For those with an affinity for religion, they like to represent their faith in many ways. If you walk into the home of someone of faith, you are bound to see symbols around the home that represent this their specific religion.
You might see them wear jewelry or wear clothes that have symbols of their faith on it as well. Every religion has different symbols that represent different parts of that religion. Some even choose to go further and get a tattoo of a symbol that represent what they believe in.
The trinity tattoo is what we will be talking about today. It is also known as the trinity knot or the triquetra. This tattoo is a symbol of the Christian religion and has very powerful symbolism wrapped up in a small image. To have this tattoo is one way to represent how strong your faith is. Some don’t believe tattoos are the way to represent your faith but we disagree. By getting a tattoo, you are letting the world know what you believe in and how strong your conviction is.
In this post we will talk about the history of the trinity and the trinity knot and what it symbolizes for the Christian religion. We will talk about what it means to have this tattoo for those that wear it and discuss some of the different variations of this tattoo and if the meaning changes when other symbols are added to the tattoo. By the end of this post we hope you feel far more informed about the subject than you did before you visited our site.
What is the Trinity
The Trinity is a doctrine that all Christians believe in. It represents the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christians believe in one true and living God who created heaven and earth. He is infinitely powerful, unchangeable, eternal, almighty, holy and wise.
Christians believe that one God exists in three different Persons which is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three parts of the trinity are all the one God and they are all equal. They are all the same God and not three different ones. They are three entities but all the same God.
It can be confusing to those that are not Christian but even to those that are. The point is that it is one of the strongest symbols of the religion so to have the Trinity knot tattooed on the body is a serious sign of faith.
Celtic Trinity Knot Tattoo Meaning
This all ties in with what we were saying but the meaning of this tattoo is to symbolize how strong ones’ faith is. Another version of this tattoo is the Celtic Trinity knot. This is also known as the Triquetra. It actually can hold meaning for both non-Christians and Christians. The definitions of the trinity knot can differ depending on what the person believes in.
We talked about what this symbol means to Christians but to the Pagans, it means something different. Pagans are essentially the modern day cousins of the original Druids and Celts and they take a different approach to what it means to have this tattoo. For Pagans, the trinity knot symbolizes air, earth and water. However, it can mean life, death and rebirth when it is broken down to a more spiritual level.
The origins of the trinity knot are debated. The Christians claim that the monks used this symbol back when they were trying to convert Celts to Christianity back then. On the other hand, it is not unlike Christianity to adopt old pagan symbols and take them for their own. So, in this case, it is hard to say where it originally was developed.
In some cases, when you see the trinity knot tattoo you will see it tattooed with a circle around it. Many believe the circle is a symbol for eternity. For Christians, it could be the eternal circle of life or the eternal love of God. It is an extra part of the symbol that reinforces the original idea.
Trinity Tattoo Variations
There isn’t a great deal of variations for this tattoo. However, you can add any symbol you’d like to the trinity knot tattoo to make it your own. Below are a couple examples of the way we’ve seen the trinity tattoo inked. We hope that with these examples and the pictures below you will have a better idea of the different ways people get the trinity tattoo.
Celtic Trinity Tattoo
The Celtic trinity knot tattoo will look basically the same as any other. The only difference between this one what the Christians would consider a Trinity knot is what you believe in. As we said above, the Pagans might look at this symbol as a way to represent the elements of earth while the Christians believe it represents the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Ripped Skin Trinity Tattoo
The ripped skin Trinity tattoo is a great way to show your love for what you believe in. Whenever we see a ripped skin tattoo, we think that the person is made of whatever is showing through the tears of skin. In this case, the person is such a believer in the Pagan ways or Christianity that they are actually made of it under their torn skin. It is just another really cool way to have this image depicted on your body.
Other Symbols with the Trinity Knot
If you want to enhance the trinity tattoo, you can get other images to reinforce the idea you are trying to convey. Many will get a cross tattoo with the trinity tattoo. They may incorporate it into the design or have the cross near the tattoo.
If you are shooting for the Celtic Trinity knot, we have seen people with Gaelic phrases tattooed around the Trinity knot tattoo as well. You an reinforce your tattoo with other symbols of the time as well.
When looking for your next tattoo, spend some time researching the artist you’d like. If you are having trouble finding the right tattoo artists, ask us for a recommendation.