Rose tattoo makes an iconic design because of its boldness, brilliance, and absolute beauty. Rose tattoos can never get old; these are timeless beauty that can never fade or fail to delight someone. If you want to learn about rose tattoo meaning and significance, you are in the right place.
In this article, we have come up with detailed rose tattoo meaning and historical significance. Not only this, but you will also get to know about various rose tattoo styles, popular colors, and the right placement for your designs.
Check out this detailed guide for timeless rose tattoo designs.
What Does A Rose Tattoo Mean?
Various legends and myths are surrounding rose tattoo meaning. The beauty, fragrance, and even the thorns of a traditional rose tattoo have stories explaining the magnificent flower’s conception.
There is a plethora of culture in a rose design tattoo coming from the vast history of this flower. Rose is a classic symbol dating back to 35 million years. It can be found in entire Asia, Middle East, Africa, and even beyond that. However, Rose flower tattoos are the most prevalent in the American tattoo culture.
Want to know why? Rose flower tattoo has a wealth of meaning, including love, war, purity, politics, and beauty. However, a traditional rose tattoo is always linked to ideas of romance and love. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was depicted with a crown of roses adorning the heat and small rose flowers around her neck and feet.
This can have several interpretations, but the main association comes from a rose bush that grows within a blood spilled pool of her slain lover, Adonis. The most common symbolization here is that a rose tattoo represents immortal love that can withstand time and death.
Hey, wait! The history of rose flower tattoo does not end here.
Historic Symbolism:
According to Romans, the birth of elegant rose flowers starts with Flora, Goddess of Spring, and Flowers walks through the lush lands. Rose has its danger associated with a real femme fatale; therefore, it makes sense rose flowers would flourish under the rule of Flora as a corpse. Goddess Flora finds her favorite nymph lying in the cold blades of grass, then calls other gods to turn the nymphs into a flower.
The myth does not end here; according to Roman mythology, Venus took the place of Aphrodite. Wealthy Romans filled the bed chambers with large bouquets of roses to provide a pleasant and soft smelling surface for the amorous encounters.
Rose was a symbol of beauty and love associated with the goddess, and it also represents secrecy after Cupid offers a rose to the God of silence for keeping quiet about Venus affairs. In Roman dining rooms, the ceilings were covered with roses urging the guests to keep quiet about the dinner table talks. “Under the rose” and “sub rosa” means confidentially today.
Not only Greeks and Romans, but even the Christians also have various myths surrounding the rose blooms.
In Christianity, the red rose has been a symbol of the Virgin Mary since the third century AD. Saint Ambrose believed that the Garden of Eden was covered with thornless roses and gained the thorns after the fall, symbolizing Original Sin. This is the reason Virgin Mary is associated with the “rose without thorns” tattoo.
Multiple Meanings, One Flower
Now that you know a little history behind the traditional rose flower and how it came into prevalence in the tattoo world, things make a little more sense to you.
But how to choose the right style of rose tattoo designs for you? Rose tattoo meaning and symbolism are dependent on various elements of the flowers.
Color
The primary thing about rose tattoos that people ask about is the color of the flower. Like every gardener, a tattoo artist will tell you that different rose flower colors hold different significance tracing back to historical times.
Red Rose Tattoo
A traditional red rose tattoo can have meanings like passion and love.
Purple Rose Tattoo
Purple Rose tattoo symbolizes enchantment, daring or bold. It is also a color that symbolizes royalty.
Pink Rose Tattoo
The pink rose tattoo symbolizes grace, affection, and gratitude.
Blue Rose Tattoo
A blue rose tattoo can have meaning like impossible or attainable, representing a very rare or unnatural bloom.
Yellow Rose Tattoo
A yellow rose tattoo is a symbol of luck, friendship, and joy.
Black Rose Tattoo
A black rose tattoo also has various meanings. It is a symbol of mourning, death, and grief. However, remember that blackwork tattoos are very famous; therefore, this color may not represent the same meaning until a person carries it so.
Black and White Rose Tattoo
Black and white rose tattoos are done in grey and black color. This tattoo does not have any specific meaning attached to the color. This is a classic tattoo design, especially when done in Chicano illustrative style. People usually opt for this tattoo because of its aesthetics.
White Rose Tattoo
A white rose tattoo symbolizes platonic love, innocence, purity, platonic love, peace, and magic. White ink can produce very interesting designs and realistic designs. People usually opt for white tattoo designs to make it look less noticeable like other vivid and black colors.
The rose tattoo color holds great significance; however, it is not the only meaning for the tattoo. Many other elements symbolize different rose flower tattoo meanings.
Shape
The shape of the rose is also a symbolic element in itself. A rosebud tattoo symbolizes new beginnings, purity, and youth. The meaning only makes sense as it is the mark of a flower life, and it is pure and so new.
A bloomed rose tattoo design is a representation of beauty or balance. When we reconsider a rose flower’s life cycle, it means you have grown, changed, and found a balance in life.
Then comes a wilting rose tattoo signifying the end of the rose life cycle. It also holds great meaning. A wilting rose symbolizes loss, death, and unrequited love.
Thorns
Adding thorns to a rose tattoo holds another level of meaning. A Thorned rose tattoo has a meaning like loss, pain, or hurt. It projects a defensive side of you.
A Thorned rose tattoo contrasts with the beauty of a rose, symbolizing that the flower’s beauty is skin deep and has more than what eyes see. Thorns can also represent protection.
A thornless rose tattoo represents the hope that you are letting your guards down. You want to tell people that you still see hope in the world.
Number
Rose tattoo design can be done in singles or bunches; each has a different significance depending on the number.
