Peony tattoos serve as a strong symbolism for beauty, healing, fragility and the transitory nature of existence. Besides being the tattoo equivalent of a samurai-esque fashion statement.
Not only is the flower a karmic symbol of success and prosperity, peony tattoos emphasize that with hurdles and hardship a person will eventually be rewarded by life itself with great rewards.
Even in the case of a simple sleeve or arm format, the peony tattoo can be aesthetically adorned by its wearer in the form of high end art to accentuate his “sword arm”. Henceforth giving them the appearance of a stoic Ronin from the Edo Period – poised and serene.
Even in art and folklore, as well as a status symbol of ancient warriors in Feudal Japan the peony tattoo has been crucial in depicting serenity, subtlety and substance in all its floral glory. The following article highlights precisely how peony tattoos can be both aesthetically as well as karmically pleasing. Giving tattoo enthusiasts the definitive choice of abundance in both styles as well as good fortune. There is a very good reason why it’s referred to in Asian folklore as the “King of flowers”.
Contents
- Inspirational Peony Tattoo Ideas in 2024
- Peony Japanese Tattoo
- Traditional Peony Tattoo
- Small Peony Tattoo
- Peony Shoulder Tattoo
- Peony Sleeve Tattoo
- Black Peony Tattoo
- Neo Traditional Peony Tattoo
- Peony Hand Tattoo
- Black and White Peony Tattoo
- Peony Neck Tattoo
- Peony Knee Tattoo
- Red Peony Tattoo
- Simple Peony Tattoo
- Pink Peony Tattoo
- Peony Thigh Tattoo
- Fine Line Peony Tattoo
- Watercolor Peony Tattoo
- Purple Peony Tattoo
- Blue Peony Tattoo
- Colored Peony Tattoo
- Peony and Rose Tattoo
- Snake and Peony Tattoo
- Peony Arm Tattoo
- Peony Butt Tattoo
- Peony and Skull Tattoo
- Peony and Koi Fish Tattoo
- Etching a Monochromatic Peony Tattoo Using Visual Cues
- Frequently Asked Questions:
- Conclusion
The Majestic Meaning Behind The Peony Tattoo
The peony tattoo symbolizes spiritual evolution. Much like how the actual flower attracts butterflies, the peony tattoo attracts the butterfly in an individual’s desire to grow spiritually.
Depictions of the peonies in both the tattoo and art world have always viewed the flower as a symbol of love and optimism, intrinsic beauty, as well as a symbol of nobility and honor. The peony tattoo, just like the flower it represents, exudes reverence in its meaning.
From Western maestros who depicted these majestic flowers in their masterpieces like Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet, the “King of Flowers” have been just as integral to their body of work as they are to their Asian roots and counterparts.
Inspirational Peony Tattoo Ideas in 2024
Whether the wearer adorns their arms, ribs, back or chest with the peony tattoo; the results will never be garden variety (pun intended). Peony tattoos always seem to stem out of the norm and bloom out due to that specific level of detail and dedication put into the stencils.
It’s indeed true that due to this exact reason, peony tattoos tend to cause an absurd level of pain depending on the body part being etched into. Or if the tattooist themselves literally end up striking a nerve or two (Watch out, rib cage stencil daredevils!).
Peony Japanese Tattoo
As peonies were appropriated by Japanese culture for a very long period, they are seen as a symbol of immense wealth. Wealth, luck, love, and honor are also associated with the peony tattoo archetype. This helps an individual portray a wide range of attributes that rightfully bloom together with the flowers in the art that get stenciled into their bodies.
These factors at the end of the day have never deterred any tattoo enthusiast from turning their bodies into literal Zen gardens. Because after all the symbolism behind the peony tattoo itself – is being rewarded by life as a result of hardship and hurdles.
Traditional Peony Tattoo
Traditional peony tattoos are regarded for their delicate beauty and artistry depicted in their stencils. And those who adorn their canvases with peony tattoos are often seen as kind, affectionate, and passionate individuals in their respective approach to life and philosophy.
Whether the wearer wants the peony tattoo to be an expressionistic method of art to stand out from the crowd, or be it a personal artistic piece on their body to reflect their own spiritual journeys and contemplate on. (A great example could be a sleeve or forearm tattoo hidden in plain sight, as a remembrance or memento of past contemplation) The simplest of peony tattoos bring out the inner shogun of an individual regardless of the detail put into their stencils.
