65 Groovy Mushroom Tattoos & Meanings

Since the beginning of time, they’ve captivated the imagination of civilizations all around the world. Everywhere around you, hidden in plain sight, encoded into art, religion, philosophy, architecture, and fairytales, there’s a secret knowledge in one of the world’s greatest mysteries known only to a select few. Mushrooms have been revered as a medicine, seen as portals to another dimension, feared and vilified by some.

A great symbol of power, magic, and the circle of life, mushroom tattoos come in various styles. Some are groovy and psychedelic, while others are more traditional or realistic looking. Some say that a mushroom represents how everything is linked together in nature. While the symbolism behind the mushroom can differ from each culture, it is ultimately up to the person wearing the tattoo to give their meaning. Some mushroom tattoo ideas come from a video game and mean nothing more than that.

Contents

1 Mushroom & Ancient Art
2 Mushroom in Chinese Culture
3 Mushroom in Egyptian Culture
4 Designing A Mushroom Tattoo
5 Mushroom Tattoo Designs & Ideas

Mushroom & Ancient Art

Cave paintings in the Sahara desert dating back to the end of the paleolithic era depict mushrooms in a shamanic context. Similar rock paintings in Spain around 6000 years ago suggest that people used mushrooms during certain religious rituals.

Some researchers believe that the use of psychedelic mushrooms may have even led to the invention of painting more than 40,000 years ago. This belief comes in part from the common occurrence of patterns known as Turing instabilities by prehistoric artists thousands of miles away from one another who never met. These spiraling swirling patterns are common hallucinations after the ingestion of psychoactive substances.

Mushroom in Chinese Culture

The earliest direct empirical reference to psychedelic mushrooms comes from the record of diverse matters by Zhang Hua. Written in 290 CE, this manuscript, also known as The Bowu Zhi, is not a materia medica. Instead, it is a document of supernatural phenomena in the natural wonders of ancient China.

Mushroom in Egyptian Culture

In ancient Egyptian art, there are images of various crowns. Some researchers believe that these represent mushrooms, and wearing such headwear was indicative of having achieved enlightenment via the mushroom. Only the higher class could experience this at that time.

Some have even argued that the Egyptian Ankh (symbol of life) is a representation of mushrooms. Though there is no definitive evidence suggesting that this is so, imagery shows the Ankh being fed to the god Osiris the God of spiritual rebirth.

Other Egyptian hieroglyphs share a striking resemblance with hallucinogenic mushroom species as well. These parasols shaped carvings typically referred to as an unidentified plant by mainstream Egyptologists. In the Pyramid Texts these refer as a golden plant with magical properties used only in the gods’ most sacred celebration.

Designing A Mushroom Tattoo

Mushrooms are a great way to incorporate color into a tattoo. The artists often have fun with mushrooms’ coloring because they are whimsical and playful, and the color looks fantastic when finished. They look cartoonish and may have human attributes.

Having a mushroom tattoo will often strike interest in those around you since mushrooms are not a very common tattoo design.