using clicks, screeches and sonar.
Dolphins are smart and quick creatures, with maximum speeds of 30 mph and an intelligence that is comparable (or even possibly above) that of chimps and other apes and primates.
While dolphins require air for survival just as we do, they have an impressive ability to hold their breaths for several minutes and are capable of fast and deep dives exceeding 1,000 feet!
Our interaction with dolphins doesn't just stop there, dolphins also show up often in our subconscious minds in the forms of dreams. While traditionally, the appearance of a dolphin in your dream might be a negative omen that your will soon be coming under an new government, today the meaning of dolphins has grown along with our understanding of these gentle, intelligent creatures.
In dreams, dolphins will often communicate to us that their spirit is always with us, guiding us and helping to protect us. In other dreams, the dreamer will magically morph into the form of a dolphin, and be accepted as a playmate to go and frolic with a pod. More commonly, dreams of dolphins can speak of several virtues or situations, including:
Trust
The rhythm of life, and finding our place within it
Pranha, or the Breath of Life
Water Energy and power
Change
Wisdom
Balance
Harmony
Freedom, or
Safe travel
The dolphin has joined the ranks of creatures that have captivated us not only in our waking ours, but in our dream lives as well.
Dolphin Tattoo Design Ideas:
Because the dolphin can mean so many different things to wide groups of incredibly diverse people, there's no wrong way to design a dolphin tattoo. It should be noted though that most dolphin designs depict the dolphin breeching or playing on the surface, and rarely swimming through the depths of the sea.
Dolphin tattoos may include several members of a pod, or perhaps just a mother dolphin and her calf or her mate. Dolphin designs integrate well with both Celtic and tribal tattoo designs, and can be manipulated to create fantastic armbands.
Two dolphins forming a circle, with noses to tails can make a perfect design to surround navels or nipples, and you can always combine dolphins with other popular tattoo designs to make your own unique statement.
Pink dolphins, green dolphins, blue dolphins, silver or black dolphins regardless of the size or color, the dolphin's eyes will still shine with that nearly human intelligence which they uniquely possess. Alone or in pods, paired with mermaids or whales, the dolphin will always serve as our unique link to the underwater world.
