Ivy (also known as ''Hedera'') encompasses about fifteen species of climbing or creeping evergreen woody plants. When exposed to the right kinds of surfaces, ivies are able to climb at least 75 to 90 feet. The flowers, fruit and seeds of ivy are very important food sources to birds but usually poisonous to humans. Interesting fact: the plant commonly called ''poison ivy'' is not really ivy at all.
Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and revelry (known to the Greeks as Dionysius), wore the crown of the evergreen Ivy as the symbol of immortality. The ancient Egyptian's sun god, Osiris, was represented as carrying a rod entwined with Ivy at all times. In old Ireland, the Celts regarded the Ivy as a symbol of determination, death, and spiritual growth. When portrayed with its spiral growth around a tree it represented rebirth, joy and exhilaration. The power of the Ivy to cling and bind and even kill the mighty oak impressed the ancient Druids. In respect of Ivy's strength, they and other Pagan cultures used it in sacred rituals. As an evergreen plant, it became a symbol of everlasting life, and Irish poets traditionally wore crowns of ivy.
Christian artists have used ivy as a symbol of the Resurrection. It represented the ascension of the spirit to the Divine. Earlier, the Christian church rejected both the Ivy and Vine as pagan symbols. They were being used in the Roman Saturnalia celebrations of winter, during which the god's staff was made of Holly and his sacred bird was said to nest in Ivy. Centuries later, the Holly and the Ivy became inseparable as Christmas plants, their Pagan connections forgotten.
In times past, lovers took the Ivy to be the symbol of their fidelity. Brides carried it in their wedding bouquets, while women wore it for fertility and good luck. Perhaps this came from ivy's reputation for multiplying in the toughest conditions, growing even in near dark. In Victorian times, the Ivy was a symbol of wedded love and friendship in matrimony.
Because of their shape and form, vines of all kinds have been popular with tattoo artist for their ability to be draped, twisted and coiled on the human body. Ivy tattoos can be flourishing on another tattoo or a whole tattoo in itself. It is often intertwined with other floral designs.
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