Heart Tattoos

Heart tattoos have always been popular, and we usually associate them with the old school, Sailor Jerry flash type of tattooing.

Here’s the typical scenario: a couple, wanting to express undying love for one another, get matching heart tattoos with each other’s names written across the heart image, perhaps on a sort of banner. Flames or roses may be used to further embellish the heart tattoo image.

A few years later, when the couple go their separate ways, each is left with an indelible reminder – and a dilemma regarding what to do with it. Some people opt to get their heart tattoo designs filled in, to obscure the name – others opt for tattoo removal.

Still others decide that it’s part of their history they’ll just have to live with. In any case, heart tattoos and other love tattoos have been the cause of much embarrassment and regret.

A Cliché: the Heart Tattoo

That’s exactly that sort of scenario that gives tattoos a bad name! On the other hand, the heart is such a powerful and universal symbol that it’s unlikely heart tattoos will ever disappear entirely.

Nowadays, the symbol has become considerably more versatile, with less potential for embarrassment. For example, a tribal heart – done in simple black lines, with no names mentioned – is timeless and classy.

A ‘Claddagh’ heart is a beautiful symbol that comes from 17 th century Ireland. You many have seen the more common ring version, but the images translate very well into tattoo art. The Claddagh heart is a composition consisting of a heart with a hand on either side, and a crown on top of it. The hands denote friendship, the heart love, and the crown loyalty. Women in Ireland would wear the Claddagh ring in their right hand with the heart facing outward when they were ‘available’, then turn it inward when they were betrothed. A Claddagh ring on the left hand means that the woman is happily married.

There are many other varieties of heart tattoos. Interestingly, some consist not of the simple valentine heart but of a more realistic human heart, complete with veins – this certainly adds some ‘edge’ to heart tattoo designs, but it doesn’t take away from the beauty of the image.

A flaming heart may be used to denote passion, while a heart with winds may have several meanings: perhaps love has ‘flown away’, or a loved one has died. On the other hand, it could also mean that one is ‘riding high’, soaring on the wings of love! In short, heart tattoos are unusually eloquent and expressive tattoo images, which accounts for their continued popularity despite the fact that they are sometimes considered ‘cheesy’ or overly sentimental!

Hearts That Cannot be Broken

Heart tattoos have been a popular tattoo choice for many decades and are back in demand with the new school style of tattoos depicting hearts as bold and bright. The heart in modern times is generally accepted as the center of feelings. It has also come to symbolize togetherness as in "unity of heart" and love of the romantic type.

However, many ancient civilizations regarded the heart as the center of intellect and intuition but modern cultures generally associate the head with thinking. Christians believed that the heart was the seat of emotions, particularly love. In Islam, the heart is seen as the spiritual centre. A heart symbol is used to replace the word 'love'.

It was also believed that the heart was the first organ to be created within a mother’s womb, and as it also the first organ to die, therefore “to love with one’s whole heart” often meant until one’s dying breath.

It was also believed that dreams came from the heart, hence the phrase “I sleep, but my heart wakes.” To dream of a heart can symbolize happiness or pain. But it can also symbolize dignity or division between two people.

Common Heart Tattoos

Heart pierced by an arrow Cupid or Eros shoots an arrow into a heart, causing the person to fall passionately in love. It shows that love can be both pleasurable and painful.

Broken heart A symbol of loss of a loved one, most often of a spurned or rejected lover. The term 'heartbroken' is used for extreme sadness and grief.

Heart with wings Can symbolize a free spirit

Sacred Heart This is a common religious tattoo and can symbolize devotion. St. John Eudes taught that the Sacred Heart is a Furnace of Divine Love. Those who desire to be united to this most loving Heart are purified, inflamed and transformed by this Divine Fire.

Heart with dagger Can represent betrayal and also bravery. This was a common tattoo amongst soldiers.

Bleeding Heart Can mean unrequited or lost love.

Placement of Heart Tattoos

For females heart tattoos are usually done on the chest area in a big, bright almost three dimensional way. They can also be done on the lower back area in a tribal tattoo style. Celtic tattoos can depict the heart in knotwork and also in the Claddagh style which is an old Irish wedding ring showing a heart held by two hands with crown sitting on top.

For guys getting heart tattoos the most common place to get them is on the arms such as a heart pierced by a dagger or sword. They can also be done on the chest in a religious sense as a sacred heart tattoo or bleeding heart tattoo.

Whatever way you look at it the heart is an ancient symbol that has come to mean many things to many people and there is no denying the power it represents in our lives. As such heart tattoos are timeless and will most likely never become dated because they hold a very personal meaning and maybe strong memories for the person getting it done.