Floral Tattoos- Flower Power for the 21st Century

Those old enough to remember the days of Woodstock, Haight-Ashbury, and the Volkswagen microbus as the transportation of choice will also remember Peace Signs and Flower Power. There was even a 1967 hit song by Scott McKenzie with the lyrics,” If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.”

What goes around comes around, or so many a cliché lover has said, and the Flower Power of the 1960s has resurfaced again, not in hairpieces, but in tattoos. Flower tattoos have an undeniable appeal to those of gentle spirit, both male and female. But politics aside, flower tattoos are simply lovely to look at and that alone makes them a favorite for women.

Women who began flocking to the boardrooms and offices of the American business culture in the 1980s also began flocking to the tattoo parlors of America, although at first their choices were both small and discreetly positioned. All that has changed in the past twenty-five years, and the 21st century woman is willing to match any man in her choice of tattoos. Yet flower tattoos still remain the one which women most often request.

Many women choose single small flower tattoos as their introduction to the art of tattooing, and add more to it to form a garland or use it as the basis for a larger and more complex tattoo at a later date. And flower tattoos allow the freedom to choose any colors in the tattoo artist’s ink palette, whether or not they are actually found in nature. Blue roses, for instance, are extremely popular floral tattoos, and represent a striving for the impossible, because there are no naturally blue roses.

Roses, blue or otherwise, are without a doubt the most requested of all floral tattoos. The have come to symbolize everything from passionate love to eternal beauty to, when their thorns are portrayed, danger and hardship.

Hawaiian floral tattoos, on the other hand, are generally considered unisex tattoos, and are as popular with men as with women. They can include everything from the big, showy yellow Hawaiian Hibiscus to the delicate Cattleya Orchids, the blooms of which can measure anywhere from the one inch to eight inches across. Miniature Cattleyas are perfect for floral tattoos on the ankle or shoulder blade, while the larger blooms can decorate backs, arms, shoulders, legs, or any place that one wants covered in beauty.

One of the biggest appeals of floral tattoos is that they will never become outdated; and a skilled tattoo artist can even create fantasy flowers with the colors of one variety, petals of another, and leaves and stems of a third. A floral tattoo of a single bloom can be centered around the navel; floral tattoos can be vines winding around arms or legs.

Floral tattoos, 21st century style, in fact, can do anything a garden full of natural flowers can do, and much, much more!

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Tattoo Designs, Tattoos, Tribal Tattoos. Choosing Your Tattoo Design Has Never Been Easier

Tattoo Designs are something you need to think about seriously. Do not make one of the most important decisions of your life an embarrassing mistake. Your choice on tattoo designs, which will be permanently inked into your skin, has to be some sort of tattoo designs that YOU are comfortable with, one that truly rocks and makes heads turn in awe.

It can be difficult making that important decision on tattoo designs. It is something you do not want to rush then regret later on.

What you need to know about tattoo designs is that in this day and age tattoos are very common, in fact a study done in 2006 by the American Academy of Dermatology, estimated that roughly 1 in 4 people between the ages of 18 and 50 had at least one to two tattoo designs. Even with tattoos being so common, many people do not know much about them. Tattoos are sometimes still considered odd, questionable and even taboo.

Tattoo Designs are patterns, pictures or markings made by dye inserted into the pores of the skin by perforating the skin with immense caution. People in the Tattoos industry refer to them as tats, work, ink or art. In scientific terms, tattooing is actually micro-pigment implantation.

Globally this type of art practice is gaining approval and many mainstream art and design galleries hold expos of tattoo designs and tattoo pictures. The popular name for tattoo designs is Flash.

Tattoo Designs more often than not reflect the personality of the person wearing them and so they should, they are on your body. Often people search for the tattoos they want in the actual parlor for something that will suit them. It would be hard to choose your tattoo designs from only what is on display in the chosen tattoos parlor. You should do extensive research on tattoo designs first. I have found numerous sites online that offer a plethora of tattoos, tattoo designs, tribal tattoos, pictures and information. The time it took to find as much information and ideas that I could was massive, but worth it in the end as we can be very specific to what we want when deciding on tattoo designs and location to place the tattoos.

Weather it be an extreme concern for your cultural roots or something of significant importance to you, the tattoo designs that you choose will be one of the most important decisions of your life.

