A heart tattoo can be quite small while still being recognizable, which means that it’s popular with people who want to have a small but meaningful tattoo. Although the heart symbol is generally shown in red, heart tattoo designs can come in a wide variety of colors and styles. Old school heart tattoos are very popular, especially when displayed with other old school tattoo designs such as roses, banners and sparrows.
A simple heart tattoo design. Red is the traditional color for a heart tattoo, though there is no rule that says heart tattoo designs must be red. It’s up to the person who wants the tattoo to choose the color. [source]
Heart Tattoos are Lovely Body Art Designs
Heart shapes have been around for thousands of years in art, although they weren’t always used as a stylized representation of a human heart. Most of these early precursors to heart designs were in the form of leaf designs and spear heads. Over time, the same shape was adapted to become a symbol of the human heart – the place in the body that was believed to be the birthplace of emotions like love and passion.
A tree of life tattoo with a tree growing out of a human heart, symbolizing the cycle of life, and that the heart is at the root of all growth in life. The human heart is a complex organ, as seen in this heart tree tattoo. The heart symbol is a simplified representation of the human heart, minus all the veins and valves. [source]
The heart symbol has been used in religious artworks, on playing cards and as the favored symbol for Valentine’s day. The symbol is simple, yet it carries complicated meanings of adoration, generosity, love, passion, desire, health, blood, lust and approval.
Two tattoos that depict typical playing card designs for the King and Queen of Hearts. In archetypal psychology, the King and Queen are the most powerful archetypes, and are the rulers of the soul. [source]
Heart tattoos became popular in the early 1900s, when sailors began to wear heart tattoos with the word “Mum” in the center. Later, heart tattoos bore the names of wives and/or children, sometimes even a favored port. During World War II, soldiers wore heart tattoos with the name of a girlfriend or wife. The tattoos were considered lucky charms – keepsakes of loved ones that they couldn’t lose in the chaos of fighting.
The banners across the two hearts in this tattoo read “mom” and “dad” in celebration of this person’s parents. The roses add to the loving nature of this tattoo. “Mom” and “dad” tattoos are often inked as a way to show gratitude to parents for all they have done. [source]
As tattoo machines improved and tattoo artists could produce finer detail in their art works, heart tattoo designs became more complex. Some were depicted with symbolic elements such as snakes, swords, fire or flowers. A very popular form of heart tattoo included a banner that hung across the heart with a name or motto written across it.
This corset tattoo has a heart at its center, surrounded by feminine tattoo designs like lace and ribbons. Corsets and lingerie are items of clothing that are designed to incite passion and lust, so it is appropriate that these physical sensations of love are centred around a heart. [source]
The Meaning of Heart Tattoos
The heart symbol is made up of two halves, usually the same size and shape. Without one half, the symbol would not be complete, so the heart symbol represents a union or joining of two people in a relationship. They can also represent the emotional joining created when a person loves a place, idea or animal.
This heart tattoo design uses two roaring lion heads to create the finished design. The heart shape would not exist in this design if there was only one roaring lion. This tattoo is both a symbol of and a visual pun on the word “lionheart”. It means strength, leadership and passion. [source]
A heart that is torn in two is a broken heart and is used to symbolize emotional pain. Often after a relationship ends, people will turn to this symbol as a visual expression of the heart broken feeling that they are experiencing. Because a tattoo is permanent, a tattoo of a broken heart means the person has no faith that they will ever feel whole again after experiencing a loss.
A tattoo of the blood spatter broken heart graphic from the movie “Sweeney Todd”. The “blood” as ink is a symbolism of death and destruction. [source]
The meaning of heart tattoos change according to what style and color the heart design uses, and what symbols the heart is displayed with. Wings represent freedom and spiritual ascension. A winged heart could symbolize that someone “flies on wings of passion” or feels that love has set them free.
The tattoo on this girl’s lower back combines three powerful symbols, a heart, wings and a keyhole. This could symbolize a hope that someone or something holds the key to her heart and will set her free, or it could symbolize the use of passion to unlock her potential. [source]
Flower species have their own meanings in tattoos, and when combined with a heart create an entirely new meaning. A rose is a very popular flower to combine with a heart in tattoos designs. Both the heart and rose represent love and passion, but while the heart could represent a physical sensation, the rose can represent the emotional side of love. (Read more about flower tattoos)
This rose and heart tattoo sports the word “faith”. This is a reminder to the wearer to have faith, in their religion or purpose or in themselves. Heart tattoos are often inked in this classic American Traditional tattoo style, as the shading technique gives the heart a soft and romantic effect. [source]
Heart tattoos don’t necessarily need to show a red heart. The heart design can be made up of other things, such as animals (as seen in the lionheart tattoo above) or objects and ideas that are precious to a person. The silhouette of a heart is highly recognizable, so as long as the design stays faithful to the outline of a heart, it is a heart tattoo.
This couple has had matching Tetris heart tattoos inked into their forearms. Tetris hearts are a symbol that all of the aspects of their relationship fit together to form a loving, passionate bond between the couple. [source]
