Nice poppy flower tattoo.

Meaning of a Poppy Tattoo:

Morpheus the God of Dreams/Visions

When we think of poppy, the first thing we all think about is Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, from whom the name of the drug Morphine has been derived. Which is perhaps why Morphine is made from poppy seeds. He was the messenger of the gods, and was sent to sooth people after a traumatic experience or for pleasurable escapades of thought, through vivid dreams and visions. He could transform and make himself look like others, which helped him gain the trust of the people he was conveying a message to.

Changing Seasons

The poppy flower is the emblem of the Greek goddess, Demeter, which is a bright red flower depicted along with barley. She is believed to be Zeus's elder sister, which may explain why the poppy was Zeus's favorite flower. Demeter's daughter Persephone is abducted by Haides, who makes her his wife and takes her to his abode, back into the underworld. Demeter is inconsolable because of the disappearance of her beloved daughter and sets out to search the earth for her, along with goddess Hekate. During her search she learns that her own brother Zeus was involved in the abduction and thus wrecks havoc, by ceasing all new life on earth. No new plants, flowers, seeds, or birth took place during this period. Finally, Zeus had to give in to her scourge, and offered to get his niece back to his sister. However, since Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds from the underworld, she was required to spend a part of each year with her husband. Thus, winter became the season when she left her mother Demeter to be with Haides, while spring came to be known as the season of her joyful return to her mother.

Eternal Death

The poppy flower has since time immemorial signified eternal sleep or death, the sleep is eternal because of the opiate that the poppy plant yields. The correlation of death with poppy, is because of its spectacular shade of red and the color of blood. The Egyptians used this flower as a part of their funeral and burial ceremonies.

Love and Prosperity

For the Romans the poppy flower symbolized everlasting beauty, fertility, supernatural powers and wealth. The poppy flower represents loyalty between lovers in Chinese mythology.

Remembering War Heroes

While in classic mythology the poppy represents resurrection after death. In USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand plastic poppy flowers are worn in honor of veterans who died in the Flanders Fields during World War I.

The poppy flower tattoos which show the seeds, are usually denounced by general public. The reason being that poppy as a plant has a bad reputation for being associated with opium, and being the root cause of heroin addiction. Which is why a tattoo showing only the flowers would be the best option if your intention is to avoid being tagged as a rebel.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/poppy-tattoo-meaning.html