Tattoo Design Ideas: Celtic Design Tattoos

Although the orgins of the Celtic people and their intricate artwork is somewhat shourded or hidden by the fog of time there nonethless has developed a beautiful and intricate set of artwork that today has become very popular as a subject for tattoos. Celtic designs tattoos are rsing in popularity and their beauty is just stunning. If you are interested in Celtic design and esepcailly Celtic tattoo then read on to learn more.

WIth the sharp rise in popularity of tattoos and body are in the recent years Celtic tattoo designs have also risen in populiarty. Tattoos have become main stream in a big wa. Just think about it we have Maimi Ink, LA Ink and other tattoo reality series on television. With the mainstreaming of tattoos and body art into our culture Celtic tattoos have become on of the favored designs of choice. It is no mystery why these are so popular. They are most often done in black color withs ome shading and represent a bold strong line at the same time as being intricate and very beautiful.

The Origins of Celtic Tattoos

It is believed that Celtic designs and tattoos trace their orgins back to a tribe that lived along the British Isles called the Picts. Most historians believe that the Picts tattooed themselves by puncturing their skin with hot sticks to create intricate and permenant designs on their flesh. Later on they started to use a blue pigment derived from the leaves of a plant they called the Woad plant.

These designs developed themselves over time to have a deep religious and symbolic meaning. Celtic designs and symbolism were derieved from a mix of Druid and Christian religions. The Celts did not have a written language and instead passed on their traditions and beliefs orally. When the first Christian missionaries and monks came into the British Isles they introduced a written language to the Celtic people. At this time the monks adopted many of the exsisting Celtic belifs, and symbols into the Christian religion. This was done in order to bridge the gap between the Druid beliefs and those of the Christians. Much of this work was preserved by the Christian monks in the "Books Of Kells" which is today housed at Trinity College in Ireland. Thus the early tattoo designs of the Picts developed over time and intermixed with Christian beliefs to form what we know of as Celtic designs today. The Celtic Cross and Shamrock of two such designs that have endured the test of time.

One of the most popular and most enduring Celtic designs is the Celtic Cross. The symbolism here is obviously Christian and comes from the Cross of Jesus. These are beautiful crosses done with interlacing lines of Celtic knots.

The Celtic tattoo designs that most people get today have very little tie in with Druid beliefs anymore or much of their symbolism has beenlost or obscured over time. This has left very intricate and beautiful tattoo designs that have some religious significance but much of the original meaning is left obscured by time.

The Celtic Knot

Most Cletic designs start with a basic knot structure. These are beautiful knots of intertwined lines that cross over each other repeadtely to create a beautiful design. These knots do not have a beginning or an end but are an endless knot that goes on for ever and ever. These interlacing lines are belived to represent the spiritual with the daily realm of life which become entangled with each other.

Celtic Animal Designs

The wide vareity of knots avalible provide an endless uspply of desgin possibilities. In fact the knotwork has even been used to represent animals, humans and just about anything else the artist wishes to make out of a Celtic knot.

Another very popular design motif are Celtic Armband tattoos. These encricle the upper arm in a band of Celtic Knotwork interlacing patterns.

Another popular Celtic design motif is a heart. Celtic heart tattoos are again intertwined knotwork in the shapeof a heart. Typically done in black color only but can also be done in color as one of the example to the rightdisplay. These are beautiful designs and a great idea fora ehart tattoo. These are especially popular among women and make a great tatoo that can go almost anywhere, including upper back, lower back, shoulder and so on.

One of the popular themes among Celtic tattoo designs is the Tree Of Life. This probably dates back as a symbol to the Druidic religion which was a nature based religion. Tree oftenrepresent life which grow from a seed into a tree much like a human bieng grows from a seed into a person. Trees are often seen as a life giving plant and are revered in many naturalistic religions. There is also a connection with Christianity in the Adam and Eve story in which Eve eats the fruit from a tree.