I have heard countless horror stories of bad decisions related to tattoo designs. People excited to rush out and get those 'Perfect' tattoos that they saw on their favorite celebrity like Britney Spears, Alyssa Milano, David Beckham or Robbie Williams. Or even seeing some tribal tattoos in a movie like Blade, only to realize after coming out of the parlor that the tattoo designs just do not suit them, or wasn't what they expected. The fact then hits that they are stuck with those tattoo designs for the rest of their lives.

Their problem was a lack of research in tattoo designs and tattoos in general, because the excitement of actually getting some tattoos finally, blurred their judgment and made them hasty to rush out and get those tattoo designs that they saw or thought up and then trying to describe it to the artist. Definitely not the smartest thing to do.

Also the location of your tattoos is key. You must consider some things when thinking of the location of your tattoos. Will others see it easily? Do I want my tattoos to be easily seen by others? Do I want my tattoos in more of a private place so only those close to me would be able to view them? Which body parts hurt more than others? Generally, places that have thinner skin tend to hurt more. These places include, but are not limited to, due to differences in all of our bodies, the ankles, head and the lower back.

Less painful places include the upper arm, back of the shoulder and the chest. And it also depends on your pain threshold when getting tattoos on how bad it will actually hurt.

I bet you have heard of or been with some people who just rock up to the tattoo parlor, look through the tattoo designs in the books and all the pictures of tattoos on the walls, pick something that looks cool and jump right into the chair to get what should be meaningful tattoo designs inked into their skin. They either want to go the extremely cheap option and choose simple tattoos, (more common tattoo designs are generally less expensive and take less time) or they have just been out on a heavy night on the Britney Spears - (Beers) and just stumbled into the parlor, only to wake up in the morning wondering why they have a Superman tattoo pic on their butt.

Another really bad mistake.

Do not make these mistakes. Ultimately at the end of the day, it's YOUR body; think about this very important decision. What kind of tattoo designs are you after? What kind of tattoos do YOU really want? Remember, whatever you choose to decide for your tattoo designs and the location on your body, it will last FOREVER!

Make the decision a GREAT one.

Weather your looking for tribal tattoos or Celtic tattoo designs, Japanese or Chinese tattoos, exotic or fantasy related tats, superman tattoo pics, Robbie Williams tattoo, Brittany Tattoo, important after care information, choosing a good parlor, artist, safety precautions or even free tattoo designs, you need a source where you can grab everything you could want in one place.

Here is a site that will save you days, weeks and months as it has already researched the BEST the internet has to offer. This will save YOU time and money as it can be your SOURCE of Tattoo Design information. Tattoo Design Universe


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Rose Tattoos - A Meaning In Every Petal

Roses have always been associated with love and death. The ancient Greeks believed that the first rose was created when Chloris, the goddess of flowers, came upon a dying wood nymph and transformed her into a flower. Then the goddess of love, Aphrodite, gave the flower its beauty, and the god of wine, Dionysus, contributed an intoxicating fragrance. Beauty, love, intoxication, and death, all in one package; add thorns for a hint of sorrow and danger, and you have the perfect symbol of the human condition

So is it any wonder that the rose tattoo has, for both men and women, become one of the most widely requested of all tattoo designs? Not only is the rose loaded with symbolic meaning; its can be represented as anything from a single small bud or open bloom, or as a garland or bouquet of blossoms, and with or without thorns. It can have flowing ribbons with names of loved ones, tattooed in remembrance or as a pledge of eternal devotion.

One ancient Roman legend is that the god of silence, Harpocrates, happened to witness Venus, the goddess of love, engaging in an illicit sexual encounter. Venus’ son Cupid, the god of love, bribed Harpocrates with a rose to guarantee his silence. The Romans took their myths seriously, and the ceilings of Roman banquet rooms were festooned with roses as a reminder to those reclining at the tables. What was revealed from wine-loosened lips of wine was heard “sub rosa,” and would remain confidential.

A rose tattoo positioned in a very private place and known only to a lover can honor the tradition of the rose as a symbol of secrecy. But rose tattoos can also be worn visibly and proudly, as most men wear them, on the arm.

Even the color of a rose tattoo can add layers to its meaning; the Victorians actually had a “language” of flowers and by sending different varieties of blooms in different colors to those they admired could communicate symbolically all the romantic feelings their conventions would no let them say in person. Rose tattoos, alone or combined with other flowers, can communicate a very private message in a very public way.

