Caduceus Tattoos
Caduceus Tattoos
(meanings at-a-glance):
- Healing
- Renewal
- Life
- Vitality
- Harmonization
- Unification
- Integrity
- Authority
- Health
- Circulation
- Honor
- Travel
- Protection
- Fair trade
- Commerce
- Transcendence
- Dualism
- Magic
- Wisdom
- Equilibrium
- Fertility
- Transformation
Caduceus tattoos should not to be confused with the Staff of Asclepius tattoos. Even though both have come to be known as symbols of healing and the medical field, the caduceus is much more dynamic in its meanings (as you will see while comparing the at-a-glance symbolism between the two tattoos).
At its core, caduceus tattoos are symbolic of unification of opposites: Male/Female, Yin/Yang, Light/Dark. The harmony of dual forces is seen by the opposing snakes wrapped around the staff.
Themes of healing, homeopathy, nature and holistic approaches to health are captured in the serpents too. Snakes in ancient Greece, where this symbol originates, were symbolic of transformation.
The shedding of the serpents’ skin is symbolic of slipping off the old self (illness) and moving freely in the fresh, newly healed self (wellness).
The wings of caduceus tattoos symbolize higher thoughts, higher mind, high integrity and the intent to serve others in a higher capacity.
The staff or center rod in the caduceus symbol represents power, unification, and connection between heaven and earth (as well as the point of focus between duality). The staff is the connection between high and low (thought and body) and facilitates easy communication between the two.
Caduceus is a symbol of messengers in myth such as the Greek Hermes (Mercury in Roman myth) because the center staff conveys transportation of energy between mind and body (heaven and earth, male and female, shadow and light, etc.).
Deities who adopt the caducues include:
- Hermes (Greek): Travel, Commerce, Trade, Speed, Messenger
- Mercury (Roman): Speed, Intelligence, Youthfulness, Health
- Anubis (Egyptian): Afterlife, Spirit, Protection, Preservation
- Baal (Phoenician): Fertility, Abundance, Agriculture, Leadership
- Ishtar (Babylonian): Fertility, Sensuality, Military, Love, Passion
- Isis (Egyptian): Magic, Femininity, Motherhood, Fertility, Protection, Beginnings, Nature
For more information on this subject:
Caduceus Symbolic Meaning (full article)
