Spiritual Tattoos

Expressing the Sacred Self With Tattoos

Tattooings are not only ornaments...they are not only emblems of nobility and symbols of rank in the social hierarchy: they are also messages fraught with spiritual and moral significance...not only to imprint a drawing onto the flesh but also to stamp onto the mind all the traditions and philosophy of the group.
- Claude Lévi Strauss


There seems to be a growing popularity among people of faith who are requesting tattoos that reflect their spiritual and religious beliefs. A recent survey amongst tattoo artists suggest that about one-third of the tattoos being requested are spiritual symbols and art, including crosses and detailed images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. Many first-time tattoos in particular seem to be religious or spiritually inspired tattoos.

Although there are many people ready to question whether tattoos are an appropriate way to display faith. Religious leaders say tattoos whether religious/spiritual or not — are sinful because they deface a person’s body. But people who get them and give them say the tattoos are a way to express and even share their faith with others. There is no doubt that sacred hearts and other symbols of devotion to Jesus or the Virgin Mary or symbols depicting Buddha or Hindu Gods seem to be hugely popular at the moment.

To some Buddhists tattoos of Buddha are considered disrespectful. Images of holy people are not to be reproduced on the body. Scripture also teaches us that "your body is the temple of God", and you are not to desecrate the temple and a tattoo is a desecration. According to the bible:

Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you:
I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:28

There are some who will claim that the scriptures referring to tattoos is “old law” that was speaking to people who would scar their bodies as a sacrifice for dead family members and no longer applies to modern society. Maybe we just need to move away from the out-worn concept of God as a vengeful old man sitting on a throne in heaven who gets angry when his 'subjects' do things that offend him and celebrate our religious or spiritual faith in whatever way we think is right.

Rose Tattoos

Meaning & Symbolism of Rose Tattoos

Rose tattoos have been popular for the past couple of decades. They can be both a masculine and a feminine tattoo. They were once the preserve of sailors back in the day but have since become increasingly popular amongst females as more and more females started getting tattooed.

Roses originated in ancient Persia and were historically viewed as a masculine flower, however several thousand years of cultivation produced many exquisite and beautiful variations associating it with females and love.
Greeks mythology described roses as being white until the goddess Aphrodite pricked herself on a thorns and a droplet of blood turned the blossoms red. People still attach meaning and emotional qualities to roses.

See more ideas for rose tattoos here

Meaning of Rose Tattoos

• Red roses can mean love, romantic love, and respect.
• White roses signify spiritual love, purity, innocence or secrecy.
• Bridal white means happy love.
• Yellow roses signify joy, gladness, friendship and devotion.
• Coral roses imply desire.
• Light peach roses signify modesty or friendship
• Orange roses say fascination.
• Light pink roses imply grace, gentility and admiration.
• Dark pink roses say "thank you."
• Red and yellow roses mixed together can mean congratulations
• Yellow and orange roses together imply passionate thoughts.
• Red and white roses signify unity

Dream interpretations of Roses

To see roses blooming in your dream, signifies faithfulness in love and the arrival of a much joyous occasion. Roses also symbolize love, passion, femininity, and romance, particularly if they are red roses. If you see a white rose, then it symbolizes virginity, pureness, and secrecy. It you see a yellow rose, then it refers to infidelity or jealousy.

To see withered roses in your dream, signifies death or the parting or absence of loved ones. To smell roses in your dream, denotes unimaginable happiness and pleasure.

Placement of Rose Tattoos

Roses can look good on their own or as a band around the waist / arm or even as a trailing vine. On guys they are usually entwined around a lovers name or around a sword or dagger on forearms or upper arms. On females they can be done on the chest or as a lower back tattoo.

Roses are timeless and it is hard to ever see them disapearing or becoming 'uncool' to get them done. Even still is a good idea to put some thought into what your rose tattoo design will actually look like (instead of picking some tattoo flash) and where on your body it is going to be placed before visiting the tattoo studio.

See more ideas for rose tattoos here

Old School Tattoos

Sailor Jerry Tattoos Reloaded!

Old school tattoos as they have come to be known were practiced in the earlier days of modern tattooing. The characteristics of old school tattoos are usually quite simple designs with bold outlines. Some popular old school designs are navy and armed forces symbols, pinup (calendar) girls, hearts and other designs with "ribbons" surrounding a motto, name or special date.

The birthplace was Chatham Square in New York. Samuel O'Reilly came from Boston and set up shop there. He took on an apprentice named Charlie Wagner. After O'Reilly's death in 1908, Wagner opened a supply business with Lew Alberts. Alberts had trained as a wallpaper designer and he transferred those skills to the design of tattoos. He is noted for redesigning a large portion of early tattoo flash art.

