Many people have wondered about the red string tattoo’s meanings because the designs have become so popular in recent years. What’s interesting is that it is assumed that there is only one meaning and everyone’s red string designs symbolize the same thing, but in fact there are quite a few meanings attached to these elegant designs.
Well, you will find out below that there is one key meaning that plenty of people use, but you might just find that one of the other meanings we point out actually makes more sense for you.
The red string tattoo design is a simple design that can refer to many different concepts and significances. It really comes down to who the owner is and what they want to represent with their red strings. If you decide to get one, you might choose to use more than one meaning if they work equally well for you.
Before you do decide to get a red string tattoo, you should get to know everything you can about the meanings and the ways that you can get yours designed. Below are just some of the more commonly used red string tattoo meanings as well as some information on how they can be designed and where they are usually placed on the body.
Popular Red String Tattoo Meanings
Most commonly, the red string refers to the red string of fate that connects to lovers in a relationship or in marriage. The folktale derives from an Eastern Asian myth where a certain deity ties a string to the ankles, fingers, or other body part, of two lovers who are destined to meet and fall in love. If you think about it, that makes the red string tattoo one of the most romantic tattoos that you can get, if you like the look of the design, of course.
The red string works as an aid, helping the two people find one another by somehow connecting them and keeping them close to each other. This is why you’ll find that people who get these tattoos usually have broken ends on their individual designs that line up perfectly when placed together. It’s meant to show that without each other, the two people do not feel like their whole selves.
This red string of fate myth is very popular in China and Japan and is frequently referenced in East Asian popular culture, particularly anime television series. The classic way of designing these tats is to get a simple string inked on both people, but you can also get the whole design yourself if you want to show the type of love that you want or already have. If you use the anime style, you can include a strong love from a popular series or even make up your own characters.
Contrarily, the red string tattoo may have nothing to do with the red string of fate myth. Even when not representing the red string of fate, the red string tattoo design is a very commonly used as couple’s or marriage tattoos as the string signifies romantic connection.
Two partners often receive this tattoo on their left ring fingers in lieu of wedding bands. Shared by two people, the string can be depicted as a curving or tangled line that depends on both partners placing their individual designs together to complete the image. This creates a stronger sense of connection as the tattoo depends on each person to appear complete.
You can actually include a red string to just about any design to add in additional meanings. Red represents love, among other things, so if you have some type of text tattoo or even an object that could use a little more flair, a simple red strong could be the missing element. An example of this is getting the “Love” text tattoo and adding a red strong to the end of the text.
Other Red String Tattoo Meanings
Individually, red string tattoos may still reference the red string of fate myth. However, in this way, the red string is a symbol of searching for one’s destined lover. If you know that certain someone is out there but you haven’t found them yet, this is probably the best red string tattoo meaning for you. What’s great about this is that later on when you do find that special someone, you can turn your design into a red string of fate tattoo.
In some cases, the red string is rendered with two images on either end, rather than just a simple red string on its own. These images are symbols of lovers and vary from birds and other animals to hands, hearts, and flowers, whatever symbolizes love and companionship to the individual. If you are looking to add in even more meaning to this tattoo, you can attach images that symbolize something else that is very important to you. You could also attach images that also represent love.
Kabbalah, the faith of Jewish mysticism, uses a red bracelet as a symbol of their religious beliefs. The red string in this way represents a symbol of protection used to ward off the curses of the evil eye. Obviously, this is a fantastic meaning to use if you are Jewish or you would simply like to include this meaning in your design. There are quite a few other symbols of protection out there, so you might even be able to find a way to incorporate the red string into a larger protection design.
Red String Tattoo Designs and Placement
The string can be designed in many ways from a simple red line to a thin red string or much thicker red rope. The tone of color may vary as well from a pale red or even pinkish hue to a deep maroon or burgundy. It can also be rendered as a ribbon with white highlights to create a more realistic look. A delicate bow is often added to the red string to create a more feminine look and is often used for the tattoo of a female partner.
Words like love, happiness, forever, or a lover’s name are sometimes introduced into the design, creating the word with a length of the string. This helps to further personalize the design and makes for a more unique tattoo. The text itself is completely customizable, so you can choose the font that you think will look best on your skin. A lot of people opt to get some type of script font since the wavy lines work quite well when combined with the red string.
Regardless of the style of string, the color is always a shade of red when the design of the tattoo is meant to indicate the red string of fate myth. It doesn’t have to be dark red, but you do want to make it an obvious red color since the whole idea of the design is to represent the red string.
As with most other tattoos, you can choose to place the red string tattoo just about anywhere on your body. However, most people do choose to place their red string designs on their forearms, wrists, or fingers since they want them to be as visible as possible.
Other popular placement areas include shoulders and ankles. These are great spots to get red string tattoos if you want them to be a bit more hidden away, but not so hidden away that you can’t quickly show them off when you want to.
If you are getting matching tattoos with someone else, you will want to get them placed in exactly the same area so they line up perfectly. You can plan this out and take the final designs to the shop when you’re ready, or you could have your tattoo artist draw them up from scratch to ensure that the lines work perfectly together.
Is the Red String Tattoo Right for You?
While the red strong tattoo is a very cool love tattoo, it’s not going to be for everyone. They aren’t the best love tattoos for people who are looking for love since they can never be sure that their future spouse will want to get the matching design. It’s also not great for people who don’t want to get a very visible tattoo.
The perfect candidates for red strong tattoos are those who find one or more meanings to be perfect or them and those who already have someone who wants to get a matching red string on their skin. In some rare cases it is a great tattoo to get even if you don’t have a partner yet, but you will want to really think this over before committing.
Even though the red string tattoo looks like a very simple design, you will still want to have a good artist do the work for you should you decide to get one. They will understand that it is a very meaningful tattoo and, if you are getting matching designs with someone else, they will ensure that the tattoos line up the way that you want them to.