Bird with dreamcatcher on back. Excellent combination tattoo!

Dreamcatcher Tattoos and Meanings

In the Native American culture, the dreamcatcher is a well known symbol that has deep rooted meanings and beliefs. It is a tattoo design that has been popular throughout generations of all cultures, not just Native American, since they are beautiful and unique creations with such strong history. Usually colorfully presented, dreamcatcher tattoos are showcased in the same shape but various sizes and with a variety of different feathers. The inside webbing of a dreamcatcher has no particular pattern, which makes it a fun tattoo design to add your own sense of creativity.  that it follows and can be made in different ways.

 

It is believed that the dreamcatcher originated from the Anishinabe tribe, also known as the Chippewa tribe in America and the Ojibwa tribe in Canada. They believed in a mythical spider woman that would visit the cribs of newly born infants and spin a web for their protection. Over time, she could not visit all infants, leaving the women of the tribe to make the dreamcatcher to protect their newborns. For this reason, some tribes fashion their dreamcatchers with eight points to represent the eight legs of the spider. Eventually, dreamcatcher began to be created with a more colorful colorful design to keep babies entertained while they rested in their cribs. It was believed that the dreamcatcher would keep away bad dreams and let only the good ones enter.

In essence, the top portion, the web of the dreamcatcher was said to catch the bad spirits and dreams of the newborn while they slept. As the dream carried down the web, the negative energy would get trapped in the web leaving nothing but positive thoughts to drip down the feathers onto the child. This strong folklore, along with the visual impact, had created global attraction to the dreamcatcher tattoo design. It is important to know the meaning of this type of tattoo in order to preserve the culture and significance. It goes without saying for a Native American this tattoo stands for his or her rich cultural history, beliefs and background.

Elements of a Dreamcatcher Tattoo

• The top portion of dreamcatcher tattoos is traditionally a circular encasement that holds a spider web of some sort. The web usually incorporates beads at certain points throughout the web as well.

• The design and symbolism of each dreamcatcher is the same however you should research any additional elements that you want to incorporate to maintain the original meaning.

• Due to the significance of the tattoo, you should always pick the location for the tattoo with care both for cultural considerations and also for the way it will affect your personal and professional life.