
This is the reason why neo-traditional tattoo designs were born. Most millennials would think that having classic tattoo designs makes them feel old. This is why soldiers are often seen bearing this tattoo design as it inspires them to fight without the fear of death. The Grim Reaper can also be symbolically associated with fearlessness towards death and accepting it as the ultimate truth of life. Still, others may link the tattoo with the completion of the life cycle and seeing death as a new beginning. Certain other symbolic meanings associated with the Grim Reaper are bravery, fragility, reality, luck and new life, while on the negative side, these tattoos can signify a person lacking emotions for suffering and pain. It is even believed that he puts an end to the suffering of people by taking them to the next world. The Grim Reaper is revered for his neutrality because he considers all people as equal when he comes to take their souls to the afterlife. On the other hand, some cultures such as the Romans consider him as an appositive omen. In fact, it is said that the Grim Reaper appears at the moment of death and people have even reported seeing him at the time of death of their loved ones. In some religions, he is regarded as someone who accompanies the human souls in their journey to the next world. Some of the more common meanings are good luck, bravery, and even courage. Grim Reaper tattoos can best represent you too. The Meaning of a Grim Reaper TattooĪlthough the Grim Reaper image is symbolic of death, you can also take on a whole variety of meanings. He will then accompany the separated soul to the final resting place, Hell or Heaven. It’s believed he uses his scythe to separate the human soul from the rest of the body. Legend has it the Grim Reaper will appear when a person is a few moments from their death. That long black hooded cloak often hides his face, but his silhouette is never mistaken. This dark and mysterious character has been depicted in literature, art, movies, and even tattoos for years. Some Grim Reaper tattoos even take on an air of Hallowe'en, with the Reaper having an eerily pumpkinlike appearance.Anyone who sees the image of this tall dark figure in a black hooded garb carrying his long staff with the sharp scythe instantly recognizes it is the Grim Reaper. But as more people are attracted to their messages about the fleetingness of life and the possibility of an afterlife, Grim Reaper tattoos often appear in more vibrant positive colors. Grim Reaper tattoos are most often done in black with shades of gray. But with the arrival of the Goth subculture, the skull and Grim Reaper tattoos have found a new and younger set of admirers, and are prominent among both male and female Goths who appreciate their mythological and morbid aspects.

Grim Reaper tattoos, along with skulls and scantily clad mermaids, were once reserved for bikers, prison inmates, and sailors or marines. Mexican Grim Reaper tattoos, surprisingly, depict the Reaper as a female but even more surprisingly, in both the Mexican and Argentinean cultures, the Grim Reaper is regarded as a saint, ?La Santisima Muerte? in Mexico and ?San La Muerte? in Argentina. Grim Reaper tattoos first gained a foothold in the Americas in 18th century Mexico and Argentina, where poor criminals adopted them as totems to ward off capture by the police. There are tribal Grim Reaper tattoos traditional Grim Reaper tattoos and even Celtic tattoo designs featuring the Grim Reaper flowing out of their intricate plaitwork. While almost all Grim Reaper tattoos incorporate the basics of a skeletal black robed figure with a scythe, those basics can be interpreted in almost any style. Plenty of material for the imagination to feed upon, and Grim Reaper tattoos have become a mainstay of tattoo artists the world over. Instead of being there to bless the dying, however, he brought along a scythe, and was often merely a skeleton beneath his robes, with only his eyes visible under their cowl. The Grim Reaper first took serious hold of the European imagination in the 1400s, garbed in a black hooded robe which mimicked those which priests wore at the bedsides of the dying. And that form has become the subject of interpretations for millions of Grim Reaper tattoos through the years. From this confusion of Cronus and Chronos, Western civilization has built its conception of how death would look if it had a form.