While the most requested color for rose tattoos is red, signifying love, romance, courage, and beauty, the blue rose tattoo is gaining in popularity, and has an intriguing history. There are no naturally blue roses, and although research is ongoing to create one, the blue rose tattoo represents mystery and the quest to achieve the impossible. Some legends suggest that the blue rose can magically grant wishes or restore youth.

Rose tattoos, like the actual flowers, can beckon and entice, or hint of danger. Rose tattoos can suggest purity and innocence, or unbridled passion. Rose tattoos can be worn in remembrance of loved ones who have moved on or as pledges of undying love through all the years ahead.

A rose tattoo, in other words, can speak volumes about you, and all you need to do is tell your tattoo artist what you want yours to say!

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Christian Cross Tattoos - Outward Signs of Inner Faith

If you mentions that you might want to get a Christian cross tattoos to a devout audience, you may have someone protests that the book of Leviticus clearly states that “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.”

Yet there are some Biblical scholars who believe that this passage is actually referring to a practice belonging to pagans that time, in which they would carve images of their idols on their bodies at funerals, to make atonement for themselves and the dead.

Because you, or any Christian who decides to get a tattoo is not doing it to find favor with a pagan idol, the New Testament has no such restrictions. And Christian tattoos have indeed become an extremely popular way for many young Christian to both make a public statement about their faith, and display some of the most meaningful Christian icons. Praying Hands, chalices, Jesus himself, the Sacred Heart, angels, Mary, the Apostles, and the Holy Spirit are all images which have been adapted into striking tattoos.

But the Christian tattoo which is far and away the most popular is the Christian Cross. The Cross has become the universal sign of the Christian faith, and tattoo artists have invented many striking designs to incorporate into their Christian cross tattoos.

While some of the more intricate Christian cross tattoos actually show a figure of Jesus, many of them have an empty cross, sometimes with a remarkably life-like wood grain. The cross may be adorned with a crown of thorns, or a reference to a passage from Scripture. Sometimes the crosses will have a background of flames, and sometimes the beams of the cross will be made of nails or spikes.

Butterflies, as a symbol of the Resurrection of Jesus, and of the rebirth of sinners, are often incorporated into with Christian cross tattoos. If you’re patriotic, why not combine the Christian cross tattoo with the flags of your country? The cross against a background of the Stars and Stripes is popular in the Bible Belt of the US.

Some Christian cross tattoo designs have their roots in very early evangelization. A strategy the early Christians used in spreading their faith was to adapt its symbols to those of the cultures whose people they were trying to convert. One legend has it that when St. Patrick came from Wales to Ireland and saw the Druidic stones inscribed with the circular designed which represented the Druid’s moon goddess; he simply bisected the circle with a Christian cross. In doing so, he laid the groundwork for one of the most beautiful of all the Christian cross tattoos, the Celtic cross.

Celtic Christian cross tattoos, because the ancient Celts believed that their souls were simply threads of a divine fabric to which they would return after death, has elaborate knots of “plaitwork,” symbolizing those threads. They may also contain keys, leaves, spirals, and animal figures, often borrowed from the ancient decorative script with which monks would embellish the pages of Scripture they spent their lives copying.

No matter what Christian cross tattoo you choose, you will be doing your part to spread the Good News!

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Star Tattoo Ideas - From Ancient to Space-Age

Stars. The ancient peoples of the Earth first worshipped them, and assigned them the power to direct the fate of each human being. Shakespeare’s Cassius laments, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” The late Carl Sagan, in describing the physical connectedness of human being to the rest of the universe, said, “We are all made of star stuff,” and in those seven words summed up the mystery of where we came from and where we are going.

The stars were intimately connected with the development of human civilization, first because they enabled early farmers to judge the passage of the seasons and know when to plant or harvest their crops. The patterns in the night sky would change as the Earth rotated, and the people above the equator knew that when Orion was completely visible, winter was on the way.

The stars, and especially Polaris, or the North Star, also made seafaring navigation possible. Ancient sailors would be able to get a fix on their locations simply by seeing how high the North Star was above the horizon. Without the stars to steer by, the European’s arrival in the New World might have been delayed until the aviation era!

Stars shine and twinkle, and the star closest to us, our Sun, provides the light and warmth which make the Earth the life giving miraculous planet it is. The sun, and all stars, are huge nuclear furnaces with unimaginably intense atomic reactions taking place at their cores which result in heat and light.

The simple truth is that stars have been essential to human survival from the time of the Garden of Eden, and are so loaded with beautiful symbolic meaning that there are some terrific star tattoo ideas.

