hourglass tattoo ideas and hourglass meaning

Hourglass Tattoo Ideas

Last Updated on October 25, 2020 by Avia

Hourglass Tattoo Ideas and Symbolic Hourglass Meaning

Hourglass Meaning and Tattoo Ideas: I have three friends with hourglass tattoos, and they’ve helped me write this page on tattoo ideas incorporating the hourglass as a prominent symbol.

Frank is serving life in prison – no parole. His hourglass tattoo signifies the inevitability of his situation.In his case, the tattoo is a stern marker of the unchangeable truth of his future. There is only time. This is his harsh reality: His scenery will not change until his death.

If life finds you waiting, waiting, waiting for the next phase, an hourglass tattoo might be a good reminder that this too shall pass – change is inevitable – and one way or another – the scenery is going to change.

Another buddy of mine, Grayson, got an hourglass tattoo for much brighter reasons. To him, an hourglass is symbolic of the balance seen in the Universe. In script font, he had this tattooed around the timepiece:

“To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wildflower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.”

~William Blake: Auguries of Innocence

hourglass tattoo ideas and hourglass meaning
Hourglass tattoo ideas and hourglass meaning

This is a great conveyance. Ancient alchemists had similar ideas about the symbolic meaning of the hourglass. They pictured one half of the glass as symbolic of the sky. The lower half representing the earth. Energy passes between the two and expresses a pervasive feel of balance, duality, and the infinite cycles of life passing between experiences of mundane and ethereal.

Some keywords to ponder as you explore more about hourglass tattoo ideas…

Symbolic Hourglass Meanings

  • Time
  • Cycles
  • Nature
  • Balance
  • Transience
  • Life/Death
  • Inevitability
  • Temporal/Temporary

Are you awestruck by the wonder and inevitability inherent in the cycles of life and the cosmos? Are you needing to memorialize your knowledge that all life prevails (one way or another) with the passing of time? If so, an hourglass tattoo might be your thing.

Most of us are familiar with the saying “she has an hourglass figure.” The hourglass has a curvaceous appeal, very feminine.My friend Sable picked up on this sensual look with her ink. Her hourglass tattoo represents the Divine Feminine and how power can be derived through specifically female cycles of life. She understands female rites. From maiden, mother to crone and beyond – her hourglass tattoo captures all the elements of feminine progress. Her piece galvanizes her understanding of what it means to be a fully developed woman. Fascinating, really.

Speaking of gender, another view at the hourglass can reveal two triangles: One erect and one inverted, each meeting tip-to-tip. This is a common motif of male (erect) and female (inverted). An hourglass tattoo might be a unique way to convey the timeless connection between male/female. Or, perhaps even a way to express the endless dance between polarity (yin/yang, light/dark, creation/destruction, moon/sun, etc).

Whether you are wanting an expression of “tempus fugit” (time flies) or looking for an unorthodox expression of the phases of life-at-large…I hope these observations help you in your hourglass tattoo ideas research.

hourglass tattoo ideas and hourglass meaning
Hourglass tattoo ideas and hourglass meaning

“Realize deeply that the present moment

is all you have.

Make the NOW

the primary focus of your life.”

~Eckhart Tolle

It doesn’t really matter if you have the sense that time is on your side, or feel time is an enemy…because have no doubt…time is an inevitable influence upon our lives. Maybe an hourglass tattoo can serve as a permanent reminder of the potential of time.

Maybe this type of tattoo can aid focus upon the importance of NOW. As EckhartTolle beautifully observed in his book, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (loved it!), every moment is fleeting. All we have is NOW. As I look at an hourglass, I hone my focus in on the center part…that middle pinch of glass where, for a nanosecond, no sand can move because it’s all bunched together. That, to me, represents the here-and-now moment Tolle describes. It’s a visual illustration of now.

I hope these insights into the gravity of time, and the symbolic potential of the hourglass inspires your own tattoo ideas. Check out the links at the end of this page for more articles of symbolic interest. Thanks for reading!

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