Lilies

I have found that lilies symbolize many things. The more traditional lily is a long stemmed garden flower with petals curling back from a horn-shaped face. This type of lily is strongly associated with the Christian tradition and Jesus' love. In Aboriginal Australia, the lily symbolizes courage and perseverance. In both China and Japan, the lily is said to dispel personal grief. Women wear lilies to help them forget the sorrow of a loved one's departure. White lilies symbolize purity, innocence, and chastity. At the same time and in the Greek culture, the trumpet-like shape of the petals symbolize erotic love and passion. In Greek mythology, the flower came from the milk of the goddess Hera as she was nursing Hercules; it dropped to earth (an outpouring which also created the Milky Way).  Clearly, the meanings are endless.


The lily that I chose to be tattooed on my upper arm is a day lily. Apparently the day lily is associated with coquetry. Yes, I had to look up what that meant! "Coquetry" is flirtatious behavior or attitude. LOL. Anyway, I chose my day lily it not for it's symbolism, but because I thought it was pretty. I chose the colors and design and worked with a tattoo artist to design something unique. I guess if I did have to choose a symbol for mine, I'd chose the Aboriginal or Greek symbols. Of course, maybe it is a little coquettish (is that the right use of the word?) too. :-)

Note: Information found on multiple websites when Googling "lily tattoo symbol" and "day lily tattoo symbol."