Some star tattoo ideas for astrology and astronomy buffs are to have an astrological sign tattooed against a galaxy of colored stars; or a miniature solar system with the central Sun being circled by the planets. “Shooting stars” while they are not actually stars but meteors which burn up when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, make star tattoo ideas.

Shooting star tattoo ideas can vary from having a single star with a tail to several stars, as in a meteor shower. And the stars themselves can be different, because the number of points a star design has will change its meaning. Or the star could actually be a sunburst, and the tail could be a made of a few simple lines or a fully developed flame. How about a rocketship blasting off into your own galaxy of shooting stars? Or a shooting star trailing your name?

Other star tattoo ideas can be taken from the history of nautical navigation. The nautical star tattoo was a seafarer’s way of protecting himself at sea and ensuring that he would find his way home. It has since been adopted by military personnel, and for other people it simply represents the desire for a safe passage through life.

Tthe number of points a star has can be the inspiration for star tattoos ideas; the four pointed star is a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem. The “star fish”, or five pointed star, is also called a Pentagram, and has a variety of meanings. It meant health to the ancient Greeks, an inverted Pentagram is a symbol of devil worship.

The six pointed star is, of course, the Star of David, and the seven pointed star is a symbol of luck. Star tattoo ides using a seven pointed star can include the paraphernalia of gambling, for “lucky sevens.” And if you are involved with law enforcement, you’ll know seven-pointed stars are common as badges.

Count the stars if you can, and you’ll have an idea of how many star tattoo ideas are waiting, if you’ll only turn your imagination loose!

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Celtic Design Tattoos - Pure and Powerful Art

Celtic design tattoos, both because of their ancient historical symbolism and because they are simply among the most beautiful tattoos in the entire tattoo universe, are among the most requested of all tattoo designs. Both men and women of all ages have become intrigued with the aura surrounding Celtic design tattoos, and are hoping some of it will rub off on them.

The inspiration for Celtic design tattoos originated in Great Britain, dating as far back as drawings from the sixth century which appeared in manuscripts of Scripture which was copied in elaborate calligraphy by the Christian monks of the period. The manuscript decoration was extremely ornate, but Celtic design tattoos can be as intricate or as simple as their wearers desire.

The Monks responsible for the Celtic manuscript had the responsibility of combining the pagan imagery of the Celts with their accepted Christian symbols, to aid in the evangelization of the Celtic peoples. The Celtic design tattoos which most clearly illustrate this blending of symbolism is the Celtic cross tattoo, which is a traditional Christian cross with a circle at its center said to represent the ancient Druidic symbol for the sun.

Celtic design tattoos are most often known for their fascinating knots and interlacing, or “plaitwork” which will entertain viewers endlessly as they try to unravel them. The Celtic knot is another Druidic symbol, evoking the unending cycles of life and death, and the perfect and eternal circle.

The universal appeal of Celtic design tattoos, in fact, many lie in their abstract nature. With flowing spirals, squares, and geometrical forms, they are more of an attempt to create an emotion in the viewer rather than to be representational art.

One of the most delightful elements of Celtic design tattoos, in fact, is in their portrayal of animals. The animals in Celtic design tattoos are as complex as the Celtic knots; cats, deer, dogs, lions, tigers, birds and dragons are portrayed when the lines and thread of plaitwork, instead on forming eternal knots and loops, end with the depiction of animal heads, feet and tails. Many of the animals are inspired by medieval depictions of animals, and have a highly appealing air of whimsy.

The shamrock, of course, is one of the oldest Celtic design tattoos; while for the Irish it signifies excellence, and even has religious significance as a sign of the Holy Trinity, it is most widely known as a good luck charm. Those of Irish descent are especially fond of using an Celtic Shamrock tattoo to display their pride in their heritage.

The one drawback to having Celtic deign tattoos done is that they demand a tattoo artist with an exceptional amount of skill. Their symmetrical designs require a precise outline and steady had in the inking process, and some of them can take hours to complete. But done properly, Celtic design tattoos are true works of art!

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Forbidding or Friendly Grim Reaper Tattoos

The custom of giving death human characteristics is nothing new; it may date as far back as the ancient Greek’s harvest god Cronus, who was portrayed with a sickle and whose name led him to be confused for Chronos, who was the Greek god of time. Cronus’ sickle was eventually transformed into a scythe, and his harvest changed from agricultural to a harvest of the souls of the dead.

