Frog Tattoo Symbolism

Frog Tattoo Symbolism
at-a-glance:

• Transformation
• Good luck
• Sensitivity
• Perceptive
• Renewal
• Intuitive

Some folks are completely enchanted by frogs.  My friend Julie loves them, and has the most gorgeous back piece of brilliant viridian tree frogs. 

Frogs are like little evolutional miracles transforming right under our noses.  In their one life-cycle, the whole of evolution is revealed (that is, if you take a Darwinian approach).  Whether you dig evolutionism, or you are creationist, there is no denying the frog is a marvel at transformation. 

In just a short 12 weeks, the frog will move from an exclusively all-water environment to a more liberated existence as a both land & water dweller.  The gills it used in its underwater life will be replaced with lungs as an adult.  The rudder tail it had to aid in swimming as a little nipper will drop off in adulthood.  Some really major and incredible transformations take place in frogdom.  That’s why, so often a frog tattoo is symbolic of immense and profound transitions within the owners life.  I’m talking about changes that totally change the inner and outer landscape of a person’s life.  The frog is a totem for people who have undergone such overwhelming transition. 

The frog is proof that transformation can lead to liberation.  How so?  Metaphorically, transformation allows the frog to walk in two worlds.  Through a mind-blowing self-evolution the frog emerges victor of both water and as an adult, it becomes quite adept at land life too.  This is also symbolic of adaptation.  If you feel like you are treading water in certain areas of your life, and teetering on the land masses of other parts of your life – the frog might be a reminder that you really CAN live both worlds…you just have to be prepared to make adjustments to make it work.  You’ve got to be willing to undergo major inner changes in order for your outer worlds to become more inhabitable.  That’s what frog tattoo symbolism is best at conveying.

Perhaps this kind of symbolism is what the ancient Egyptians were tapping into when they assigned the frog as a sacred symbol of birth as well as resurrection.  They had a frog-headed goddess named Heket.  She was present at each new birth, and exhaled the breath of new life into the nostrils of each newborn Egyptian child.  I think the spirit of renewal, transformation and adaptation is passed through her breath too.  She imbues a sense of natural revolution.  She puts new humans at ease with the concept of cyclical change.

Change is a common theme of water in esoteric symbolism.  A frog’s environment is mostly water, and so therefore the frog itself is associated with symbolic attributes of water which include:

• Intuition
• Emotion
• Fluidity
• Change
• Purification

Frogs come in a myriad of colors, but we most often thing of green – this is symbolic of new growth, good health and even wealth.  Consider the color green, and those associations start to make sense: Green is the color of the heart chakra, which is connected to themes of love and health.  Green is also the color of new life we see sprouting out in the spring time – which points to abundance in growth and harvest.  Agriculturally, green is akin to income – green goodness means produce to have and sell.  In short, life is good when crops are green. 

Our Native Americans recognized these subtle connections.  They recognized the life cycles of the frog, as well as its watery realms and the color of its skin.  All these cues are symbolic in Native wisdom.  Mostly, the frog is symbolic of purification to many Native American tribes.  The Aztecs and Mayans especially linked the frog with rains – which equates to agricultural success in that region of the world.  To them, the frog was a rain bringer.  Some legends even say the frog was a rain-maker.  And so, the frog in this light would be symbolic of life – specifically, a symbol of the continutation of life.

In China and Japan the frog is considered good luck.  My friend Cinchy is from a Japanese family, and she got a frog tattoo as a symbol of good luck with her business – especially as she travels the world.  In her native country, the frog is said to be a companion to world-travelers, and will give travelers the best of luck in all their journeys.  If you do a lot of traveling (especially travel by water), and want a symbol of protection during travel – a frog tattoo might be a good one for you.

These are just some thought I’ve thrown out about frog tattoo symbolism.

I’ve written more about frog symbolism, and these thoughts might help you as you investigate the meaning of frogs for you next tattoo:

You can catch the full article on Frog Symbolism here