Calle Olsson

@Hogrider I'm by no means an authority on this stuff, but I'm travelling along the same road you've just started...
Part of the reason you can't find what you're looking for is because you're looking for literal or binary meanings.
Most of the images you've seen tattooed are taken from Japanese and Chinese folk tales or religious stories.
Imagine of you asked someone regarding western cultural art or tattoos:
1) "What does it mean when there's a guy hanging on cross with his arms outstretched?"
2) "What does it mean when there's a woman in blue holding a naked baby"
3) "What does it mean when the muscle-bound guy in the black mask overpowers the brightly dressed skinny man in the clown makeup.
The answers depend on your level of interest/sympathy and how abstract or literal you want to be:
1a) It's Jesus. His father, God, sacrificed him to atone for the sins of the world.
1b) The wearer has faith in a religious power higher than himself and possibly feel kinship with or sympathy for the figure and character of Jesus Christ.
1c) The wearer wants to be forgiven for past wrongdoings.
2a) It's Mary, Jesus' mother. The baby is Jesus.
2b) She's a figure of worship because some people believe she should be revered because God chose her as the vessel for his earthly offspring. Her cloak is blue because traditionally goddesses were associated with the moon and night sky. Sometimes it has stars on it. Christianity adopted this symbol to make it easier for people who held older religious beliefs to adopt the new faith.
2c) The wearer may have sympathy or empathy with the concept of being the vessel for divine power or lineage. Also this symbol can have an added element of sadness because we know the eventual sadness and loss of a mother witnessing her only son be sacrificed for the good of mankind - possibly a greater sacrifice than Jesus, some might say.
3a) It's Batman, he's fighting the Joker.
3b) Batman is a symbol of vigilante justice. He works outside of recognised laws to bring justice to a world crippled by wrongdoing.
3c) This scene is a metaphor for the darkness of repressed homosexuality and it's power to overcome the sinister flamboyance of non-hetro feelings.
etc, etc.
In short, think about what you want your tattoo to 'mean' or 'say' - tell that to a tattooer who knows his stuff and let them find a story or theme that fits your idea.
Or just pick one you like from a woodblock print.
I try to tell people all the time that western traditional tattooing has just as much symbolism and poetry but nobody will listen. It's all sex, death and the struggles of humankind.
Good luck.

Johan Svahn from immovable tattoo in sweden.

Johan Svahn from immovable tattoo in sweden.