Octopus tattoo: best ideas and meaning

Octopus tattoo: meaning and symbolism

The octopus is among the most intelligent creatures in the sea – it opens screw tops, uses tools and changes the colour and texture of its skin in an instant. In tattooing it therefore stands for adaptability, resourcefulness and the ability to get out of a hard spot by a route other than force.

Eight arms read as versatility, the capacity to handle several things at once. To that is added the link with the deep and with what lies below the surface – the unconscious, secrets, the other side of things. In Japanese tradition the octopus also has its own iconography tied to waves and the sea.

Modern meaning and personal reading

Most people today choose the octopus as a symbol of their own adaptability – after a change of job, a move, or a period that required a lot of bending without breaking. The second reason is simply a relationship to the sea and to diving.

An addition shifts the meaning: a ship or an anchor lead to the nautical tradition, a skull and tentacles to a horror or Lovecraftian reading, flowers and waves to the Japanese treatment.

Styles and design variations

The strongest fit is Japanese style and blackwork – the body set on a shoulder or shoulder blade with tentacles led along the arm, ribs or thigh. This motif is designed directly onto the body, because its whole appeal is in how it flows around the shape.

Black and grey realism shines on the detail of the suckers and skin texture. Dotwork and geometry offer a more modern, graphic reading, and fine line works for small octopuses on the forearm or wrist. Colour enters sparingly – usually a red or blue accent.

Our artists like to experiment, and they will build you something that still makes sense to you years from now.