Small Peony Tattoo
Minimalism and intricacy is a go-to aesthetic for small peony tattoos. They make a statement even in the smallest of stencils. Even if it’s in a corporate setting where one has to hide their tattoos, it could be easily manageable. A wearer could have a small peony tattoo on their forearm, and could just as well hide it in plain sight in an environment where tattoos may be frowned upon.
Tattoo artist Júlia Saccardo demonstrates a perfect example of this with her peony tattoo wizardry. Even the smallest of flowers she would stencil and etch onto a forearm, would literally bloom with attention to detail. Not to mention how adorable her pastel palette is!
Peony Shoulder Tattoo
A peony tattoo on the shoulder is a great way to accentuate the wearer’s existing clothing style. Especially if it’s in the case of sleeveless clothing, or spaghetti string tops. The peony tattoo could be detailed in various ways. From a detailed, three dimensional look that could both be monochromatic to give off a grungy vibe, or heavily colored to display the wearer’s bubbly personality.
Peony Sleeve Tattoo
The definitive choice for rockstars and artists themselves from all spectrums of the profession. A peony sleeve tattoo is as bold as it is painful. But much like the flower the peony tattoo symbolizes, it yields spectacular results.
The range for artistic expression is limitless when it comes to a peony sleeve tattoo. As an all black silhouette can be combined with all the blooming colors of the peony flower. Or the artist could go full goth and stencil it black and white, the sleeve is your canvas (or garden, in this case).
Black Peony Tattoo
If you want to max out your brooding fashion sense with floral designs but do not want to dip your toes in color, the black peony tattoo is the go to choice. Nothing says “I’m a metalhead but floral tattoos are my jam” like a black peony tattoo.
Neo Traditional Peony Tattoo
For the psychedelic tattoo enthusiast, this is the go-to choice. With a heavy emphasis on bright and trippy colors on the petals contrasted with the stems. This is the ideal choice of style for the wearer of the neo traditional peony tattoo.
Not only does this type of tattoo bring out the Pink Floyd and Tame Impala fan in you, but it pretty much serves as an extra form of drip. Even if you were to head to a beach party topless (not that it’s advised, but you do you!), the neo traditional peony tattoo itself would take over as replacement for that. The psychedelic nature of the design itself is bound to turn heads.
Peony Hand Tattoo
For the romantics who literally wear their emotions on their sleeve, or in this case their hands. The peony hand tattoo is a literal date offering for the inner prom king in you.
Imagine never needing to buy flowers every time to offer to someone, when the “King of Flowers” is already etched into your skin for life. The recommended form of the peony hand tattoo would be a small stencil, preferably coloured.
Black and White Peony Tattoo
Monochrome is the name of the game. Much like how the black peony tattoo would help the wearer embrace their inner goth, the monochromatic hues imbued by the black and white peony tattoo would express the same emotions.
May it be brooding or stoic, darkness or light. The black and white peony tattoo is perfect for someone of a fairer skin complexion. As their skin serves as the perfect canvas for the lack of colors to pop out in all their majestic floral glory!
Peony Neck Tattoo
The peony neck tattoo is perfect for people with long or medium layered hairstyles. It pretty much serves as an extension for someone’s hair. Or even as a full on choker in the form of the stems extending all the way round the person’s neck.
The flowers could be randomly dispersed to give the neck more fashionable appeal, like a piece of jewelry with thorns and flowers to be worn forever, be it with bright colors or black and white.
Peony Knee Tattoo
Skirts and shorts enthusiasts rejoice! The peony knee tattoo is the perfect choice for uprooting the flowers’ triumph over pain. A fashion statement that truly hurts, but feels just as good when the flowers literally bloom just as gracefully as the tattoos themselves. Peony flowers symbolize growth and spiritual evolution. And nothing says “I have embraced pain and came out of it a much better person” than successfully boasting a gracefully detailed peony knee tattoo.
Red Peony Tattoo
A choice of color as bold as the undertones that the tattoo represents. The red peony tattoo radiates sexual energy. It gives the wearer an edge over their fashionable peers by simply going bold with one color only: red.
Ideal for any skin tone and any part of the body, the red peony tattoo is a “bloody good” stencil choice to be worn on a person. If your energy radiates just as passionately as the color, it’s best to display it out loud and proud by wearing the red peony tattoo.
