Here's What A Lavender Tattoo Really Means

Tattoos of all kinds hold a variety of fascinating meanings. From triangles to black roses and arrows, each tattoo can symbolically mean and represent something special. One kind of tattoo that appears to be becoming more popular is lavender. We know lavender is delicious in tea, and it's great in candles and waxes. But what does it mean in a tattoo?

Lavender is deeply purple and rich in color, and it sways in the breeze so naturally and beautifully. If you know anything about color symbolism, you probably know that the color purple represents royalty and with royalty comes such qualities as elegance, luxury, and refinement (via 1-800-Flowers). Even outside of their color, lavender flowers represent grace, devotion, and purity.

Finally, Well+Good notes the color purple is associated with the crown chakra, and the energy from this chakra handles spirituality and higher purposes. A lot of this makes sense, too, as drinking lavender tea can be soothing; it's a graceful, refined flavor that helps bring peace to the consumer. But how does this translate to a lavender tattoo?

What's immediately intriguing about lavender tattoos is that they look completely different from other flower tattoos, per TattooSEO.com. After all, lavender grows in thin reeds and doesn't take the appearance of typical flowers like roses or tulips. However, despite looking considerably different, lavender tattoos symbolize purity, a trait shared by many other flowers (via TattooSEO.com). The nice part of this, though, is that you have a wide variety of tattoos to choose from if you want one that means purity.

One meaning unique to lavender tattoos is that of silence. Body Art Guru explains that the lavender tattoo is ideal for those who love nature and escaping into the silence of lavender fields (or any other quiet space in nature). The site explains that it can also mean devotion, though recommends getting text along with the lavender itself if you're going for the devotion meaning because people likely won't immediately understand this as the tattoo's intent. However, if you're getting the tattoo for just yourself, then text may not be needed.

Finally, the lavender tattoo can mean calmness or caution. Calmness is easily attributed to lavender, especially when you consider its properties when consumed by humans. Caution is a trickier one, but it's especially poignant for care workers due to lavender's medicinal properties (via TattooSEO.com). Because of this, lavender is a great choice for these people if they want to represent their work without tattooing a stethoscope or some other medical iconography that is too on the nose.