Angel tattoos are an incredibly popular choice for both men and women. This isn’t a new thing, either. The angel is a classic tattoo design that comes in many forms and holds many meanings for those who have gotten one.
These days you can choose from thousands of fantastic angel tattoo designs and be proud of your tat for the rest of your life. On this page, we will take a look at the history of angel tattoos and some of the most common angel tattoo meanings.
Traditionally, angels are used to represent the relationship between heaven and earth and are viewed as messengers between divine entities and humans. Many people feel that the angel they have tattooed on their bodies will help “look after them” during the tougher moments in their lives. These angels serve as a source of comfort to the people who get them, making them very powerful tattoo options.
Angel tattoos are also used by many to memorialize a loved one who has passed. In this regard, they are viewed as guardians of the soul who protect and guide our loved ones to the heavenly realms. Some people get the angel by itself, while other people will make the meaning more obvious by including clouds or other heavenly images.
If you were looking for a way to have a constant reminder of a loved one, you really can’t do too much better than the angel tattoo. You can get a classic design or even get a unique angel. Regardless of the design you go with, these angel tattoos hold very deep meanings, so the most important thing is that the angel is designed in a way to best represent the loved one you are memorializing.
Historically, angels have been used to symbolize power, victory, and courage. They were used to represent determination and skill in battle, among other things. An example of this is Archangel Michael who was the ultimate warrior and whose image can be used to depict spiritual strength in the face of adversity.
If you love the look of the angel tattoo and want to use an alternative meaning, it would be a good idea to look into the different angels and their meanings to find one that makes sense for you. Again, it will come down to the design that you prefer and the meaning that you want to use, so you can get a classic-looking angel tattoo or even come up with your own.
Angel tattoos can also represent one’s faith. In some cases, the angel by itself will make this meaning clear enough, but you can do more to make it an obvious faith tattoo. For example, Christians might include a cross or even a bible with their angel tattoo. Other faiths will use symbols that represent their religions to go along with the angel.
Angels are watchers who are forever observing. This is very meaningful regardless of where you get the angel tattoo placed, but a very common placement of it is on the shoulder. Being able to see an “angel on your shoulder” will give you a constant reminder that you are not alone in this world no matter how bad things get. In this way, the angel tattoo can be seen as both a spiritual image and a motivational tattoo.
An angel tattoo can be a reminder to keep the faith and trust our inner light. Many people struggle with their religion when they are going through hardships, so some people will get an angel tattoo to remind themselves that those moments are just hurdles that they have to get over. In these cases, the angel tattoo can be placed pretty much anywhere on the body.
A new popular location for an angel tattoo with this meaning is on the forearm since it’s pretty much always visible and can help people before their troubles get out of control.
Another very popular angel tattoo meaning is hope. The fact that classic angel designs show very innocent people with wings, they have a way of giving people hope for the future regardless of what they are going through. The fact is that most people love the “hope” meaning and that along with all of the other angel tattoo meanings makes this design as popular as it is.
A less common but equally fantastic angel tattoo meaning is awareness. As we pointed out above, angels are supposed to be all around us watching as we live our everyday lives. With the “awareness” meaning, the angel comes to represent the owner being aware of his or her surroundings at all times. If this is a personal attribute that you love about yourself, the angel tattoo might be the perfect design for you.
Believe it or not, angel tattoos can also represent love. Yes, there are far more popular love tattoos, but the angel can symbolize love all by itself or it can complement other designs. You don’t even have to get Cupid as your love angel; you can design a new one or use a classic angel tattoo image.
Since many angel designs show children with wings, it is easy to see why angel tattoos can sometimes symbolize innocence. What’s interesting about this angel tattoo meaning is that you can get the angel to represent your own innocence or a child in your life. Some people get angel tattoos to represent all of their children regardless of their ages, while others will get angel tattoos to represent their deceased children.
Other symbolic meanings for angels are trust, divinity, spirit, intelligence, purity, courage, love and protection. As with just about every other tattoo design out there, you can use just one of these meanings or use a bunch of them if they make sense to you. The trick to it is making all of the meanings come through your design without having to explain them to everyone who sees your tat.
As with most tattoos there are multiple versions of these tattoos that can be selected. Examples are:
Cherub
: Characterized by winged babies with chubby cheeks, cherubs represent love. The most iconic cherub includes a bow and arrow to symbolize Cupid. Even though this is a classic angel tattoo design, you can tweak it in any way that you want to make it yours and yours alone. As long as you keep all of the characteristics of the Cherub, most people will know what it represents.
Guardian angel
: These angels are viewed as protective representatives of god who guide mankind towards good deeds. These tattoos depict a man or woman with wings and occasionally are shown holding the hand of a child. Some people also opt to get a tattoo of just a guardian angel wing to protect them from dangers and difficulties in their lives.
Fallen angel
: These tattoos often depict men or women in tattered or torn clothing and wings. Fallen angels are those who have been banished from heaven for wrongdoing. They represent the good and evil inside every man. They are also considered evil angels and can represent the dark side of life. Popular choices are Lucifer, Mephistopheles, and Beelijibub.
Angel of death
: This angel is also referred to as the grim reaper. However, there is a difference between the two- the grim reaper does not have wings and is draped in a black cloak whereas the angel of death typically has exotic wings.
Once you’ve come up with an angel tattoo design that you love, the next thing to think about is where you want to have it placed on your body.
Lucky for you, in most cases, angel tattoos don’t gain or lose any meaning no matter where you get them placed. Still, it’s worth thinking about since you want the design to work with the contours of your body.
As you can see, there are a lot of different angel tattoo designs out there and just about the same amount of meanings. You really can’t go wrong with any angel tattoo design since they are usually very personal and the main thing is to get a design that you will always be happy with. Chances are this is not a tattoo design that you will ever regret.