Now we will try to understand the meaning of the Cthulhu tattoo. This is the name of the deity included in the pantheon of myths. He is a real lord of the seas and dwells at the bottom. He has one incredible ability - to influence the human mind. To say unequivocally what this creature is like is not so easy. It somewhat resembles a dragon, an octopus and, of course, a human. This monster has a head with tentacles, its body is humanoid and covered with scales. It even has several wings. As it moves, Cthulhu emits mucus. The green monster belongs to the lineage of the Ancients.
Some myths tell of a tradition of worshipping this creature. Cthulhu can influence the human mind. But under the thickness of the sea water his powers weaken and then he is able to master the dreams of particularly sensitive people. Everyone who sees it is horrified and may even go mad.
Cthulhu is an alien and completely alien to human nature. All of human history is but a moment of his dream. All who revere him are convinced that their idol is very powerful and the doom of civilization is very likely for them if he one day wakes up.
What does a Cthulhu tattoo mean?
The Cthulhu tattoo is rightly considered controversial. For the Nordic peoples, such personal drawings are real amulets. Especially if it is a tattoo with the formidable monster Cthulhu. In addition, such an image can represent wisdom, because the creature has a very large brain. Another meaning of the body drawing is immortality and invulnerability.
Tattoo with the image of a monster can mean cruelty, impermanence, hypocrisy, ruthlessness. However, there is such a naked picture and positive values - goodness, tranquility and virtue.
Wear patterns with the image of an octopus are often made by men and women of all ages.
For girls
The meaning of such a tattoo in a girl can also mean that she is a strong, confident and independent personality. But in addition, this tattoo can mean "motherhood". And all this thanks to the fact that the mother octopus lays up to 150 thousand eggs during her whole life. Therefore, if a woman has a lot of children - this tattoo will adorn her body just right. An interesting idea - to sign on each tentacle the name of her baby.
If a girl likes a bright, eventful life in which there are constant changes, then this tattoo can tell about it. After all, the octopus is the king of impermanence. He can change color several times a day depending on the situation.
Many women who have gone through a divorce or some difficult event, after which they have successfully recovered, make themselves a tattoo with this creature. The meaning of the octopus in such a case is adaptation and recovery. Remember that in biology classes were told how easily after the loss of tentacles octopus "grows" them again.
Meaning for men
Often, tattoos in the form of Cthulhu prefer to do men. For them, such a body image will mean:
- Passion for marine themes, mythology
- virtue
- ruthlessness
- immortality
- invulnerability
- impermanence
- hypocrisy
- composure, kindness
Tattoo in the form of a sea monster will tell about the willful character of its owner. A man with such a body art can be a hypocrite and even ruthless. Although at the same time, such a tattoo may symbolize calmness and virtue.
The owner of such a body image may be fond of the sea theme or mythology.
Sometimes men choose a tattoo of Cthulhu because of the originality of the image. These representatives of the stronger sex are not afraid to shock others with their appearance.
Cult of Cthulhu[edit]
At the dawn of humanity, Cthulhu infiltrated the dreams of ancient people, thus giving rise to the Cult of Cthulhu. However since the cyclopean R'lyeh sank to the bottom of the ocean, he was unable to spread his influence over the masses: the water column choked out the mental signals. Only particularly susceptible people now felt the presence of Cthulhu in their sleep.
| « | The previous night there had been a small tremor, the most felt in New England in years, which had greatly affected Wilcox's imagination. When he went to bed, he had a totally unbelievable dream of vast Cyclopean cities of titanic blocks and monoliths rising to the sky, oozing green slimy liquid and filled with hidden terror. The walls and columns there were covered with hieroglyphs, and from below, from some indefinite point came a voice that was not a voice; a chaotic sensation that only the power of imagination could be transformed into sound and yet Wilcox tried to convey it with an almost unpronounceable combination of letters-"Cthulhu fhtagn. | » |
| - "The Call of Cthulhu." | ||
Adepts of the cult can serve both Cthulhu and the Deeps, his subordinates who reside in the depths of the sea. The story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" tells of the cult of Dagon, one of the Deepwater deities who took over the town and encouraged people to mate with the Deepwater who lived on Devil's Reef. In 1928, the U.S. government raided Innsmouth and wiped out the Deepsiders there, dispersing the remaining people to prisons and mental institutions; Devil's Reef itself was torpedoed.
The head of the Cult is believed to be in the mountains of China and endowed with immortality. The cultists wait patiently for Cthulhu to rise from the bottom of the ocean and summon them into service, and until then they hide and make sacrifices to the ancient gods, preparing their resurrection. For "the spells that make them invulnerable at the same time prevent them from making the first move, so now they can only lie awake in the dark and think while countless millions of years roll by."
Meaning for Women
It is not often that you can see the image of an underwater monster on a woman's delicate body. However, sometimes the fairer sex also choose to wear drawings of Cthulhu. Such tattoos for women mean:
- tranquility, goodness.
- invulnerability
- impermanence
- hypocrisy
- Passion for the sea
The original tattoo of Cthulhu on a woman's body will be able to tell about the calm and kind character of its owner.
A woman with such a tattoo is characterized by inconstancy. Also, she may be invulnerable and even hypocritical. In addition, the representative of the fair sex with such a natal drawing, most likely, is fond of marine themes.
Tattoo with Cthulhu sometimes becomes the choice of women solely because of the originality of the figure.