While tattooing was declining in popularity across the country, in Chatham Square in flourished. Husbands tattooed their wives with examples of their best work. They played the role of walking advertisements for their husbands' work. At this time, cosmetic tattooing became popular, blush for cheeks, coloured lips, and eyeliner. With World War I, the flash art images changed to those of bravery and wartime icons.

See More Old School Tattoos HERE

In the 1920s, with prohibition and then the depression, Chatham Square became unpopular. The center for tattoo art moved to Coney Island. Across the country, tattooists opened shops in areas that would support them, namely cities with military bases close by, particularly naval bases. Tattoos were known as travel markers. You could tell where a person had been by their tattoos.

After the second world war, tattoos became further denigrated by their associations with Marlon Brando type bikers and Juvenile delinquents. Tattooing had little respect in American culture. Then, in 1961 there was an outbreak of hepatitis and tattooing was sent further underground.

Though most tattoo shops had sterilization machines, few used them. Newspapers reported stories of blood poisoning, hepatitis, and other diseases. The general population held tattoo parlors in disrepute. At first, the New York City government gave the tattoos an opportunity to form an association and self-regulate, but tattooists being independent as they are were not able to organize themselves. A health code violation went into effect and the tattoo shops at Times Square and Coney Island were shut down.

For a time, it was difficult to get a tattoo in New York. It became illegal and tattoos had a terrible reputation. Very few people wanted a tattoo then but luckily we have seen tattooing re-emerge as an accepted art form with old school tattoos being reborn into a new style called commonly known as nu skool. 

Heart Tattoos

Hearts That Cannot be Broken

Heart tattoos have been a popular tattoo choice for many decades and are back in demand with the new school style of tattoos depicting hearts as bold and bright. The heart in modern times is generally accepted as the center of feelings. It has also come to symbolize togetherness as in "unity of heart" and love of the romantic type.
However, many ancient civilizations regarded the heart as the center of intellect and intuition but modern cultures generally associate the head with thinking. Christians believed that the heart was the seat of emotions, particularly love. In Islam, the heart is seen as the spiritual centre. A heart symbol is used to replace the word 'love'.
It was also believed that the heart was the first organ to be created within a mother’s womb, and as it also the first organ to die, therefore “to love with one’s whole heart” often meant until one’s dying breath.
It was also believed that dreams came from the heart, hence the phrase “I sleep, but my heart wakes.” To dream of a heart can symbolize happiness or pain. But it can also symbolize dignity or division between two people.

Common Heart Tattoos

Heart pierced by an arrow Cupid or Eros shoots an arrow into a heart, causing the person to fall passionately in love. It shows that love can be both pleasurable and painful.

Broken heart A symbol of loss of a loved one, most often of a spurned or rejected lover. The term 'heartbroken' is used for extreme sadness and grief.

Heart with wings Can symbolize a free spirit

Sacred Heart This is a common religious tattoo and can symbolize devotion. St. John Eudes taught that the Sacred Heart is a Furnace of Divine Love. Those who desire to be united to this most loving Heart are purified, inflamed and transformed by this Divine Fire.

Heart with dagger Can represent betrayal and also bravery. This was a common tattoo amongst soldiers.

Bleeding Heart Can mean unrequited or lost love.

Placement of Heart Tattoos

For females heart tattoos are usually done on the chest area in a big, bright almost three dimensional way. They can also be done on the lower back area in a tribal tattoo style. Celtic tattoos can depict the heart in knotwork and also in the Claddagh style which is an old Irish wedding ring showing a heart held by two hands with crown sitting on top.

For guys getting heart tattoos the most common place to get them is on the arms such as a heart pierced by a dagger or sword. They can also be done on the chest in a religious sense as a sacred heart tattoo or bleeding heart tattoo.

Whatever way you look at it the heart is an ancient symbol that has come to mean many things to many people and there is no denying the power it represents in our lives. As such heart tattoos are timeless and will most likely never become dated because they hold a very personal meaning and maybe strong memories for the person getting it done.

Cherry Tattoos

Cherry tattoos are a very popular tattoo design being requested by a lot of females. There is something very feminine about cherry tattoos that has a certain allure and oozes sexuality and desire.

Even though cherry is a widely used slang term for a woman's hymen, a piece of skin which covers the opening of the vagina and, contrary to popular belief, can be broken in many ways not just sex! A cherry can also be a slang term for a virgin.

