| Sign up for our Newsletter! | |||
|
Celtic Wrist Tattoos
Celtic wrist tattoo designs and other body art (like tribal wrist tattoos) have become very popular in the past few decades. It seems more and more that the timeless beauty of these designs fit well into the art of tattoos. Typical Celtic tattoo symbols are mostly done in black and are geometrically complicated and twisted motives. Celtic tattoo designs aremostly a variety lines in complex system, represented by crosses, knots, animals, hearts and other figures.
The complexity of Celtic design reflects the complexity of nature. The use of Celtic knots in different symbols with no beginning and no end reflects the endless cycle of life. Designing an original Celtic symbol demands advanced understanding of mathematics and geometry. To be able to apply such a wrist tattoo design a tattooist has to obtain these skills or else the tattoo he or she creates will be just a bunch of lines and not a perfect geometrical symbol.
Most of the Celtic wrist tattoo symbols derived from the famous Irish Book of Kells, and were drawn by Irish monks in the early middle ages. The Celts, inhabitants of Northern Britain, and whose history goes way back to the 2nd century BC, glorified the power of life and it's creators. By their way of understanding life, the male and the female values were equal and in harmony for all times, and life itself was the driving power in the universe. Death just played a marginal role; it was just a short intermission in the forever ongoing and always changing cycle of life.
Celtic crosses, knots, animals, hearts and often a combination of these elements are frequently seen as wrist tattoos. The most commonly used color is certainly black, and these days armband style, (a tattoo that reaches across the wrist 360°) is very popular. As there are millions of Celtic tattoo designs out there, here is an overview of the various Celtic tattoo designs and their meanings to help you get started on your research, if you are looking for a Celtic wrist tattoo.
Celtic Cross Wrist Tattoo
The Celtic cross is a standard Christian cross, but with intricate knot-work, and a circle around the intersection of the two axes. Arguments over the spiritual meaning of the ancient Cross symbol go around eternally, just as the knots and the circle within the Celtic cross wrist tattoos. As an emblematic expression, the circle and the cross could not be more different. The cross is a religious and spiritual symbol while the circle is almost geometrical. The circle stands and always stood for eternity and from a religious aspect it symbolizes the endlessness love of God. The cross relates to the four Cardinal directions, or "corners" of the Earth, or perhaps to the four elements (Air, Earth, Fire and Water); while the axes symbolize the coming together of forces such as Heaven and Earth, or holy and human.
Faithful to the ancient Celtic believes the Celtic cross also symbolizes the unity of the opposite spheres: up for Heaven and down for Earth, left for male and right for female; and the circle, the perfectly closed, endless form underlines this union. The combination of these two symbols make the Celtic cross a simple (regarding its overall design) and a complex wrist tattoo design at the same time. Since the birth of this symbol, the cross has been well adopted by Christianity, but that does not mean that its ancient meanings have altogether disappeared. As a tattoo design it may have endless meanings, and may vary from person to person, but the fact that it is a design that powerfully evokes the spiritual nature of the universe will remain unquestionable. Read more about Cross Wrist Tattoos.
Celtic Knot Wrist Tattoo
Celtic knot wrist tattoos are one of the most decorative tattoo designs. They are also deeply symbolic culturally and their roots go way back for centuries. The exact symbolic meaning of the Celtic knots is not absolutely clear as of today. There are some debates about the exact origin, but most legends attribute magical powers to the knots.
Celtic knots, or also called mystic knots, or endless knots, work really well as a wrist tattoo design or as part of a wrist tattoo design composition. The complexity of a Celtic knot design is to try to echo the complexity of nature. This Celtic tattoo symbol that shows absolutely no beginning and no end, symbolize eternity and reflects the cycles of seasons, and by this: life itself.
On of the special Celtic knot wrist tattoo designs is a simple triangle knot called the Celtic trinity knot. This is a very simple, but at the same time very powerful symbol, and is also very much suitable for a wrist tattoo. The 3 corners of the triangle have various meanings:
- Pagan: Mother, Crone and Maiden
- Christian: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- New age: Mind, body and spirit
Celtic Animal Wrist Tattoo
Celtic animal figures are stylized renderings of animals that were used as illustrations in different carvings, jewelry, wood, stonework and manuscripts. Lots of animal images are integrated into the traditional Celtic art, but on of the most popular ones as a Celtic wrist tattoo design is the butterfly. The butterfly is one of the basic symbols of rebirth and transformation, and by this a butterfly wrist tattoo has the meaning of a new start, a new beginning. Just like the gorgeous butterflies when they fight their way out of their cocoon, the person who wears a butterfly wrist tattoo has gone through some difficult times in his or her life and is ready for a rebirth, a new start. Celtic butterfly wrist tattoos are extremely popular nowadays, and are one of the most fascinating designs in tattoo art. Read more about Butterfly Wrist Tattoos.
Apart from the butterflies there are many other animal images that can be found within the Celtic tattoo art. The most common one’s with their meanings:
- Celtic bear and bear claw: power
- Celtic birds: death
- Celtic dog: loyalty and good luck
- Celtic dragon: power and magic
- Celtic eagle: death
- Celtic horse: mystery and magic
- Celtic lion: strength and nobility
Celtic Heart Wrist Tattoo
A Celtic heart tattoo symbolizes the union of souls and is a good tattoo to express your devotion to your loved ones. They are also known as love knot tattoos. One of the most special Celtic heart tattoo designs is the Claddagh heart.
The Claddagh heart tattoo is one of the most meaningful symbols of all tattoo designss. It originated from Ireland, and is about 500 years old. The Claddagh heart is a composition of a heart, a hand on both side of it, and a crown on the top of the heart. The meaning of this symbol comes from the elements that it contains: hands represent friendship; the heart symbolizes love; and the crown loyalty. Women in Ireland would wear the Claddagh ring on their right hand with the heart facing outward when they were available, then turn the ring inward when they became engaged. A Claddagh heart tattoo on the left wrist means that one is happily married. Read more about Heart Wrist Tattoos.
Other elements are also often incorporated into Celtic tattoos, such as the moon, angels, stars, the sun, flames, flowers, etc., and if none of these designs appeal to you, just remember, there are countless other Celtic tattoo designs that you can look for and choose from. Celtic tattoos are very fashionable right now, and they are expected to remain so for some time. So, are you still thinking of getting a Celtic wrist tattoo but can't find "the one" you are looking for? Wrist-Tattoo.com can help! We have reviewed a lot of the web’s tattoo design collections and can tell that the ones below are by far the best ones. Whether you are looking for Celtic wrist tattoo designs or other styles, these collections will help you find the tattoo you want for the rest of your life.
|
|
|
Browse other wrist tattoo designs
Did this article help you?
If so, please share this article with your friends and sign up for our newsletter (top right corner of this page) for future updates.
If you have any suggestions on how we could improve this article, please let us know.