The symbolism of the octopus tattoo
If you search for the original meaning of the octopus tattoo, you are likely to come across information that this creature has some connection with otherworldly forces, the afterlife. Often it is associated with symbols of spiral and swastika.
- It is known that octopuses are excellent masters of disguise and secrecy. Buried on the seabed mollusk is invisible even at close range. It was believed that he helped give similar properties to the owners of tattoos.
- The octopus has three hearts. For this, he was endowed with magical powers, and was considered a symbol of immortality.
- In our time, it is believed that this creature symbolizes the time and cycles. They identified with it the concept of eternity, infinity, the change of lunar phases.
- The octopus has a very large brain, and the level of intelligence is not inferior to our pets. Therefore, the tattoo often means wisdom and the ability to comprehend "secrets covered with darkness".
- Often such a symbol was applied to protect against the evil eye and spoilage.
- The Cretan civilization identified the eight-armed mollusk with the center of our universe and the very starting point from which it originated.
Tattoo of an octopus with chaotically spread tentacles
Very often the following interpretation is used: the octopus symbolizes the constant cycle of change characteristic of our objective reality. This is a symbol for people who seek constant movement and development. Even the position of the tentacles in the picture is believed to be important. It's about the same story as the solar symbols, like the swastika. If they are bent in a clockwise direction, they promote development, and if they are bent counterclockwise, they inhibit certain processes. If the positions of octopus limbs are chaotic, they have no sacred meaning.
However, each person can decide for himself what the chosen picture means for him personally. After all, the symbolism of the past is perceived quite differently today. People long ago stopped being afraid of monsters from the depths, making them characters in popular horror movies. And not everyone nowadays believes in mystics like Cthulhu sleeping at the bottom of the sea.
The octopus tattoo in ancient and modern times
In the Middle Ages, there was far more than one meaning of the octopus tattoo. People considered him the patron of the sea abyss and legitimately feared. In those days, they believed in Kraken and other monsters. However, the discovery by scientists of the existence of giant octopus and squid in the depths indicates that our ancestors were afraid for a reason.
The giant octopus, known to science as Enteroctopus dofleini can reach nine meters. Not surprisingly, sailors and fishermen were in awe of it, and made tattoos in the hope that the monster would spare them.
The tradition of making tattoos with the terrible creature to protect against it, or to show the courage of the wearer, has long existed. The cephalopod mollusk has also often become the symbol of various secret and occult societies. Nowadays it is even reflected in the world of comics and movies. In Marvel, the octopus tentacles and skull are the symbols of the secret terrorist organization Hydra.
Tentacle of the octopus and the skull of the secret terrorist organization "Hydra"
The new generation would have long forgotten about all these legends, if not the main propagator of horror in the literature of the recent past - Lovecraft. How many orders he created for tattoo artists, without knowing it himself. It is his pen belongs to the work "The Call of Cthulhu" and several other works, which tells of the Ancients. Among the mythical monsters described by the author, the monster with the head and tentacles of an octopus - the same Cthulhu, which has become a meme character - occupies an important place.
Maritime and pirate themes
It is no secret that the modern tattoo as we know it came to us from sailors. They, in turn, borrowed it from different peoples with whom they traded and had contact. Simple sailors and their worst enemies - pirates - made the tattoo a part of world culture. Some of the most common motifs in modern times include:
- The treasure octopus - a direct reference to the days of Jack Rackham and Edward Teach. Very often in pirate lore it was said that giant octopuses guard chests of gold on the bottom, much as mighty dragons do on land. How much of this is true, it's hard to say. But what if the many-legged predators have a passion for all things shiny, like the forty?
- The octopus with a compass is a maritime symbol. When it first appeared, it is difficult to say. But such tattoos were in the XVII century in the European sailors. Masters of the seas perfectly know the way. Sailors believed that this sign would protect them from trouble. After all, getting lost in the middle of the ocean is not an adventure, but a sure chance of never returning to your home port.
- The octopus with fish is another symbol that was inherited from pirates and privateers. The meanings are different. Sometimes they even depend on the breed of fish. For example, the carp meant courage, and the shark meant strength and power.
- An octopus braiding a ship;
- an octopus with a bottle of rum.
Various inscriptions in English, Spanish, Italian and Latin are also additionally used.
What pattern to choose for a tattoo?
There are quite a few interesting options for tattoos with Cthulhu. Especially impressive look images in the style of realism. Such drawings are often chosen by all those who are not afraid to shock others.
Men often give preference to body images in the technique of tribal. Such drawings are distinguished by the presence of various patterns.
Images with the underwater monster can be black and white or colored, large or less visible.
Anyone can make an original tattoo on any part of the body. Want to hide the image from prying eyes? Then get a tattoo on your back and chest. And if you want to make the image visible to everyone, ask the master to put a tattoo on your arm, leg or neck.
Place in Internet culture[edit]
The Cthulhu character is relatively popular online. For example, he appears as one of the characters in the web comic UserFriendly. He is also the subject of the comic book Hello Cthulhu (full Russian translation), in which Cthulhu appears in the world of Hello Kitty, an iconic and somewhat moronic webcomic about Cthulhu's adventures in a mysterious universe, as if born out of an innocent child's fantasy. In the humorous webcomic The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom), dedicated to Lovecraft's pantheon of gods, Cthulhu is also one of the main characters. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin had to answer a question about Cthulhu.
Thanks to all these memetic mutations, Cthulhu has come to be perceived as a completely harmless comic character that makes you smile. Could this be the horrible intention of the cultists?