A popular placement for cherry tattoos is on a womans breast, ass or even on either side of her throat. This style of tattoo is done in a bright bold style is associated with new school style tattoos unlike the old school flat style of years ago.

If you see cherries in your dream it can symbolize honesty and truthfulness or sweetness and good fortune. To see a cherry tree in your dream can represent luck, spring, femininity, and youth.

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Bio-Mechanical Tattoos

Twisted Metal and Flesh

Bio-mechanical tattoos are basically tattoos depicting human robotics. They are a style of tattoo popularized by illustrator H. R. Giger, the designer of the creature from the Alien movies. Bio-mechanical tattoos are most commonly recognized as showing flesh intertwined with machines or mechanics.

They were popular in the late 80's and early 90's but seem to be witnessing a resurgence in interest. The majority of people requesting bio-mechanical tattoos are guys who get them done mostly on their upper arms, legs, back and wrists. They can be done as small pieces say like a gash looking into the flesh or as an entire piece on the back for example.

The most common colors for bio-mechanical tattoos are usually black and gray but colors are used to great effect in the 'android' style.

Check out more Bio-Mechanical Tattoos HERE 

Biker Tattoos

Hot Metal and Skulls 'n' Bones

When most people think of bikers they think of gang members with menacing biker tattoos. The reality is that biker gangs only represent 1% of actual bikers. We have all heard of The Nomads and Gypsy Jokers who represent the outlaw side of bikers. The ones you see whizzing past you on the freeway most likely are biker enthusiasts. Having said that the sound of fifty Harley Davidson bikes in your rear view mirror can be daunting!
Bikers have long since being misaligned in the public eye and are constantly on the receiving end of bad press. The ones you hear about are the One Percenters as they are known by biker enthusiasts. Their world is one of turf wars, conflict with police and criminal activity including the manufacturing of speed and ice.

Biker shows off his tattoos © Lord Hatred

People join bikers gangs such as the outlaw motorcycle club for many different reasons. One of the main things was the brotherhood or comradeship. It's similar to the army or anything like that, with discipline and codes of honour. The main reason seems to be freedom - the freedom of the biker lifestyle, and most of all, the freedom of the open road. All bikers crave the same thing - the pure adrenaline rush of two wheels at high speed.

The image is of freedom but the reality is of harsh discipline from the club to enforce its rules. Arthur Veno has spent 20 years studying and associating with the clubs. According to his research, new recruits are from lower-working-class or underclass backgrounds, looking for stability.

Skull tattoos ©

Those rules are things like you're not to touch another member's wife or partner, no backing out on fights, if you see one person fighting, it's got to be everybody in. No use of heroin in particular seems to be the rule. No missing 'church', which is their equivalent of their meeting, which occurs every week.

Club rules vary, but most have been adapted from those of the Hell's Angels in the US. The clubs themselves are generally not involved with criminal activities as such. There is, however, no doubt that individual members within the clubs are involved in criminal activities.

Skulls are popular tattoos for bikers © Sarah - Bristol, England

Everyone has their own perception or biker gangs whether or not that it is the right perception. A lot of people have the wrong perceptions of bikers not helped by the generally scary imagery favored by bikers as tattoos. Generally the perception of bikers as being violent thugs is one of misperception.

Biker tattoos usually depict the biker gang the biker belongs to. Skull and dice tattoos are can often be seen on bikers along with fantasy style and Norse tattoos depicting mythical creatures. As mentioned earlier it is hard to tell the difference between bikers who belong in gangs and those who are weekend enthusiasts who are retired or work in the corporate world. Just be careful when chatting to that burly dude at the bar next tim

Anchor Tattoos

Anchor Tattoos are NOT Just for Sailors

Anchor tattoos are a popular style of tattoos that have been reclaimed in the past few years. Like swallow tattoos, anchors were originally the preserve of sailors. Nowadays it is not uncommon to see a chick sporting an anchor tattoo on her neck or chest.
Anchors embody the safety, hope and salvation for most people and is probably the reason for their popularity and peoples need for stability in a world gone mad.

Anchor tattoos typify old school cool. © Megan - New York, USA

Anchor tattoos seem to be popular with those into Rockabilly or 1950's style and are usually tattooed on either side of the neck for girls and mostly on upper arms or forearms for guys.

To dream of an anchor is favorable to sailors, if seas are calm. To others it portends separation from friends, change of residence, and foreign travel. Sweethearts are soon to quarrel if either sees an anchor.

Anchor and dagger tattoos look can cool on females. © Steph - Nashville, USA