Welsh Celtic Tattoos, Part 2

Posted on October 3, 2009
Filed Under Tattoo History, Tattoo Meanings | Leave a Comment

We continue to talk about Welsh Celtic tattoos which now face a real revival and are extremely popular. They are abstract, paradoxical, dreary and what’s more important - sacral. Last time we spoke about the well-known Celtic Cross.

Celtic knotwork symbolizes close ties between Life and Place of a human being in the Universe, and has different meanings: Trinity knot stands for the Holy Trinity (now) or means the triplicity of Celtic gods and goddesses; Love knot made of the interlaced symbols of infinity shows the natural unity of two people; and a Spiral Celtic tattoo tells us about the inner state of a person who wears it, about his desire to achieve mental equilibrium.

Celtic Dragon Tattoos

Dragon tattoo design goes back to the times of King Arthur Pendragon, the king from the legends of King Arthur, who ordered to draw a Celtic dragon on his armor, for dragon was a symbol of sovereignty, royal power, wisdom and victory.

Present-day dragon tattoos usually depict a winged creature, but traditionally Celtic dragon is a serpent encircled with classic knotwork. Celtic dragons don’t have wings; they walked on the ground and left tracks known as dragon lines which were believed to conduct cosmic powers. The points of their intersection are the places of concentration of power. Druids searched for such places and erected megaliths there, one of them is Stonehenge.

Celtic Sun Tattoos

The sun was the main object of worshiping among the Celts. The eight-point Celtic sun is a symbol that is difficult to interpret due to the contradictory information. All depends on a myth you find. In one of the Druid myths the Sun symbolized Taranis, the Celtic god of sun, or Belenus, also a god of sun who like Apollo drove the sun across the sky it a chariot. What is in common is that the sun and the circle symbolize the endlessness of the Universe.

Here I also would like to mention one more popular Celtic tattoo design, the Labyrinth, a symbolic representation of way that leads us to our inner world and to spiritual basis of everything on the Earth. It symbolizes continuity and interdependence of all the things in the Universe.

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Welsh Celtic Tattoos, Part 1: Celtic Cross

Posted on September 29, 2009
Filed Under Before You Decide, Tattoo Designs, Tattoo Meanings | 1 Comment

Though Celtic tattoos are popular nowadays it’s still difficult to trace their origin as well as the origin of the Celts themselves.

The Celts never wrote about their history so it’s known very little about their life before Greeks and Romans came to the British Isles. But scientists claim they were well-educated people, especially in terms of geography, philosophy, astronomy and of course, religion. Religion played a very important role in the Celtic community as the knowledge of many generations was transmitted by Druid priests.

Though the Celts were pushed by the invaders, they influenced them adding their contribution to the newcomers’ culture. The so-called “knotwork” design was already popular in Europe long time ago.

The Celts are a legend, because they invented exceptionally complicated and striking ornaments which still cause bewilderment. The distinctive feature of Welsh Celtic tattoos is the abundance of loops, lines and spirals in them. Endless interlacing symbolizes the never-ending cycle of life. The knots may as well stand for close ties between body and soul.

The Celtic Cross and the Celtic Knot are considered to be the most popular tattoo designs. They are usually tattooed on the breast, the beck, the forearm and round the shin. There exist also Celtic tattoos depicting animals and the most widespread among them are Celtic tigers and lions.

Let us pay a closer look to the Celtic Cross.

The Celtic Cross is a Christian cross with a cycle over the lines intersection. The most ancient Celtic crosses were cut onto the huge stones lying on the ground. Later crosses were ornamented with spirals, knotwork, animal figures, plant elements and Biblical stories. Some scientists believe that the Celtic Cross originates from a “Chi Rho” symbol that was widespread during the rule of Christian Roman Emperor Konstantin. “Chi” and “rho” are the first letters of the name of the Christ in Greek. The way the letters are put over each other reminds us about the equilateral cross in the middle of the Celtic Cross.

In the next article I will tell you about Celtic Dragons, the Celtic Sun and the Celtic Knotwork. Stay in touch, the story is to be continued..

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Frogs Tattoos with Wings: Is it Possible?

Posted on September 28, 2009
Filed Under Before You Decide, Tattoo Meanings | Leave a Comment

I still hesitate whether to say yes or not. But what is for sure is that frog tattoos are widespread and beloved by many people. Romans, Aztecs, Hindu and the Japanese endowed this symbol with spirituality and emotions, affluence and magic. Now the frog is an amusing addition to every tattoo salon collection.

The frog stands for fertility, fruitfulness and eroticism. Its habitat is wet places full of water, and water means rising from the dead and renovation of life in contrast to death. In the Vedic mythology the Great Frog of the Universe personifies the initial matter life is made of, as water is the fundamental substance of all the living beings on Earth.

So the frog can be treated as the symbol of Life and the eternal spring, amusement, games and silly wishes. Tree frog is the sign of uniqueness, creativity and non-conformist behavior.

Frogs occur in folklore of many ancient peoples. Egyptians, for instance, believed that the green frog of the Nile symbolizes a new life and longevity and strength that begins with weakness, as the frog-goddess Heketh helped woman in childbirth, guarded mothers and newborn children.

In Ancient Greece and Rome the frog was associated with amorousness and harmony in love and was the emblem of the goddess Venus (Aphrodite in Greece).

The ancient Chinese believed that frog spawn appears together with morning dew. They used to call for rain with their help and considered them to be moon creatures and the personification of Yin. A frog in the well is a personification of a narrow-minded person, but if it’s on the well it becomes the symbol of insight and awakening of perception

“Japanese” frogs brought good fortune and made travelers lucky while on the road. The Celts even worshipped the frog – it was their Mistress of Earth and could heal with water.

There’s a belief that subconsciously we perceive the frog as rather a humanlike being – just recall the fairy-tales, where frogs often appear to be spellbound good people. As to frog tattoos with wings – you can make such a feature and this will add the majestic look to your frog tattoo.

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Sagittarius Tattoo Design Ideas

Posted on September 25, 2009
Filed Under Before You Decide, Tattoo Meanings | Leave a Comment

When choosing a tattoo many people are guided by their zodiac signs, and in this article we will try to find out what tattoo design would suit a Sagittarius, a person born in a period from November 23 to December 20.

A Sagittarius is an independent, honest and active person, good at philosophy and teaching. With a patron planet the Jupiter, the sign is compared to a centaur, a creature from Greek mythology that has qualities of both a human being and a horse. A Sagittarius combines human wisdom and horse strength having inquisitive mind as well as being in a good physical form.

The Greeks connected the Sagittarius constellation with a centaur Cheiron, who was killed by Heracles with a poisoned arrow. After that Zeus placed Cheiron in the sky, where he resides up to now with his arrow directed towards Scorpio. The Babylonians also associated the constellation with a houseman as early as in the 11th century.

That’s why a Sagittarius tattoo is the one depicting a centaur archer with a bent bow ready to hit any goal from love to carrier. Or just the arrow in its flight is shown.

Sometimes you can come across such an image of Sagittarius as a centaur with 2 faces, one looking forward and the other looking back, just like the Roman God Janus. It’s connected with the fact that the Sun is situated in the constellation in winter. So Sagittarius also symbolizes the beginning of a new year looking simultaneously in the past and in the future.

Among flora and fauna representatives gillyflower, jasmine, and beasts go together with Sagittarius.

It should be also mentioned that every tattoo has its influence, weaker or stronger, depending on the part of body it is tattooed on. A Sagittarius should have their tattoo done on thighs, buttock or coccyx. When a tattoo in its “right” place it will have a positive influence, in other cases its effect is unpredictable.