Well why not? Ha ha! Seriously, why would you want to get a Celtic tattoo? In case you haven’t given it much thought, we’re going to look at some elements and associations that you may not have thought of yet.
Celtic tattoos obviously have something to do with the Celts, but who were they? The Celts were an Indo-European people now represented primarily by the Irish, Gaels, Welsh, and Bretons. We’ll call it the British Isles. For such a small area, there is a lot of diversity and history in the British Isles. Geography alone includes England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, not to mention the Hebridean islands off the coast of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland. When you hear people mention Celtic tattoos, they are usually referring to prehistoric designs used in decorative arts or by warriors.
Celtic art based tattoos provide you with an incredibly rich treasure trove for resourceful designs. Because these designs are fairly primitive, they tend to have less detail than a modern cartoon drawing or anime cel would, for example. This means that they can look good even in the hands of a less experienced tattoo artist. The repeating nature of the designs also means that they look good on small parts of the body like the wrist or ankle.
Celtic culture has given us the English language, which you are reading right now, along with many of the fairy tales, legends, games, songs, festivals, Protestant religion, and literature that are a pervasive part of American culture.
The primitive and archaic feeling as well as the symbolism behind Celtic tattoos makes these designs very attractive. Especially if you live in a big city, surrounded by technology, machines, and fiberglass, this connection to our former brothers and sisters reminds us that there are other ways of living and different ways of being than what is considered the modern standard of living.
Design-wise, a Celtic tattoo gives you a classic, understated look, while sending a subconscious message of association with the “rulers of the known world.” You’ve probably already figured out that you really don’t need to be from the UK to justify wearing a Celtic tattoo. If you’re from the United States, it’s quite common to have a family member who is English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh, even if you don’t look the least bit white.
Ok, so that’s a lot of the reasons people get Celtic tattoos like they’re going out of style. Now, what will your tattoo look like? There’s plenty to choose from, that’s for sure. First of all, spirals. Some of the earliest Britons were called Picts. They wore bluish tattoos or war paint in battle. We are lucky to have stone carvings from the period, showing various symbols, such as the sacred spirals, the wheel of Taranis (his version of Thor) and the tree of destiny.
Celtic knot tattoos have to rank at the top among currently popular Celtic tattoos. These designs actually come from illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages or even earlier. Illuminated manuscripts are books that were written and illustrated entirely by hand, before the printing press! When you think of someone, usually a monk, spending their entire lives developing these designs, it seems incredible that someone could create this without Google image search or Photoshop. The knots you find in Celtic tattoos usually go around the edge of the page, and are almost always seen in band tattoo designs. It can be as simple or as complex as you like.
Celtic tattoo designs, whose two main ideas are spirals and knots, can be transformed into a myriad of beautiful new designs. Some of the things that can be combined with the spiral and the knots are the Claddagh, the triangle, animals such as the boar, the bear, the griffin or the deer, the sun and the moon as part of the ancient spirituality of the Celts, or perhaps certain heraldry. devices.
Celtic tattoo designs may fit you perfectly, but whether they do or not, I hope reading this has given you some insight into their historical significance. Celtic influences are everywhere, so much so that they are an integral part of the Western world most of the time, making a Celtic tattoo a harmonious and subtle choice for your new ink.