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TATTOO DESIGNS & SYMBOLS - CELTIC CROSS TATTOOS
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Tattoo designs - C >>
Celtic Crosses
Celtic
Cross Tattoo Design Meanings - If you are Irish, Scottish, or
Welsh, the Celtic Cross may be more symbolic of your ethnic heritage
than of faith. And that goes for other Celts as well, in Brittany,
Cornwall, Galicia and the Isle of Mann.
 But if you are Scandinavian you may also be drawn to the Celtic
Cross, as Norse art and Celtic art heavily influenced each other and
it is still unclear as to the exact origin of the forms. Clearly
there were exchanges between cultures through both trade and
conquest. The complexity of Celtic design is thought to mimic or
echo the complexity of nature, the use of Celtic knots in spirals
and mazes, the intricate interweaving showing no beginning and no
end, reflective of the cycles of the seasons and of life.
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That's just as well, since arguments over its ancient religious
meaning go around 'eternally', just as the circle within the cross
suggests. Circles and crosses -- all cultures have them in their
systems of symbols, so when cultures collide, as they inevitably do,
it's no surprise that meanings are often ambiguous. |
 The
cross as a Christian symbol was just emerging in the 4th
century, and coincided with the time when the Gospel was being
introduced to a sun and moon worshipping culture in what is now the
Britain Isles. The legend of St. Patrick suggests how the two came
together in his attempt to bring the Druids to Christ. Shown a
sacred standing stone marked with a circle, Patrick blessed it by
making the mark of a Latin cross through the circle. Was that the
first Celtic Cross? The Druids probably continued to recognize their
phallic symbols, even after the Christians re-sculpted those large
stones as crosses. And more than a millennium later, 'born again
pagans' are seeing the circle as the sun, appropriating the
Christian symbol back to its supposed primal meaning.
 The Celtic Cross is well represented in the Book of Kells and other
manuscript illustrations - many of them religious texts - and carved
stone crosses with the familiar intertwined lines and zoomorphic
figures of Celtic art may still be found all over the British Isles,
in Scotland in particular.
As symbolic expressions, the circle and the cross could not be more
different. One is mystical while the other is almost geographical.
The circle is a symbol of eternity and the endlessness of God's
love, while the cross relates to the four directions, or four
corners of the Earth (or perhaps the four elements: Air, Earth,
Fire, Water), while the axes coming together imply the joining of
forces such as Heaven and Earth. That coordinate, enclosed within
the circle, suggests a realm where time & space cease to exist, a
precondition for communication between this world and beyond.
 Despite its long history, the cross has been well adopted by
Christianity, but that does not mean its ancient meanings have
altogether vanished. Just as the swastika became a symbol for hate,
overriding its former associations, the original meanings of the
cross and circle are waiting to be rediscovered. As a tattoo design
it may have different meanings for different peoples, but at its
symbolic roots it is a design that powerfully evokes the spiritual
nature of the universe.
Get inspired by some really great images and photos in our Celtic Cross
Inspiration Gallery
See also: Southern Cross,
Maltese Cross,
Iron Cross,
Cross Moline,
Papal Cross Tattoos,
Religious Tattoo Index, Scottish Clan Tattoo Index
Choose your tattoo from these great Celtic Cross Tattoos and Designs
Tattoo designs - C >>
Celtic Crosses
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