From this confusion of Cronus and Chronos, Western civilization has built its conception of how death would look if it had a form. And that form has become the subject of interpretations for millions of Grim Reaper tattoos through the years.

The Grim Reaper first took serious hold of the European imagination in the 1400s, garbed in a black hooded robe which mimicked those which priests wore at the bedsides of the dying. Instead of being there to bless the dying, however, he brought along a scythe, and was often merely a skeleton beneath his robes, with only his eyes visible under their cowl. Plenty of material for the imagination to feed upon, and Grim Reaper tattoos have become a mainstay of tattoo artists the world over.

While almost all Grim Reaper tattoos incorporate the basics of a skeletal black robed figure with a scythe, those basics can be interpreted in almost any style. There are tribal Grim Reaper tattoos; traditional Grim Reaper tattoos; and even Celtic tattoo designs featuring the Grim Reaper flowing out of their intricate plaitwork.

Grim Reaper tattoos first gained a foothold in the Americas in 18th century Mexico and Argentina, where poor criminals adopted them as totems to ward off capture by the police. Mexican Grim Reaper tattoos, surprisingly, depict the Reaper as a female; but even more surprisingly, in both the Mexican and Argentinean cultures, the Grim Reaper is regarded as a saint, “La Santisima Muerte” in Mexico and “San La Muerte” in Argentina.

Grim Reaper tattoos, along with skulls and scantily clad mermaids, were once reserved for bikers, prison inmates, and sailors or marines. But with the arrival of the Goth subculture, the skull and Grim Reaper tattoos have found a new and younger set of admirers, and are prominent among both male and female Goths who appreciate their mythological and morbid aspects.

Grim Reaper tattoos are most often done in black with shades of gray. But as more people are attracted to their messages about the fleetingness of life and the possibility of an afterlife, Grim Reaper tattoos often appear in more vibrant positive colors. Some Grim Reaper tattoos even take on an air of Hallowe’en, with the Reaper having an eerily pumpkinlike appearance.

A Grim Reaper tattoo can be as forbidding or inviting as you and your tattoo artist choose to make it, but like all tattoos, its most important feature should be what it says about you!

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Mermaid Tattoos - The Ultimate in Feminine Mystique

The ancient Greeks had their Sirens, whose haunting songs lured many a seafarer to his death. And the fifteenth and sixteenth century explorers returned to Europe with tales of sea creatures who had the heads and upper torsos of a woman and fishes’ tails instead of legs. They claimed that these mysterious and beautiful creatures were as deadly as the Sirens of old, and would lure men into the water by pretending they were drowning, only to squeeze their unsuspecting victims to death.

Sailors were the first to wear mermaid tattoos, possibly because they had no other way of capturing the mermaids’ beauty. For generations mermaid tattoos were seen exclusively on men who made their living at sea; but as tattoos became more widely accepted as appropriate for everyone, the exotic and glamorous mermaid began to show up on all sorts of arms and torsos. She appeared not only in her traditional forms, but also as water nymphs; fairies; and even characters from mainstream culture, like the cartoon character Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

The mermaids in mermaid tattoos are invariably inked with long flowing hair which appears to be waving seductively in the water. The ancient often depicted Aphrodite, their goddess of love and fertility, with long hair; and the comb which is an element in both portrayals of Aphrodite and in mermaid tattoos had significant sexual meaning for the Greeks.

But mermaid tattoos, somewhat surprisingly, have become as popular among women as they have been for centuries among men. There is no denying that mermaid tattoos simply glow with mystery, femininity, and the hint of primal creative forces, and they are now decorating the shoulders and backs of as many females as males.

Mermaid tattoo designs are ideal for positioning on rounded bodily contours, because the mermaids are often drawn in curved and twisted poses. They may contain a single mermaid or a group set against an underwater backdrop with coral, fish, and treasure chests, and or reclining in a seashell. Mermaid tattoos, perhaps more than any except floral tattoos, allow a tattoo artist to indulge in a full palette of colors.

The blatantly voluptuous forms which were typical of mermaid tattoos during the years of World War II have now been joined by a wide range of mermaid tattoos in different styles. From the sharply defined simple black lines of tribal mermaid tattoos, to the riveting plaitwork of Celtic mermaid tattoos, to the dazzling sea colors, golden carp, and dragons of Oriental mermaid tattoos, mermaid tattoos are as captivating today as the mermaids of myth were to seafaring men centuries ago!

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