Popular Free Tattoo Patterns: Dragons

Most Popular Free Tattoo Patterns: Dragons Another popular tattoo design choice involves using images that depict dragons. There are two different types of dragon tattoo patterns available: ones that depict the eastern dragon and ones for the western dragon. Eastern Dragon Tattoos Eastern dragon tattoos have positive meanings. They depict compassion, benevolence, fertility, protection, intelligence, good will, and good fortune. Most eastern dragons are drawn as creatures of beauty. In China, shrines and temples have been built to honor them because some believe they control the lakes, rivers, seas, and rain. Some Chinese cities have pagodas where people still pray to eastern dragons and burn incense.

According to Chinese mythology eastern dragons were great consuls of powerful Chinese rulers. Although the eastern dragons were usually kind and wise, they were sometimes vain and became angry when their advice was not followed. They expressed their displeasure by causing natural disasters. The more powerful eastern dragons were able to create droughts or floods. Smaller dragons were believed to make roofs leak or cause rice to stick. To appease the dragons people would set off firecrackers or carry large paper dragons in parades. Dragons were believed to represent the essence of life and have breath that was celestial, called sheng chi. Eastern dragons were believed to provide life sustaining water used not only for drinking but also for irrigating crops. In many ways dragons were believed to be similar to what we call Mother Nature. They were also considered to be symbolic of good fortune and have the ability to ward off evil spirits and protect the innocent. Western Dragon Tattoos Western dragon tattoos have more negative meanings. They depict greed, destruction, and chaos. They are usually drawn as bloodthirsty, fire-breathing creatures. Overall, dragon tattoos are more popular with men than with women, perhaps because the dragon symbol is usually indicative of strength and aggression.