Celtic Tattoo Designs

Celtic knot, thistle and flower tattoo

The ancient Celtic art was made up of intricately designed interlacing patterns, elaborate knotwork, spirals, and animal forms. The early Celts displayed their Celtic design mostly in metals consisting of jewelry, weapons, pottery, etc.

Celtic knots are typically complete loops that are never ending unless they end with an animal form, as at the head, limb, or tail of a particular animal, such as a jaguar. This is also known as the zoomorphic aspect of Celtic traditional tattoo design.

The repeated crossing of the physical and spiritual are displayed in the interlacing of the knots. The continuious path of the strands reflect the permanence and continuum of life, love and spiritual growth.

Celtic woad tattoo design

The tattoo design to the right is of a Celtic woad. A woad is a European plant, in the mustard family, formerly cultivated for a blue dye extracted from it's leaves.

Celtic cross tattoo design

"The Irish Catholic priest will have no hesitation in telling you that the circle of the Celtic cross is a symbol of eternity that emphasizes the endlessness of God's love as shown through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. That is unless he says the circle is a halo. He may go on to explain that the crucifixion is important not just as an event at a certain point in time but, as the circle symbolizes, as the unending mystery of how through the crucifixion and resurrection Christ continues to offer the hope of salvation to the faithful throughout all time"
-Stephen Walker, 1996

There are many variations of styles of the Celtic cross tattoo, but a design similar to the one shown here is fairly popular.