One of the most customizable tattoos is a cross tattoo. The symbol has an honest association with Christianity. Christian people wear cross tattoo to tribute their love, respect, and loyalty. Following the crucifixion of Lord Jesus, the cross also signifies one’s scarifies. But other than that cross tattoo holds deep personal meanings. Cross tattoo stands for courage, strength, dedication, spirituality, life, & peace. One can wear this in memory of a loved one or the pain, a person has gone through. There are numerous ideas to wear a cross tattoo. In Celtic culture, cross tattoo sometimes represents family heritage or bond between the life of physical and spiritual. In Greek, it represents heaven. Similarly tau cross is a symbol of eternal life. A gothic cross appears with snake or throne and carries darker meaning like anger. By the times the meaning of cross tattoo evolves a lot. Today one can wear a cross tattoo just out of fashion but others can find any suitable meaning fits into it.
We all know, design pattern like a gothic, Celtic, tribal, etc. associate prop and location emphasizes different meanings of the same element. Let’s discuss some popular cross tattoos and their significances to get a brief idea.
1. Pair of Cross Tattoo
A pair of an identical tattoo on each one’s skin can set a goal for any couple. They choose a similar tattoo to convey their love, care, and loyalty for each other. It states that their souls complete each other. Even when staying in the long-distance they can feel the presence of the partner. Putting the tattoos in two colour, red and black, indicates male and female. This tiny tattoo looks extremely cool and smart for young couples. You can wear them on finger, wrist, and neck or even in the belly if you want to keep them private.
2. Simple Black Cross Tattoo
A simple black & bold small cross tattoo looks elegant and aristocrat. Apart from the link-up with Jesus and spirituality, the cross symbolizes male and female. The horizontal beam represents femininity her apathy. The other one, the vertical member represents masculinity with positive vibes, creativity, and stoutness. There is one more substance where horizontal one indicates destruction and vertical one full of life. It’s all depending on the viewer’s perspective. This small tattoo easily gets fit on your finger, side of the palm, back of the ear, or wherever you feel comfortable.
3. Inverted Cross Tattoo
In modern days inverted cross stands for the occult and atheism. But it has anther history of paying respect and honour to Jesus. This is belonging to St. Peter. He believed he had no dignity to die in the same way Jesus did. So he was crucified reversely on the cross. It signifies that no one can match the footstep of Jesus, and need to go far. In that way, one can wear an upside-down cross to convey your devotion to your belief or passion.
4. Rose & Cross Tattoo
Cross with rose flower is not just give visual pleasure, but carry more powerful meaning. When cross pairs up with rose, it represents a balance of love and pain. But you need to choose a right cross to portray because meaning can vary depending on that. A thorny rose with gothic cross signifies the death or destruction due to pain or seduction. With a wooden cross, it indicates the pain out of love, sacralises. But it looks amazing to flaunt, even turns more vibrant with the addition of some colours.
5. Compass & Cross Tattoo
There is always a lot of scopes to layer up your tattoo with another symbol to get a different meaning from time to time. This time tattoo owner emphasizes a compass tattoo with a black cross. Here cross stands for ‘axis Mundi’ which means the centre of the universe. And compass indicates direction. A traveller can wear this tattoo as a symbol of pathfinder. On the other hand, a person with a conflict mindset can op this in search of the right path in life as directed by Lord Jesus. This colourful illustration looks stunning and eye-catching.
6. Freedom Cross Tattoo
One such lovely example to represent a sense of freedom. Flying bird is a symbol of a free spirit. And cross signifies the death of Jesus absorbing sin of humanity. They altogether establish e deep meaning of freedom from all the sins. Due to its softness and cute visuals mostly girls prefer to wear this, but there is no such discrimination. This small size tattoo looks good on the shoulder, back of the neck, wrist, or ankle. You can add a meaningful quote to express your thoughts.
7. Tribal Cross Tattoo
Tribal art form belongs to one of the most ancient art forms. It consists of both traditional and spiritual values. The main features of this art form are bold & black curved strokes with a sharp pointed edge. Most people wear tribal tattoo to emphasize the pride of tribal heritage and for its intricate style. But a tribal cross tattoo is the symbol of strength, courage, and power. It also indicates one’s dedication toward his passion. This type of tattoo generally comes in a medium to large size, and fits perfectly on the upper arm, back, chest, or leg.
8. Cross Tattoo with Wings
Wings are a symbol of freedom, mystery, and spirit. But when it comes with a cross it conveys some deeper meaning. It signifies that Jesus came out of death and he is guiding you from heaven. On the other hand, one can wear the tattoo in the memory of lost love. A spiritually embraced person can also flaunt a cross tattoo with wing to celebrate mental freedom. Choose the design of cross and wing depending on the story you want to tell. It looks unique in both black & grey or colour.
9. Modern Cross Tattoo
If you are fashion conscious and become a trendsetter, customize your cross with some suitable word, names or quotes. The designer here portrayed the word ‘faith’ in the form of a cross. This tattoo suits to every person with positive vibes who can believe in divine power keep faith in humanity. One who is struggling can get inked with this cross-like faith tattoo to gain mental strength from Jesus. This tattoo looks so unique and striking that can turns others head. This tattoo is popular among female, especially young confident girls.
10. Three Cross Tattoo
People often choose three cross tattoos rather than one. But in a two different way. It has three different significances. First; it represents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the three God aspect of Christianity. Secondly, one can wear to pay tribute to all three legends was crucified in Golgotha and Jesus was one of them. On the other hand, one can just simply wear in the memory of three influencing people but unfortunately lost them. Generally, people choose black for this tattoo but can layer up with elements for deeper meaning.
We have tried to illustrate some verities of cross tattoo from all over the world and their significances for you. Now you can customize your tattoo reflecting your thoughts and personality with all this information. Always keep in mind that tattoo is not like some clothes, pieces of jewellery, or make-ups that you can change overnight, it’s a lifetime affair. Wear it, love it, and flaunt it.