Rose Tattoos

Are you aware that rose tattoos are one of the most popular choices amongst women today?  While butterfly and fairy tattoos are also highly popular feminine designs, the rose is something that can be easily incorporated into almost any design and modified to the exact shape, color and size that you want.  There are some aspects you need to keep in mind when choosing a rose tattoo...

Are you aware that the colors of different roses have different meanings?

Roses have always been praised for their beauty. Their symbolic meaning goes way back into history:

• For the Romans and Ancient Greeks the rose represented love and beauty and they identified the flower with Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
• For Christians the rose represents the Virgin Mary (The Mystical Rose).
• Roses were used in Ancient Egypt to worship the Goddess Isis, the ideal mother and wife.

When choosing a rose tattoo design, your first step should be taking some time to really decide what you are most interested in.  Is it important for you that a tattoo projects a specific meaning?  Do you have a specific design or color that you are interested in?  

 

The red rose is the most popular as a tattoo design. Other colors that are popular are blue, yellow and pink roses.  One design that is not as common, but still makes a great looking piece is the black rose tattoos  These are quite unique and can incorporate a dark side to almost any tattoo without much trouble at all. 

Rose tattoos often incorporate an additional element, the most popular being:

• The Butterfly: butterflies and roses, a natural combination.
• Heart tattoos: 2 symbols of love combine into a super love tattoo.
• Tribal designs: a stylized version of a rose or a combination with tribal patterns.
• A banner with the name of a beloved one
• A Dagger: the love-hate relationship
• Dragonfly tattoos: just like butterflies, a natural combination
• A gun: love-hate again
• Barbed wire around the rose vine: love can hurt and is not without risk.
• Cross tattoos: memorial tattoo for a beloved one. Roses are also frequently used in "in loving memory" designs.
• Skull Tattoos: can be a memorial tattoo, as well as other meanings.
• Dragon tattoos: in love with a dragon?

For most people, a rose tattoo often symbolizes love. This leads many to the traditional red rose, though there are several other colors that also offer significant meaning:

Red roses: love, romantic feelings, passion Yellow roses: joy, friendship Pink roses: gentleness, admiration White roses: purity, spiritual love, innocence Orange roses: fascination Rosebuds: youth Red and white roses together: unity A thornless rose: love at first sight A single rose: I love you

Of course it's entirely possible that rose tattoos have a completely different symbolic meaning for you, something personal and unique.

Tribal Rose Tattoos

Here are some examples of tribal rose tattoos. The designs can picture a stylized version of a rose and are usually black, like this one:

   

Alternatively the designs can incorporate a rose in tribal patterns, like these examples:

 

      

Rose Heart Tattoos

Rose heart tattoos are a very popular combination, and it's easy to see why, both heart tattoos and rose tattoos are the symbols for love. Here are some designs:

       

 

Rose Of Jericho Tattoos

Rose of Jericho tattoos are kind of mythical in the tattoo world. The writer John Irving talks about a Rose of Jericho tattoo in his book "Until I Find You". What's special about this design is that if you look close enough, you can see an image of a woman's labia. This story came to live a life of its own on the Internet, until it reached mythical proportions. No one has ever seen a Rose of Jericho tattoo though...

A Rose of Jericho (aka Resurrection Plant) is a kind of herb that dries up after the rainy season, curling into a ball. When it gets wet, it spreads out again, relieving its seeds.

 

Compass Rose Tattoos

Compass rose tattoos are something entirely different. Just like rose tattoos, compass rose tattoos have been around since the beginning of the modern tattoo era. They were both popular designs amongst sailors who believed the compass rose tattoo would bring them luck and would ensure they get back to shore safely.

Compass Rose tattoos are having a revival because the old school designs are back in vogue again.

 

Celebrities With a Rose Tattoo

• Heather Locklear: has a heart rose tattoo on her ankle.
• Ricky Martin: singer with a rose heart.
• Heather Locklear: has a rose heart tattoo just above her right ankle. It's a broken heart out of which comes the rose. Above it is the name "Finch", her boyfriend.
• Cher: has a black rose on her ankle.
• Holly Marie Combs: has a rose tattoo on her left shoulder
• Ricky Martin: has a heart rose tattoo
• Richie Sambora: has a cross rose tattoo on his arm. Above it is the word "God", below the word "Faith".
• Slash: has a skull tattoo with guns and roses on his left biceps.
• Vinnie Jones: has a classic rose tattoo on his arm
• Mary J Blige: has a rose on her left thigh