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Celtic Cross Tattoo Ideas

Celtic cross tattoos have a variety of meanings. According to jewelry designer Stephen Walker, the circle at the center of the image may symbolize eternity or represent a halo. The cross itself, according to Walker, may have been based on Druid phallic symbols, while the circle could have been the Druid symbol for the sun. Hate groups have turned the Celtic cross into a symbol of white supremacy. However, you can reinterpret the symbol in a tattoo design that fits your own spiritual and worldly beliefs.
  1. Anti-Hate

    • Reclaim the Celtic cross from hate groups by turning it into a symbol of multiculturalism. Each of the four points on the cross might represent a different ethnic group or minority, with faces of spiritual or political leaders of each minority woven into the patterns at each point. The circle at the center could be the earth.

    God and Mammon

    • If you're a Christian capitalist, or just a spiritual person who also understands the value of money, you can unite these interests by turning the cross symbol into hundred-dollar bills and the circle into a gold coin. Encourage your tattoo artist to have fun with the arabesque designs that border U.S. paper money, uniting that design with the traditional interlocking geometric patterns of Celtic art.

    East Meets West

    • Bring a little Eastern mysticism to your Celtic cross design by turning the circle into a yin-yang symbol and surrounding the cross with the image of a water dragon. "In the Far East, the dragon represents the elements and the four points of the compass and dragons are simultaneously a symbol of Water, Earth, Underworld and Sky," according to the "Vanishing Tattoo" website. Your artist can render the dragon's scales, the swirls of water and the flames from the dragon's snout in twisty Celtic patterns. To solidify the East-West connection, turn the circle in the center of the Celtic cross into a yin-yang symbol.

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