Hourglass Symbolism
Meaning behind the hourglass: Time, Balance, Transience, Temporal/Temporary, Cycles, Inevitability, Life/Death, Nature
If it seems you are forever waiting for things to come, an hourglass is a reminder that this too shall pass - change is inevitable.
An hourglass is symbolic of the balance seen in the Universe.
Ancient alchemists had similar ideas about the symbolic meaning of the hourglass. They pictured one half of the glass as symbolic of the sky. The lower half representing the earth. Energy passes between the two and expresses a pervasive feel of balance, duality, and the infinite cycles of life passing between experiences of mundane and ethereal.
Hourglasses can also represents the Divine Feminine and how power can be derived through specifically female cycles of life. From maiden, mother to old lady and beyond.
The hourglass can reveal two triangles: One erect and one inverted, each meeting tip-to-tip. This is a common motif of male (erect) and female (inverted). Conveying the timeless connection between male/female. It expresses the endless dance between polarity (yin/yang, light/dark, creation/destruction, moon/sun, etc).
An expression of "tempus fugit" (time flies)
To someone serving life in prison - no parole the hourglass tattoo signifies the inevitability of his situation. The tattoo indicates the unchangeable truth of the future. There is only time.
