Heart Tattoos

Heart tattoos are one of the most popular tat designs in the entire tattoo industry. Once solely used for declarations of love, today these popular designs are as diverse as the people who wear them.

Heart tattoos and other images of the heart represent, for many people, the universal theme of love, but this wasn’t always the case. For the Egyptians, the heart was the organ that symbolized the intellect and human will. And the Aztecs believed that the sun would lose its energy unless the hearts of certain unlucky victims were sacrificed to the gods. Tattoos of this kind might today be an indication for young lovers to show their affection, but it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the heart became associated with love—especially in poetry of the time.

Today heart tattoos are popular for their unrivalled ability to visually depict one’s feelings of love—usually with names attached. But within this type there are many variations. Sacred heart tattoos are popular among spiritual-minded people for expressing a religious type of devotion and love. Celtic heart tattoos continue to be asked for in tattoo parlors all over the country for the way their elegant and complex tattoo style can reinvigorate this ancient symbol. And tribal heart tattoos might be one of the trendier tattoos available, because of its aesthetic mix of the powerful tribal style with the more sentimental feeling of the heart itself.

But there aren’t just cupids and “I Love Joanie” skin dedications. Many designs include hearts that are bloody or torn into pieces. These seem to refute classical sentiments about love or perhaps visually represent a relationship that has gone sour. A common saying among tattoo artists is that “love lasts forever…but tattoos last six months longer.” And many tattoo parlors claim that some of the brisker business they do is transforming heart tattoos into something…quite different.

Choosing a style just requires looking at as many different examples as you can and seeing what appeals to you emotionally---they are ‘heart’ tattoos after all. Your tattoo artist can help you find a design that represents you---and not just some sample found in a portfolio.

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