The term Celts is used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language.

Celtic history literally goes back thousands of years. In Britain, by the early first millennium AD, following the expansion of the Roman Empire and the invading European warriors, such as the Angles of Northern Germany, the Celtic culture had become restricted to the extremities of the British Isles – mainly Cornwall, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, which is where the of the Celts has survived, carved into standing stones and stone tombs as well as being discovered on pottery fragments and ornaments.

Elsewhere in Europe, Celtic areas refers to Brittany (France), Galicia (NW Spain), Northern and Central Portugal and Asturias (Northern Spain).

The early Celts displayed their skills in Celtic art forms such as metal, jewelry and weapons.

Typically, Celtic art is ornamental, avoiding straight lines and only occasionally using symmetry.

For people of Celtic heritage, having a Celtic tattoo design is often a way of expressing pride in ones heritage.

The most popular design searches for Celtic Tatoos include:

• Celtic cross tattoo designs (a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection)
• Celtic knotwork tattoos
• Celtic symbol tattoos
• Celtic art tattoo designs
• Celtic love knot tattoos

Wanting inspiration for a Celtic tattoo?

Maybe you are a Celt or you are looking for a tattoo that has both meaning and reflects your personality?

Gain access to a wide selection of inspiring designs at Chopper Tattoo!

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History
Tattoos are as popular today as they were in ancient times, but for different reasons. We wear them as decoration the ancients wore tattoos as permanent war paint. Their tattoos were designed with one thing in mind and that was to instil as much fear in their enemies as they possibly could. Wars were fought hand to hand and in battle warriors bared their chests in order to make sure that their tattoos were highly visible to the enemy. Tattoos indicated toughness and fearlessness when faced with danger. Tattoos were also designed as a method of identification, much like soldiers today wear ‘dog tags’.

Popular tattoo choices
Celts once covered a large area of Europe and had their own languages and culture, not to mention religion. The symbols they used in those days are incorporated into the highly popular Celtic tattoos used today.

The Celts worshipped gods and goddesses, animals and the land, and as they were exposed more and more to Christianity, their symbols and shapes started to change into crosses and stars. One of the reasons for this adaptation was to avoid conflict with Christian beliefs. But, these adapted elements are what remains and what is most seen in traditional tattoos.

Celtic Knot Patterns
Although many traditional Celtic designs are copied in tattoos, perhaps one of the most recognizable and coveted tattoo is the knot. Knots resemble interwoven vines and are arranged to form a particular shape, for example a heart, but their shape can be almost anything a person can think of, from circles to the more complex star shape.

A Celtic knot also carries with it the symbolism recognizable by anyone who has even a slight knowledge of Celtic art which is that it represents continuous life as well as the season’s cycles and the complexity of nature.

Animals were very important to the Celts, animals such as butterflies, dogs and geese. Butterflies were especially held in very high esteem by the Celts because of their beauty. Dogs symbolize loyalty and good luck while eagles are linked with death, so are ravens and other birds. Horses were sacred to the Celts and a tattoo depicting a horse is linked to mystery and magic. Power can be symbolized by a Celtic art tattoo of a bear while the dragon is associated with both power and magic. Sometimes an animal will be the main focus in a tattoo while others may form on a part of the background.

The number three, 3, has always featured highly in Celtic designs and is typically found somewhere in the design, at times even hidden deeply within it. It can be small or large.

Cross
The Celtic cross is without doubt perhaps the most recognisable of all Celtic designs and is a very popular tattoo subject. They are highly religious in their nature and quite often Celts will wear the design as a proclamation of their ethnic roots.

The Celtic tree of life is quite self-explanatory, it follows the same style as the knot and the cross but it is composed of interweaving lines which form branches around a tree trunk. It represents the beginning and end of life and also the eternal nature of the world we live in.

Claddagh
A Claddagh, though maybe not as well known is popular and is perhaps more recognizable to those of Celtic and Irish heritage. Consisting of two hands clasping a heart covered by a crown. When represented graphically in the form of a tattoo, it stands for everlasting love and loyalty.

The beauty of body art
Celtic designs are beautiful when incorporated into a tattoo and there are a host of different choices suited to both male and female. Almost every tattoo studio will offer a wide variety of Celtic tattoo designs.

Celtic art in the form of tattoos is very often seen as bands around the arms or on the wrist. More recently Celtic designs are being tattooed on the lower back. Celtic art is usually always done with black ink and the lines can be a combination of thick and very thick. Celtic tattoo designs have their origin dating back several thousand years and their aesthetic value has grown ever more popular since then as they are beautiful abstract works of art.

About the Author:
Tim Lazaro is a Celtic Symbol enthusiast. Visit All About Celtic Symbols for more expert advice on Celtic tattoo designs, understanding Celtic symbols, tree astrology, and other topics you can use right now if you wish to gain a better appreciation of symbols in Celtic society.

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Start Researching your Celtic Tattoo Design Now 

The sites below provide literally thousands of tattoo design ideas, including many celtic tattoo designs.  They are all paid services, although they do offer 60-day 100% money back guarantees.  Simply register and choose your tattoo design, print them off and take it down to your local tattoo parlor. 

Chopper-Tattoo 

Tattoo Me Now   

Print My Tattoo 

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A large majority of the people searching for Celtic tattoos end up using popular search engines for finding designs – this has become the predominant for finding tattoo artwork of all kinds. The major drawback with this method is that search engines are not really suited for finding niche tattoo websites that feature unique, one-of-a-kind Celtic designs; instead the kinds of sites that tend to dominate the first few pages of results are cookie cutter websites featuring unoriginal generic designs.

The problem with these sites is that they are designed to appeal to the largest possible online audience to generate hits and become popular with search engines. They usually feature the same old designs that are at least a few years old. Such Celtic designs have been inked on so many bodies over the past few years that they border on being cliché. Chances are that the same tattoo designs that show up on such highly ranked pages have already popped up on hundreds of other sites on the internet as well as on thousands of people around the world.

Another huge problem with picking Celtic tattoo artwork off these sites is that they are not specifically designed to be used as actual tattoos. While most of the artwork may look good to the casual viewer, they will not look as nice inked on the body. Looking good on a computer monitor or on a printout and looking good on a human body are two very different things. The people who run most these popular sites throw in any random Celtic artwork and designs without giving much thought to their suitability as tattoos. Individuals who use these designs often end up getting inked with tattoos they are not completely satisfied with – a fatal blunder when dealing with something as permanent as tattoos. 

There is hope, however. Internet discussion forums and message boards have risen to be a viable replacement for search engines when it comes to finding niche content like original Celtic tattoo designs. Tattoo forums provide a wealth of information first-hand from tattoo aficionados who have been through it all and are eager to share their experiences, good or bad, with others. Forums are a great place to find links to lesser known websites and galleries of original and fresh Celtic artwork that are perfect for tattoos. Since these links are gathered by living, breathing human-beings that are passionate about Celtic tattoo designs and not search engine algorithms, they are vastly superior to anything churned out by Google, MSN or Yahoo. While most internet users are more familiar with using search engines, it pays to take the extra time to learn how to navigate online forums – many will find it well worth their time and effort.

Article taken from ArticleCity.com

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