Celtic Heart Tattoos

A Quick Lesson in Celtic Symbolism

People in the field of identifying artwork symbolism are not quick to specify the exact imagery of many Celtic designs, on or off the skin. The basic elements of Celtic design tattoos fall into clear cut categories, including spirals, knots and crosses, though it is most common to see two or three combined into one design. Hearts are not uncommon in Celtic artwork, and appear in a more modern form in tattoos and contemporary art pieces. Most commonly a heart interlaced with spirals and into knots also appears within and around crosses.

Modern Celtic hearts are loosely considered to be symbols of continuing love and faith as one travels through the winding landscapes of life. Spirals in the design add different meanings depending on their direction. If a spiral is open on the right side, it is considered to be moving in a clockwise direction with the movement of the sun and is blessing of good luck. If the spiral is open to the left, against the direction of the movement of the sun, it is a symbol of one's harmony with the Earth. Spirals in heart tattoos will usually be grouped in threes or fours within the design, the former being a symbol of the Holy Trinity and the latter of the four directions: north, east, south and west.

A heart that is gently clasp by two hands on either side with a crown on top is the Claddagh. This symbol of love and loyalty is used frequently in Celtic tattoos and is commonly seen in jewelry as rings. There are many types of Claddagh designs that have subtle and not so subtle variations.

Celtic Heart Tattoos Online

To look and think before you ink, be sure to check out different designs and see how others have displayed Celtic heart tattoos. A website such as Rank My Tattoo gives visitors the opportunity to view real tattoos on real bodies. If your eyes desire to see more ideas on "paper," there are lots of places you can explore on the Internet.

The websites Lucky Fish Art and Tattoo Johnny contain page after page of Celtic heart designs, in both full color and black and white, that one can even download, print, and then bring to the tattoo parlor.

Some tattoo artists even advertise custom tattoo designs on sites such as tattooartists.org and tattooartists.com. With galleries upon galleries of tattoo designs from different artists, there are thousands of images to view.

Custom Celtic Tattoos Offline

If walking into a tattoo shop and choosing from whatever that particular boutique has displayed is not your pleasure, ask if their artists are available to customize a design for you. Often a trip through the yellow pages can provide you with tattoo shops and artists in your area, but the best way to find a good artist is to ask around. People usually love to talk about their tattoos, so don't be afraid to ask who designed it for them or where they had their work done.

If a custom design is what you want, you will also want an artist who catches your attention. Even if you just want to touch up and add to a design you previous plucked from a wall, skilled tattoo artists can add custom touches to personalize it any way you wish. After you've previewed a particular tattoo artist's work, be sure that you are very expressive in your ideas of what you want in your custom Celtic heart body art.

The Evolution of the Celtic Heart

Since the design of the Celtic heart is so new in human history, it will take some time for this symbol to take root in our world culture. Whether it is etched into metal, laid out in stones or sewn into fabric, this design's most unique and extreme application into the creative world will most certainly be the display of the Celtic heart tattoo.