Grim Reaper Tattoo Designs


Grim reaper tattoos are for people who have accepted death as a reality of life and respect it as the ultimate leveler or dare to challenge it. Personally, I have always been intrigued with this symbolism of the reaper as a messenger of impending doom and a manifestation of death itself. Today tattoo designs featuring the death messenger have become increasingly popular among people who indulge in body art and like to symbolize what they believe, in the form of temporary or permanent tattoos.

Symbolism

The grim reaper is always shown as a cloaked man with a skull for a face and bony hands and he carries a scythe with him, with which he reaps the harvest of souls. One of the most primordial fears of death is symbolized by him. He is the very manifestation of the fear of doom. Since medieval times, this symbolism has been around in the collective human psyche. He is supposed to be the messenger of death who rips the soul of people and transports it to the destination that it is meant for, which is either hell, heaven or a limbo. Death and especially the doubt whether there is life after death remains a mystery that humanity keeps pondering about.

The symbolism of this death merchant has equivalents in every culture and civilization that arose on Earth. Tribal designs will be different from what symbolizes death in the European mythology. To me at a certain level, as I understand it, the reaper is just doing his job and he is as helpless as we are. His grimness arises from the sorry job he is assigned which includes liberating people from their earthly bondage, while he himself is bonded for eternity.

Ideas For Grim Reaper Tattoos

Here are some designs that caught my attention.

The Pensive Reaper
The pensive reaper with his head down and thoughtful is one of the best designs that I came across. The reaper contemplating his next move makes for a great tattoo idea. This tattoo design with a message along with it will make for a great tattoo.

Skull Designs
Many people prefer a skull tattoo design with a close up of his grim face with hollow cavities for eyes and a bony hand warning with a finger raised. It can be a very intimidating and scary tattoo to have. Tough guys like sporting such tattoos, to project an aura of toughness. You could have a design portraying a blood thirsty reaper with blood on his scythe. That would be scary.

Cartoon Designs
Another option is going for a cartoon designs. He could be dressed in a suit instead of a cloak with scythe in hand and called the 'Trim Reaper', or he could shown to be relaxing on a beach taking a holiday. Cartoons can be crazy and you can have all sorts of funny ideas.

The grim reaper design is a tribute to our mortality and a reminder about limited time that we have here. It need not be a pessimistic attitude towards life. The reality of death and its inevitability helps us realize what we should really value in life. It can change your priorities for better. The end is inevitable, so you might as well enjoy the ride for now and value the time you have, rather than be afraid of facing it. If all this sounds very morbid, this design idea is not for you.

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