If in ancient times only shamans, leaders and other significant persons applied drawings to their bodies, today this is done by ordinary people who want to decorate their body with a meaningful design. Let's figure out what a bat tattoo means and what kind of energy it has. To many people, these nocturnal animals are similar, and therefore the associations with them are negative. Now let’s figure out whether the image of a bat has positive interpretations.
What does a bat tattoo mean?
Before Christianity arose in Europe, these animals were associated with the other world, so they were used in various magical rituals. In Hinduism, images of a bat are considered to be a sign of the Devil. In Ancient Greece and Rome, this nocturnal animal was revered for its good eyesight and excellent reactions. That is why another meaning of a tattoo with the image of a bat arose - it is a symbol of insight and vigilance. The Chinese consider such a pattern on the body to be a good sign, associating it with good luck and longevity.
Residents of some European countries have their own meaning for girls and men - this is a symbol, because they believe that these animals can feel and perceive the forces of the universe. After the release of the film “Batman”, it became popular to apply the image of mouse wings on the body, and such a design personifies the nobility and courage of a person.
For the fair sex, a bat tattoo is a symbol of mystery, and it can also mean a desire to discover a magical gift in oneself. When figuring out what a bat tattoo means, it is worth saying that such a design on the shoulder serves as a kind of indication of the cleanliness and neatness of a woman. This is due to the fact that these animals are very clean. Since bats can stick well to any surface, in Bulgaria tattoos with its image are considered a symbol of good luck and success.
In Chinese, the name of a bat sounds like Bian Fu, and the word for “happiness” also sounds like Fu, so the image of a bat means happiness, good luck. This is why the image of a bat has become so popular and can be compared to the image of a dragon in frequency of use. Another name for a bat is bat, but I don’t like this name because nothing useful can be extracted from it for feng shui.
Bats can cling to small uneven surfaces and rough walls, which is why in Bulgaria they are called bats. Maybe this is where the belief came from that something good will definitely stick to the owner of such a talisman, although it is very far from Bulgaria to China and it is unlikely that the Bulgarian belief is known in China.
According to Chinese legend, there are silver bats that live for a thousand years, so their image is a talisman of longevity. Such silvery bats, living in stalactite caves and feeding on what has grown on the stalactites, acquire medicinal value and there is also a legend that if you manage to catch and eat such a mountain bat, you will live to a ripe old age. According to another legend, if bats have settled in a house, good luck has come to the house and they cannot be driven away. To be honest, legend is legend, but personally I don’t want to follow these legends and I don’t drool when I see pictures of bats, and I’ve never seen them alive, in the wild.
In ancient China, a bat embroidered on an official’s clothes emphasized his high status, and then the mouse was embroidered in red. And now this is a very common element of design on fabrics. Nowadays in China, the bat (like many other symbols) is a very common symbol of good luck and wealth.
A bat is always depicted with open wings, otherwise it cannot be distinguished from other small animals. On many talismans, the bat is depicted upside down because it sleeps by hanging upside down.
As with other feng shui good luck symbols, the principle of “the more the merrier” works for mice, so two mice means double the luck. The photo below shows the Shuang Fu talisman - double happiness. You can see two mice on it - above and below.
The five mice represent the five types of happiness - health, wealth, luck, long life and equanimity. (or five blessings - longevity, wealth, health, virtuous life, natural death). There are images of five bats interlocking with their wings, and then this is a symbol not for something specific good, but for everything good, and such a symbol protects the whole family from illness and injury.
Oddly enough, there are images of four bats in combination with images of “good” hieroglyphs.
It is believed that the image of a bat is especially effective in combination with other symbols of various types of luck. Sometimes a mouse is depicted on two peaches.
The combination of images of a mouse and a crane symbolizes a long and happy life. There are images of a mouse along with a swastika and the hieroglyph “Longevity” and this means a long life in joy and prosperity. Five bats are depicted on Shaw's talisman, which is an image of the hieroglyph Shaw - Longevity combined with a swastika, crosses and bats.
Russian military intelligence is the most closed structure of the state, the only intelligence service that has not undergone any significant changes since 1991. Where did the “bat” come from, which for many years served as the emblem of military intelligence of the USSR and Russia, and even after the official replacement with a carnation with grenades, did not leave the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Russia?
The birthday of Russian (in those days, Soviet) intelligence is considered to be November 5, 1918. It was then that the Revolutionary Military Council approved the structure of the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, which included the Registration Directorate, which was then the prototype of today’s GRU.