Simple Peony Tattoo
As the name implies; a simplistic variation of the peony tattoo is just as meaningful in detail and symbolism as it is mesmerizing to look at. A simple peony tattoo can be anything from a doodle-esque sketch with minimalistic fine lines to a cute two-toned coloured emblem. The possibilities are limitless yet simplistic.
Pink Peony Tattoo
The pastel and kawaii enthusiast’s preferred choice; the pink peony tattoo serves as an adorable expressionist choice. Tattoo artist Anne De Angelis does a stellar job of mixing the internet’s cutest seafaring animal: the Axolotl, with the cute hues of the pink peony tattoo.
The pink peony tattoo is best displayed on fairer skin tones, preferably on the sleeve or forearm for maximum head and eye turning results.
Peony Thigh Tattoo
This is another favorite of the skirts and shorts enthusiasts, or a personal artistic token. Thigh tattoos are special in their own way. And a peony thigh tattoo is just as special as it is personal to its wearer.
You may be experiencing the dilemma on what peony tattoo to get but you also want something simple right away. But at the same time you wouldn’t want to show it off to people at large. Worry not, the peony thigh tattoo is the perfect placement for that tattoo itch you got. It also hurts significantly less than a tattoo you’d get etched onto your knee.
Fine Line Peony Tattoo
This is strictly for the minimalist enthusiasts. Proclaim your artistic statement but keep it to a minimum. The fine line peony tattoo is the very embodiment of “speak out loud without saying much or nothing.” Even if the tattoo were to be a simple doodle drawn on the chest or forearm with little to no coloring, the level of detail and intricacy alone would be enough to make the fine line peony tattoo stand out as an ideal choice for a tattoo.
Watercolor Peony Tattoo
For the Picasso and Dali enthusiasts, the watercolor peony tattoo is the go to choice for going full experimental with your tattoo. If you’re bold enough to sport it.
The watercolor peony tattoo can be either very subtle like a contemporary art piece on the sleeve with the petals looking like they have been half brushed off. Or you could go full Da Vinci and fill up your canvas with every little detail dialed up to eleven.
Regardless of choice, the watercolor peony tattoo is a literal piece of painting on your body that would never wash away once applied.
Purple Peony Tattoo
In nature, purple peonies are considered the rarest color of their kind. And the tattoos are just as sought after as they are exclusive. The purple peony tattoo would be the perfect wardrobe companion for all your similarly coloured clothing to match with. It also symbolizes exclusivity and individualism.
The ideally preferred place for the purple peony tattoo would be on the side of the neck. Or somewhere prominent or bold like the frontal part of your torso, or back should you happen to be a fan of spaghetti string tank tops.
Blue Peony Tattoo
The blue peony tattoo brings out that calm stoicism in the wearer just like the color the tattoo embodies. The blue peony tattoo is emblematic of devotion and reliability. If someone is loyal and true to the core and their devotion is undying, the ideal tattoo choice for that person would be the blue peony tattoo.
Colored Peony Tattoo
Do you want to make pride month an occasion that could be celebrated every day of the year with your floral tattoo in prism colors? Or do you want every variation of the peony flower ranging from the most common (pink) to the rarest (purple)? Choosing multiple coloured peony tattoos is what’s preferred in this range.
Best for covering one’s entire thigh down to their knee if they are willing to go the distance, or if they want to wear their colorful emotions literally on their whole sleeve; the coloured peony tattoos would bring out loud the love for diversity in you.
Peony and Rose Tattoo
The peony and rose tattoo symbolizes juxtaposition in its truest form. The peony flower symbolizes strength, beauty, hardship and loyalty. But in contrast so does the rose represent immense beauty. But ironically enough, it is prone to rot from the inside and its beauty is fleeting in nature due to its thorns.
This contrast in strength, beauty and frailty is clearly juxtaposed with the peony and rose tattoo combination. One serves as a pillar of strength and stability while the latter serves as the universal symbol of radiating (yet fleeting) beauty.
Snake and Peony Tattoo
The snake and peony tattoo is more along the lines of the neotraditional tattoo form. Where art meets experimentation of the modern times.
The edgier, more metal-gothic approach of the snake and peony tattoo is symbolic in a more neo-biblical way. The peony flower represents an unmoved pillar of strength whilst the snake represents the sinful distractions life throws at us to stray us away from such strong pillars every day.
And much like the Garden of Eden, it is up to the wearer to choose whether to eat the apple the snake offers, or stay stoic like the peony flower. This intense form of spiritual symbolism is best worn on sleeves or on the entire back.
