Celtic Tattoos

Celtic knots (aka mystic knot, endless knot) work really well as a tattoo design or part of a tattoo. The symbolic meaning of Celtic knots is not really clear, although some people attribute magical powers to the knots.

For me, Celtic knot tattoos symbolize eternity because the lines of the knotwork form an endless loop, without a beginning or an end.

The Celtic trinity knot is a very simple, but powerful symbol and very suitable for a tattoo. It is a triangle knot, the 3 corners have various meanings:

Celtic Trinity Knot Tattoo

• Christian: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• Pagan: Mother, Crone and Maiden
• New age: Mind, body and spirit

Celtic Butterfly Tattoo

Celtic butterfly tattoos are quite popular nowadays as well. Butterflies have a similar symbolic meaning in many cultures:

• The butterfly is a symbol for rebirth and transformation. Just like a beautiful butterfly comes out of his cocoon, the person who wears a butterfly tattoo has gone through some difficult times and is ready to face the world again.
• In some cultures the butterfly is the personification of someone's soul.

The Celtic butterfly tattoo is often quite small and feminine looking, making it appropriate for the ankle or shoulder. The butterfly is also often seen as a lower back tattoo, adorned with Celtic swirls.

Celtic Cross Tattoo

The Celtic cross (aka Irish cross) is the standard Christian cross, but with a circle around the intersection. Intricate knotwork adorns the cross, making it both simple (in its overall design) and complex at the same time.

The legend goes that the Celtic cross was "designed" by Saint Patrick who was trying to convert the pagan Irish people. The Celtic cross is a combination of the Christian cross and the sun, which was worshipped by the druids.

The Celtic cross is also used by neo-fascist movements, albeit in a very simple design and without ornamentations.

The meaning of Celtic crosses is not really clear and varies a lot:

• For Catholic people the circle is a symbol of eternity, for them the Celtic cross symbolizes the infinity of God's love.
• In the ancient world of the druids, the Celtic cross was a phallic symbol.
• For neo pagans the Celtic cross is the symbol for the sun.

A Celtic cross is a popular choice for the upper arm – a great spot in general to put a tattoo, as that location makes it easy to hide it and show it, as you wish.

Also popular (amongst neo pagans) is the ankh cross tattoo in the Celtic style. The ankh cross is Egyptian in origin and has many meanings as well. Go here to learn more about ankh tattoos

Lower Back Butterfly Tattoo

Lower back butterfly tattoos are usually larger, more stylized butterfly images that stretch across the lower back, one of the most popular places to get a tattoo nowadays (but also known as a tramp stamp).

Actually, butterfly tattoos lend themselves very well to this location. The butterfly image is very symmetrical, so the middle can easily be lined up with the spine, the wings extending on either side. This makes the butterfly wings longer and more stretched out than they would be in nature, but the image can be very attractive.

Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly tattoos are primarily female tattoos and they come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. Insects are not the most popular tattoo design, except for butterflies and dragonflies. Butterfly tattoos are the 4th most popular tattoo design, after tribal, star and cross tattoos and they are probably the most popular feminine design.

The butterfly tattoo is pretty and feminine without being overly flowery or sentimental. Butterflies have always been an inspiration for visual arts, such as the hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt a couple of thousand years ago.

Butterfly tattoos are a good choice for a first tattoo because the design doesn't need to be big to be striking. A small butterfly tattoo (life sized or smaller) on an ankle or shoulder can be a pretty and graceful accent to your natural beauty.

Butterfly tattoos can have a lot of meanings, depending on the person or culture. Here's an overview:

• Often a butterfly tattoo is a symbol of rebirth and transformation: the "ugly" and slow caterpillar transforms inside its cocoon to the beautiful creature that a butterfly is. Having a tattoo of a butterfly symbolizes a new life, a new beginning after having gone through some rough times.
• Delicate beauty: a butterfly is small and very delicate, but also very colorful and full of beautiful details. On the other hand, it is not so delicate like most people think: contrary to the widespread belief, you can't kill a butterfly by touching its wings.
• A butterfly tattoo can be a symbol of freedom.
• In some cultures, like the Christian, the butterfly symbolizes a person's soul. The Greek word for butterfly for example, also means soul.
• In Japan they believe that if a butterfly flies into your guestroom, the person you love the most will come to you soon.
• Also in Japan, a large swarm of butterflies is seen as a bad omen.
• The Russian word for butterfly resembles the word for grandmother.
• In China, two butterflies fluttering together are a symbol for love.
• In some cultures it means good luck when a butterfly lands on you. Imagine the luck you'll be having when you have one on you permanently.
• The phrase "having butterflies in your stomach" is a way of saying you are in love (or just very very nervous).
• For the ancient Aztecs, butterflies were the souls of deceased warriors or women who died while giving birth.
• For some people a butterfly means peace.
• And for some people the butterfly resembles a woman's genitals

Female Tattoo

Female tattoos – or tattoos that are feminine in design, and are usually favored by women or girls – are becoming more and more common.

For the first fifty or sixty years after tattooing became commonplace and even mainstream in modern society, few women got tattoos – in fact, those that did were the exception and usually a touch eccentric or rebellious.

All that changed about twenty years ago when tattooing became more socially acceptable, largely due to the many celebrities who publicly sported tattoos. Some of these were women, and so the female tattoo became more common and acceptable. Nowadays most people find female tattoos sexy and attractive, they certainly aren't offensive anymore.

That having been said it’s still true that more men than women get tattoos and it’s even true that there is a little element of social rebellion inherent in a woman’s decision to get a tattoo, although this is less and less the case, tattoos are more like a fashion item these days.

However, female ink is no longer shocking, and we no longer jump to conclusions about a woman’s moral character based on whether or not she has a few tattoos!

The Hawaiian Flower Tattoos

Tattoos incorporating flower designs – as a lot of Hawaiian tattoos do – don’t appeal to everyone, though it should be noted that Hawaiian tattoos are not particularly feminine despite their floral components.

The most popular Hawaiian flower tattoo design is without any doubt the Hibiscus (t he yellow variant of the Hibiscus flower is the state flower of Hawaii). Common Hibiscus colors are yellow, red, pink, white and purple.

Another popular Hawaiian tattoo design is the orchid tattoo, especially ghost orchid designs. Ghost orchids are very beautiful flowers and rather peculiar. Orchids are an endangered species, what makes the symbolic meaning of orchid tattoos something like "rare beauty".