Just imagine: a new department was created from the fragments of the Imperial Army, which in one decade (!!!) acquired one of the largest intelligence networks in the world. Even the terror of the 30s, which, of course, was a blow of enormous destructive force, did not destroy the Intelligence Directorate. The leadership and the scouts themselves fought for life and the opportunity to work in every way. A simple example: today Richard Sorge, who has already become a legend of military intelligence, and then a resident of the intelligence department in Japan, simply refused to return to the USSR, knowing that this meant death. Sorge referred to the difficult situation and the impossibility of leaving the position vacant.
The role played by military intelligence in the Great War is invaluable. It was almost impossible to imagine that the intelligence department, which had been destroyed for years, would completely outmaneuver the Abwehr, but today this is an established fact. Moreover, we are talking here about military intelligence, and about agents, and about Soviet saboteurs.
For some reason, a little-known fact is that the Soviet partisans are also a project of the intelligence department. The detachments behind enemy lines were created by career RU officers. The local fighters did not wear military intelligence emblems only because it was not advertised at all. The theory and methodology of guerrilla warfare was laid down in the 50s and became the basis for the created GRU special forces. The basics of training, methods of warfare, attention to speed of movement - everything is in accordance with science. Only now special forces brigades have become part of the regular army, the range of tasks performed has expanded (the nuclear threat is a priority), special weapons and uniforms are being introduced, which are a source of special pride and a sign of belonging to the “elite of elites” - the symbols of military intelligence.
Created and trained to penetrate the territories of aggressive states, GRU Spetsnaz units often participated in carrying out tasks far from their main profile. Soldiers and officers of the GRU special forces were involved in all military operations in which the Soviet Union took part. Thus, many units conducting combat operations were reinforced by military personnel from various reconnaissance brigades. Although these guys no longer served directly under the emblem, as you know, there are no former special forces soldiers. They remained the best in any of the combat specialties, be it a sniper or a grenade launcher and many others.
November 5 acquired its “open” status only on October 12, 2000, when Military Intelligence Day was established by order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 490.
The bat once became the emblem of military intelligence - it makes little noise, but hears everything.
“Mouse” has been on the chevrons of GRU special forces soldiers for a very long time; they say that the first here was the 12th ObrSpN. For a long time, all this was unofficial, but with the end of the USSR era, the view of the “separation of duties” in the armed forces changed. Elite military units began to introduce appropriate insignia, and new official symbols of military intelligence were approved.
In 1993, when domestic military intelligence was preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its creation. For this anniversary, someone who is fond of heraldry from among the GRU1 employees decided to present a gift to his colleagues in the form of new symbols. This proposal received the support of the head of the GRU, Colonel General F.I. Ladygina. By that time, as is known, the Airborne Forces, as well as the Russian contingent of peacekeeping forces in Transnistria (the letters “MS” on a blue rectangular patch) had already acquired their own officially approved sleeve insignia. We do not know whether the “heraldists-intelligence officers” and their superiors knew about this or not, but they nevertheless circumvented the law. In the second half of October, the GRU prepared a draft report from the Chief of the General Staff addressed to the Minister of Defense, with a description and drawings of two sleeve insignia attached: for military intelligence agencies and special-purpose military units. October 22 F.I. Ladygin signed it “by hand” from the Chief of the General Staff, Colonel General
M.P. Kolesnikov, and the next day the Minister of Defense, Army General P.S. Grachev approved the descriptions and drawings of the sleeve insignia.
So the bat became a symbol of military intelligence and special forces units. The choice was far from accidental. The bat has always been considered one of the most mysterious and secretive creatures operating under the cover of darkness. Well, secrecy, as we know, is the key to a successful intelligence operation.
However, in the GRU, as well as in the intelligence departments of the branches of the armed forces, districts and fleets, the sleeve insignia approved for them was never worn for obvious reasons. But its numerous varieties quickly spread throughout military, artillery and engineering reconnaissance units and units, as well as anti-sabotage warfare. In special-purpose formations and units, various versions of sleeve insignia, made based on the approved design, were also widely used.
Each military intelligence unit has its own unique symbols, these include various variations with a bat, and some specific sleeve patches. Very often, individual units of the Special Forces (Special Forces) troops use predatory animals and birds as their symbol - here everything depends on the geographical location and the specifics of the tasks performed. In the photo, the emblem of military intelligence 551 ooSpN symbolizes the wolf squad, which, by the way, was revered by intelligence officers back in Soviet times; perhaps it was second in popularity after the “mouse”.
It is believed that the red carnation is “a symbol of perseverance, devotion, inflexibility and determination in achieving one’s goals,” and the three-flamed grenade is “a historical sign of the grenadiers, the most trained military personnel of elite units
But starting in 1998, the bat began to gradually be replaced by a new symbol of military intelligence, the red carnation, which was proposed by the famous heraldist Yu.V. Abaturov. The symbolism here is very clear: carnations were very often used by Soviet intelligence officers as an identification mark. Well, the number of petals on the new emblem of military intelligence is five types of intelligence (ground, air, sea, information, special), five continents on the globe, five extremely developed senses of an intelligence officer. It initially appears on the insignia "For Service in Military Intelligence". In 2000, it became an element of the large emblem and the new sleeve insignia of the GRU and, finally, in 2005, it finally occupied a central place on all heraldic insignia, including sleeve patches.