Peony Arm Tattoo
Much like the sleeve and hand tattoo, the peony arm tattoo falls along the same line quite literally. The variations for the peony arm tattoo are endless when it comes to physically wearing your floral symbolism on your sleeve.
A small doodle-ish peony arm tattoo would make just as much of a statement as an intricately detailed, full sleeve one with multiple colors, layers and levels of detail. Aesthetically it looks like an adornment on a samurai’s sword arm.
Peony Butt Tattoo
Don’t be ass backwards when it comes to tattoo trends! Instead of getting behind on the times, get ahead of the grind by getting a tattoo on your behind in the absolute literal sense.
A peony butt tattoo wouldn’t symbolize any deep meaning behind it, but that is where the magic starts. It doesn’t have to mean anything! Although painful in every way and quite hard to sit on during the initial stages, a peony butt tattoo would symbolize the strength of the flower with the pain tolerance of the area it was etched on. Who doesn’t love a strong well decorated ass? (All puns intended)
Peony and Skull Tattoo
The skull tattoo is emblematic of death and serves as a celebration of the transitory nature of life and mortality itself. As well as ironically being one of the most popular emojis for internet trolls in 2024. The peony and skull tattoo combo boasts as much meaning behind it as it radiates beauty.
Preferred mostly on the back of the thighs or on the forearm, the peony and skull tattoo symbolizes that despite death, good things eventually begin to grow and bloom out of its pores. Signifying that certain things never truly die. Instead, new things begin to grow in its place in this everflowing cycle of mortality.
Peony and Koi Fish Tattoo
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Nothing says “I am perseverance itself!” than merging both the peony flower and koi fish in tattoo form. Kois are revered in Asian folklore for being resilient in the face of hardship and death to an almost supernatural nature.
A peony and koi fish tattoo is the ideal tattoo for a person with undying perseverance. Both the flower and the fish represent the triumph of hardship in the face of struggle. The tattoo also looks spectacular on any part of the body, especially in the high pain chart areas – henceforth more meaning to the strength and perseverance symbolism of the tattoo.
Etching a Monochromatic Peony Tattoo Using Visual Cues
While adding multiple colors to a peony tattoo may take repeated sessions and visits, tattooing a monochrome peony tattoo could be done in a single session albeit requiring much more effort in the lines. As the lack of color means every little detail needs spring forth vividly. As if the flower itself were to bloom from the canvas of the person’s skin.
The following video is a great way of conceptualizing how to prepare yourself mentally before getting a peony tattoo done in a single sitting. Do give it a watch for more detailed instructions. This tutorial would serve as a perfect stepping stone to getting yourself your next peony tattoo!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Getting a peony tattoo is just as tantalizing to a tattoo enthusiast as it is dilemma inducing. The range of symbols and aesthetically pleasing designs would cause confusion if one were to suffer indecision when it comes to getting their favorite floral tattoo inked onto them for the rest of their lives. If that too is your case; clear your confusion first by going through the following questionnaire to ease off your doubts before you jump right into the tattoo parlor.
Q: Are peony tattoos only symbolic in Asian culture?
Ans: Absolutely not. As a matter of fact they have been highly significant in Western art and literature since the late 1700’s. Peony flowers are used as symbolic gifts for an individual’s success. They often represent more or less the same values they mean in Asian culture and folklore. And legends of the Western Art world like Van Gogh and Monet, have depicted peonies several times in their works.
Q: How much does a peony tattoo cost?
Ans: In the world of tattoos, size matters. A small peony tattoo would cost you around the $100 range. While larger, more detailed variations of the tattoo could cost upwards of $500. Peony tattoos are intricately detailed by nature down to the fine lines, which is why the prices tend to go up as more details are incorporated into the tattoo.
Conclusion
Peony tattoos are utterly mesmerizing to look at because they derive their beauty and inspiration from a source that is mythically revered throughout history. Whether it be samurais, poets, or artists of the highest caliber in all cultures and folklore, they all looked at this flower with an almost religious admiration.
Floral tattoos themselves will never go out of fashion, and peony tattoos are in a league of their own. They are aesthetically pleasing even without the deeply rooted symbolism. So even if you were to get one without any meaning or color, a peony tattoo would still be the ideal choice for a floral variation.
Whether you want to carry that symbolism on your sleeve, wear it on your chest or quite literally sit on it with your butt, the peony tattoo is here to stay, persevering and strong in its versatility just like the flowers it’s inspired by.
