Bear Tattoo Meaning
- Strength and Power
- Courage and Bravery
- Maternity and Protection
- Spirituality, Resurrection and strong connection with Mother Nature
- Confidence and Victory
- Resurrection
Because the bear is cautious, it encourages discernment to humankind.
Bears are popular animals in almost all the cultures, from modern cute Teddy Bears to animal totems of Native Americans, symbolizing bravery, power and strength. They are believed to be connected with the spiritual world, the Nature and were honored in different rituals. People used their hide and bones to protect themselves and gain their abilities.
Bear tattoos are meaningful for both men and women: wide opened raw represents aggression and readiness for fight, angry eyes are symbols of bravery, and colorful flowers on the bear’s head add more feminine features.
You can find a lot of designs and images of the bear tattoos, and here we also described meanings of the most popular ones.
Native Americans
First of all, we should mention Haida Bear tattoo designs that originate from the Haida tribe. The legend says that the bear takes a tribal woman as its wife. This union lets bear and man to become stronger, combining their traits. Bear is also associated with elderly relatives (thus symbolizing Wisdom) and also represents Motherhood, Child Protection, Spiritual and Physical Powers. Haida Bear tattoo images are inked in red, green or black colors.
For the Sioux, the bear is a symbol of healing and medicine. According to the legend, the sick mother bear was healed after eating leaves from a redwood sorrel plant, and she shared her knowledge of the healing plant among Sioux medicine women.
And the best style to represent Native American Bear tattoo is a tribal one. It has great spiritual significance, and Tribal Bear tattoo in general embodies mental power, strong connection with Mother Nature and Native American culture.
Celtic Bear Tattoos
The other culture that influenced Bear tattoo designs and meanings is Celtic culture. Celtic Bear tattoo represents your strong connection with nature, respect to the Irish traditions and spiritual side of your life. This tattoo is deeply rooted with heathendom and immateriality. The other popular design is bear paw and bear claw tattoo: it symbolizes Good Luck, Persistence and Might.
California Bear Tattoos
In 1846 American settlers made the California Bear a part of the state’s flag — after they took over control of the Sonoma. They’ve been raising a flag with California Bear during all the Mexican-American War. Since then, California bear has become an essential symbol of independence and liberty — the same meaning is for the California bear tattoo.
Teddy Bear Tattoos
Surely, Teddy Bear is the most popular toy in the world. Do you know that it was named for the president Theodore Roosevelt? The story is about the black bear cube: he refused to kill it during the hunt. Teddy Bear tattoo is a symbol of love, innocence, childhood and devotion.
Grateful Dead Bear Tattoos
The Grateful Dead Bears were designed by Bob Thomas for the band’s album cover (History of the Grateful Dead: Volume One (Bear’s Choice)). The album was released in 1973 and it peaked at #60 on the Billboard’s Top 200. The design pays respect to soundman Owsley ’Bear’ Stanley. A lot of people name Grateful Dead Bears as the Dancing Bears, but not Owsley: “The bears on the album cover are not really ’dancing’. I don’t know why people think they are; their positions are quite obviously those of a high-stepping march.”
Motherly Bear Tattoo Designs
Every mother cares about her children. Mother bear becomes furious in the face of the danger for her cubes, and would give her life to protect them. Motherly bear tattoo designs are especially popular among women symbolizing loving attitude and protection of their children.
Panda Bear Tattoos
The most famous bears in the world are Pandas. They are associated with Chinese Yin-Yang symbol because of their coat. Panda bear tattoo represents good luck, equilibrium and consonance.
Koala Bear Tattoos
Koalas are very peaceful and buddy-buddy bears that look especially cute. Aboriginal legends say that Koalas cherish Earth’s memories. They appeared from the Earth’s deep interior to bring knowledge and wisdom to people; then they shifted to the trees to keep watching and protecting humans. Koala Bear Tattoo is a symbol of the Earth, peacefulness, wisdom and protection.
Black Bear and Grizzly Bear Tattoos
A typical design for the fierce bear tattoo is huge brown or black bear roaring out in the wild, demonstrating sharp dangerous teeth. It symbolizes great power, danger and warrior spirit.
Polar Bear Tattoos
Polar bears are legendary for Arctic cultures. In the Inuit culture, the polar bear is the earthly incarnation of the Great Spirit, Tuurngasuk; the Eskimos respect polar bears for their excellent hunting skills; the Nenets of Siberia protect themselves by wearing polar bear’s teeth. Those cultures also have many legends about bear’s loyalty and protection to their cubes. As so, Polar bear is a symbol of Coca-Cola’s Christmas advertising campaigns and is associated with a happy family and traditions.
