Mermaid Tattoo Ideas and Meanings
If you have an irrepressible love for the sea and this worlds’ oceans, a mermaid tattoo might be a very fitting symbol for you.
Mermaids in myth are legendary for their unpredictability, and tempestuous ways. Just like their home, the ocean, mermaids will never be bound to orthodoxy or convention.
Speaking of song, the mermaid is heralded for her enchanting voice. Apart from her astonishingly striking beauty, mermaid song holds irresistible attraction. Melodic narcotic.
Indeed, she uses her looks and voice to woo unsuspecting souls at sea. Depending on which myth you’re reading, a mermaid’s purpose for luring seafarers could be to offer refuge, salvation or pleasure. On the flip-side, she could be offering death.

This kind of emotive metamorphosis is also associated with the moon, which the mermaid holds sacred. We’ve all heard of unpredictable behavior and events around various phases of the moon….it’s why the root of “lunacy” is based on the Latin word for moon: Luna. We know mermaids are energetically connected with the moon because the sea is influenced by it. Also, in ancient depictions of mermaids, they are often shown with mirrors – which is a symbol of the moon. So, we’re talking about a very yin, or feminine aspect here.
Symbolic Mermaid Meanings
- Wild
- Free
- Fluid
- Sensual
- Elusive
- Knowing
- Alluring
- Feminine
- Emotional
- Seductive
- Intuitive
- Reflective
- Enchanting
- Tempestuous

In myth (mostly Celtic, ancient European), mermaids were very big juju in terms of knowing. They were thought to have deep psychic connection which makes utter sense as we learn the element of water is connected to concepts like: Dreaming, Intuition, Emotion, Deeper Knowing. In this line of thought, mermaids are knower’s of deeper, darker aspects of the soul. Just as the sea holds unknown mysteries, so too do our own psyche’s – but legend indicates mermaids can see clear to the core of a human. That kind of “clear-knowing” might also be a symbolic sea treasure as you consider mermaid tattoos.
These are just few thoughts about mermaid tattoo meaning for your contemplative pleasure. Swim ’round my other page on Mermaid Meaning and Symbolism here. You might find more inspiration for you mermaid tattoo ideas from that article too.
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Symbolic Mermaid Meaning
Can’t get enough about mermaids? I don’t blame you. They are matrons of enchantment, entreating humans with beguiling beauty and grace. Get the full article about symbolic meaning of mermaids here.
Undine: Water Element Energies
Undines are water elementals, and as such, spirits of the water world. We could say an Undine is a personification of water. Many schools of thought liken Undines to sprites, nymphs and mermaids. Get more about Undine meaning here.