By the way, the innovation initially caused a rather negative reaction among soldiers and special forces officers, but when it became clear that the reform did not mean the eradication of the “mouse,” the storm subsided. The introduction of the new official combined arms emblem of military intelligence did not in any way affect the popularity of the bat among the soldiers of the GRU army formations; even a superficial acquaintance with the culture of tattoos in the Special Forces troops is enough. The bat, as one of the main elements of military intelligence symbolism, was established long before 1993 and will probably always remain so.
One way or another, the bat is an emblem that unites all active and retired intelligence officers; it is a symbol of unity and exclusivity. And, in general, it doesn’t matter who we’re talking about - a secret GRU agent somewhere in the army or a sniper in any of the special forces brigades. They all did and are doing one very important and responsible thing.
So, the bat is the main element of the symbolism of Russian military intelligence, even despite the appearance of the “carnation” it does not give up its position: this symbol today is not only on chevrons and flags, it has also become an element of soldier’s folklore.
It is noteworthy that even after replacing the “Bat” with the “Red Carnation”, not only the special forces and “pear soldiers” did not stop considering “mice” as their symbol, but also the “Bat” remained on the floor in the headquarters of the Main Intelligence Directorate, adjacent to the “Carnation” attached to the wall of the hall.
Today, the 2nd Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU GSH) is a powerful military organization, the exact composition and organizational structure of which, of course, is a military secret. Today's GRU headquarters has been operating since November 5, 2006, the facility was commissioned just in time for the holiday, it is here that the most important intelligence information is now received, and from here the command of military special forces units is carried out. The building is designed in accordance with the most modern technologies, not only construction, but also security - only selected employees can enter many “compartments” of the Aquarium. Well, the entrance is decorated with a giant emblem of the Russian military intelligence.
These animals have long been considered mysterious and sinister creatures that are associated with the afterlife. They were credited with extraordinary witchcraft abilities. Their lifestyle is partly to blame for this - they stay awake at night and live in damp, gloomy places, for example, in caves and attics of abandoned buildings.
The image of scary and dangerous creatures is associated with the repulsive appearance of bats. The bat is the only flying representative of mammals.
Bats avoid proximity to people; they prefer ecologically clean areas. Add to this the external similarity of the wings of bats with those of demons, demons and dragons. In the Irish novel Dracula, vampires turned into bats.
In many mystical works, bats inhabit the homes of witches and sorcerers. A striking example of this is Gogol’s story “Terrible Revenge.”
All this has led to the birth of a large number of legends and superstitions around these animals, many of which are still relevant today. Most people to this day believe the myths that all bats feed on human blood and deliberately bite into hair. However, in a number of countries, at different times, bats were identified not only with evil and dangerous creatures.
Some eastern peoples believed that these animals symbolized prosperity, good luck and longevity. The Indians believed that bats gave people vital energy and health.
The Japanese attributed immortality to bats; they believed that evil spirits avoided these animals. Among other things, bats were participants in various rituals aimed at healing from ailments.
The bat is a symbol of well-being
In the distant past, some peoples believed that these unusual and mystical creatures were extremely useful. Therefore, they were actively used in everyday witchcraft and rituals.
For example, with the help of various parts of the bat’s body, they were attracted to material wealth and protected from the evil eye. Their blood was used in the fight against infertility and protected against dark forces. It was believed that the bat's eyes made the owner invisible, and the dried mummy guaranteed permanent wealth and good luck.
Today they also resort to various ways of using this animal for their own benefit. So, to discover the gift of clairvoyance, develop intuition and insight, it is enough to constantly wear a figurine of a bat with open wings.
For a person who needs to improve his health or long-term success in business, a red or silver bat figurine can be used as a talisman. The figurine of a bat sitting on Chinese coins is a benevolent symbol meaning “happiness is before you.”
A figurine of two bats is a guarantor of double happiness. People who need security should pay attention to the figurine depicting five linked wings of bats. Such an amulet can also improve your financial situation.
In China, a very popular amulet depicting a bat sitting on two peaches is very popular. The Chinese are sure that this amulet brings good luck and prosperity to the family.
Sometimes such figurines are decorated with thematic hieroglyphs, which enhance the magic of the amulet. Such figurines can be carried with you as a personal amulet or placed in any corner of your home. The main thing is that you need to take your little helper seriously and try to discard the superstitions and prejudices that exist in relation to these animals.
