Cross tattoo meaning
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It is difficult to find a person whose cross is not primarily associated with Christianity.
This is logical, given the ubiquitous spread of religion (and in previous centuries and its implantation), however, the symbolism of the cross is much older, its images can be found on archaeological finds dating back to the times when no one had heard of Christianity.
And the most interesting thing is that this symbol is found in different ancient cultures, many of which had no connection with each other, all over the world.
This suggests that the ancient people, practically regardless of their place of residence and professed religion, saw something sacred in the cross. Nowadays, no one will be surprised by jewelry, prints on clothes or a tattoo in the form of a cross.
Types of crosses
By choosing the appropriate version of the cross, it will be easier for you to choose the style and compose the composition.
- Ankh is the Egyptian “key of life”, one of the most significant symbols in the culture of Ancient Egypt. Its true purpose is still considered completely unknown. Based on archaeological finds and deciphered texts, historians argue that the ankh is a symbol of wisdom, eternal life, and rebirth.
- Swastika is a cross with curved ends. The swastika is one of the oldest solar signs, which was applied to weapons, clothes, walls of temples and dwellings by representatives of different cultures around the world. The swastika was of particular importance in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Before the swastika was compromised by the Nazis, it carried an extremely positive symbolism: sunlight, vitality, joy, luck and creativity.
- The hands of God are a symbol depicted on archaeological finds of the Przeworsk culture, dating back to the XNUMXrd-XNUMXth centuries. Now the sign is used by some neo-pagan associations. The symbol is quite interesting from an aesthetic point of view, it will perfectly fit into a plot dedicated to ancient cults, heroes of myths, legendary battles.
- Tau cross is a T-shaped cross. As already mentioned, the tau cross was of great importance for the peoples of Europe.
- Greek - an equilateral cross, was originally considered a symbol of the sun god and the four elements.
- Sun - an equilateral cross inscribed in a circle, also known as the Sun wheel. Finds with this image are found throughout Europe and date back mainly to the Neolithic and Bronze Age. This is a fairly common solar sign, which is still used in astronomy (the symbol of the Earth) and the visual arts. He found his reflection in politics, becoming a symbol of the Nazi government of Norway during the Second World War.
- Celtic is also a cross inscribed in a circle, but with rays extending beyond it, a symbol of Celtic Christianity. The Irish believe that the Celtic cross was first brought by Saint Patrick. To give the pagans the opportunity to understand the significance of the cross, he combined it with the symbol of the sun known to them.
- Orthodox is a symbol of the Orthodox Church. It is believed that the shape of the Orthodox cross is associated with the history of the execution of Jesus. The right side of the slanting bar is raised to indicate the thief, who was also crucified on the cross on the right side of Jesus. Before his death, the robber repented of his sins and his soul ascended to heaven, which is symbolized by the raised edge of the crossbar.
- Catholic - Also known as the Latin cross. The Catholic cross is made up of two lines of perpendicular lines. In the pre-Christian period, this symbol denoted the staff of the god Apollo.
- St. Peter's Cross is an inverted cross. According to legend, the Apostle Peter was crucified head down, because he considered himself unworthy to die the same death as Jesus. Thanks to the popular culture of the twentieth century, this symbol is considered anti-Christian (remember at least the cult films "The Omen" and "Six Demons of Emily Rose"), but according to the church there is nothing satanic in this image. However, these associations left a significant imprint on the perception of the symbol, so the meaning of a tattoo with an inverted cross, especially if you spice up the plot of the tattoo with other devilry, may well refer to the image created by mass culture.
- The Templar is a straight equilateral cross with flared ends, a symbol of the Knights Templar, founded in the Holy Land in the XNUMXth century, known to most for its wealth, because of which its members were persecuted by the authorities and the church. The Holy Inquisition imputed the most terrible heresies to the members of the order: renunciation of Christ, worship of Satan, who is allegedly personally present at their meetings, sodomy, blasphemy.
Styles and compositions
Regardless of whether you want to decorate your body with a small cross as a talisman, or are planning a large-scale work with a plot and many details, style options and suitable combinations of symbols are a lot. Let's look at some interesting ideas.
Realism
There may be nothing innovative in realistic works, but they look impressive. Even banal compositions, for example, a cross with wings or well-known religious subjects, catch the eye and delight if the work is done by a talented craftsman and looks really realistic. And it doesn't matter whether you choose a monochrome sketch or plan to capture a bright landscape and a riot of colors on your body.
For example, realistic images of ancient crosses decorated with precious stones and many decorative elements look great. They look good both on their own and in composition with other religious attributes, for example, pages from ancient spiritual texts.
Fans of the Gothic style may like the cemetery theme: an ancient stone cross towering above the ground against the background of bare trees, a gravestone with a raven sitting on it, a gloomy landscape with an ancient abandoned church, a cemetery near an ancient castle, in the window of which the Count himself is about to appear Dracula.
Realism is chosen not only for the purpose of impressing others with a cool tattoo. Very personal work is often done in this style, which is not intended for the eyes of the general public. For example, a rosary tattoo with a cross, hands folded in prayer, sometimes supplemented with quotes from spiritual literature, are more personal talismans than a way to stand out.
Newschool
New school provides much more room for imagination than old school, but works in this style look just as clear, bright and contrasting. The image of the cross can be supplemented with roses, hearts, ribbons with inscriptions and any decorative elements of your choice. For example, skulls painted like Santa Muerte with a cross in the center of the composition look interesting.
Trash polka
This style does not accept banality and routine, trash polka looks bold and defiant thanks to contrasting colors and extraordinary, sometimes gloomy stories. Usually these are rather large compositions, consisting of several central elements and complemented by careless strokes of red or black paint. For example, a tattoo with a cross on the chest or on the back in the form of two wide translucent red strokes, through which the rest of the work elements are visible, would look cool. It can be either a traditional trash polka story with crows, watches, weapons, or something original. In addition, trash polka goes well with monochrome realistic elements.
Chicano
Chicano is a style that surprisingly harmoniously combines the romance of the underworld and Mexican traditions, large-scale black and white works with rare color accents usually contain many elements. Chicano-style religious stories are quite common. The history of the style is quite dramatic, people, thanks to whom it became widespread, were often forced to struggle with difficult life circumstances, faith helped them cope with difficulties, gave hope that the black stripe would be followed by a white one. It is not surprising that, along with images of Santa Muerte, weapons, money, playing cards, huge inscriptions and portraits of daring beauties, religious subjects have become one of the identification marks of Chicano. Large crosses on the sternum, back or shoulder look especially cool, inside which a whole story unfolds, and the cross is like a kind of window through which you contemplate what is happening.
Church attributes and religiosity
Taking into account the history of the cross, which dates back more than one millennium, you should not immediately associate its image with religion, unless, of course, this connection is obvious. Since ancient times, the cross was considered a symbol filled with positive energy, its image in many cultures served as a talisman against evil forces and misfortunes.
In addition, a tattoo does not have to conceal any deep meaning, for example, richly decorated realistic crosses just look beautiful, this is already a sufficient argument for choosing such a tattoo plot. Simply put, the most important thing is your own attitude towards the symbol. If for you it is filled with deep meaning, it is not at all necessary to explain to others what it is. If you just wanted to capture something beautiful on your body, nobody cares why your choice fell on this or that symbol.
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