A single rose tattoo is a universal symbol of love. It also represents courage, respect, happiness, apology, admiration, friendship, or loss, depending on the color of the rose.
Two roses tattoo represents romantic love, a memory of a lost one, or a deep friendship. This may also symbolize the unity between two people or duality.
Getting a bouquet of roses or multiple tattoos also adds various meanings. For instance, black roses symbolize loss or grief, and having multiple black roses can represent the loss of many loved ones.
Various Styles of the Rose Tattoo
Not every rose tattoo needs to look like a traditional flower; the design and style can vary depending on your preference. There are full-color pieces, tribal rose style, and black or grey. Like any other tattoo, you can add as many elements in your rose tattoo as you like, and each will have a different meaning.
These are some of the common rose tattoo styles:
- Rose and a skull: if you think it symbolizes death, you are wrong. Rose and skull make a powerful duo. It symbolizes overcoming an obstacle with power.
- Butterfly and rose: this is a popular tattoo design among females. It is a symbol of beauty or feminism.
- Rose and a cross: adding a cross symbol to your rose tattoo can represent your love and faith towards God.
- Rose with a heart: a heart and rose symbolize true love. This can also mean first love or enduring love.
Read More:- These Are The Popular Lotus Flower Tattoo Designs
Popular Placements for Rose Tattoo
The most popular placement for rose tattoos is the ones that attract a lot of attention and stand out from other parts of the body. Can you guess what they are?
Rose Hand & Finger Tattoo
This is by far the most popular placement for rose tattoo designs. Getting a rose tattoo inked on a hand or finger is like saying we are truly devoted to the art of tattooing.
A rose hand or finger tattoo is a safe play as no one can get offended by a flower, and nor does it hold any negative meaning (like an association with a gang).
You can get a rose hand tattoo or finger tattoo in any style that you like; just make sure that the artist is really good. Rose is a flower that never wilts or dies in a symbolic sense. And everything you will touch will be blessed and bloom with grace.
Rose Forearm & Shoulder Tattoo
If you do not want your tattoo to pop, moving up on your arm is a great idea. A rose shoulder and forearm tattoo is quite popular.
People often chose a rose arm tattoo design because they are so varied, and you can get some bigger and more detailed concepts.
As an arm, shoulders offer a large area, and you can get long tattoo styles with some powerful elements along with roses.
Rose shoulder tattoo also works really well because of the shape of the flower. The blooming flower’s petals can be formed beautifully on the round space and drape gracefully on your upper back.
Rose Neck Tattoo & Rose Chest Tattoo
Another one of the statement styles is getting a rose chest tattoo. This rose tattoo meaning, and historical symbolism makes it perfect for a bigger design and on its own.
You can choose complicated designs for chest tattoos and adorn them with beautiful rosebuds. You can also get rose neck tattoos that merge seamlessly with the design on your chest. This concept works well together if you want to use rose flowers to link both teh designs.
Neck tattoos are for bold people as they are a big commitment. However, you can never go wrong with the blooms of roses.
Rose Hip Tattoo & Rose Thigh Tattoo
If you want a tattoo design that can be a little undercover, then go for a rose thigh tattoo or a hip tattoo design. These areas are not easily noticeable, and you can get to decide if you want to hide or show off.
The placement of a tattoo holds great significance, so before getting inked, make sure you know why you picked the design’s particular placement.
Do you dream of getting a big job like a lawyer in the supreme court or want to be a teacher in a foreign country? If yes, then getting a rose neck tattoo or rose hand tattoo will not be the right pick for you.
Rose Tattoos for Women
Finding the right rose tattoo designs with deep meaning for women can be quite difficult. Every tattoo design will have different influences depending on the wearer’s personal style, taste, and perception. Your tattoo should hold significance only for you.
Maybe you want a tattoo to celebrate the allure of rose flowers, or perhaps you have an emotion, idea, or memory that you want to get inked. Think carefully about why you are getting the tattoo design and want the significance it holds for you.
Do you want large or detailed designs to devote a large part of the body, or are you looking for a small rose tattoo? All these options can impact your overall design. Keep all these factors in mind when getting a rose tattoo for women so that you can love it for a lifetime.
Rose Tattoos for Women
Similar to rose tattoo ideas for women, a men’s tattoo can be varied. There is no limitation when it comes to the choice of design.
A rose tattoo can be done in a very dark art with an illustrative style, or if you prefer detailed art, you can get that too.
There are plenty of examples, like a ship surrounded by beautiful blooms or a woman with a rose in her hair replicating the Dali painting. The choice of design is totally up to you.
To get the right design idea, think of the tattoo placement, size of the design, colors, or style. Do you want the tattoo to cover your back or chest entirely? Or are you looking for a traditional rose tattoo add on with some other cool elements? Think deeply about what tattoo style truly resonates with you. Do you prefer bold Neo-traditional or blackwork style?
All these factors will spark an idea in your mind, and you will be able to curate an awesome rose design tattoo. Now all you need is to find a great tattoo artist to ink the design.
Read More:- 11 Best Face Tattoo Ideas For Men And Women
Small Rose Tattoo
There are plenty of options when it comes to small rose tattoo designs. A small rose tattoo is perfect for first-timers or people who want a delicate design to adorn the body without taking much space. However, small rose tattoos can also be used as fillers in big detailed designs.
Although a small rose tattoo cannot incorporate a lot of detail, there are plenty of beautiful pieces that will look great on-ear accents, fingers, or any similar placement.
Final Words:
Roses are as diverse as the people who get the tattoo. Depending on your personal likes, preference, style choice, and significance it holds for you, you can get any design you like.
A rose tattoo can hold many meanings depending on the color and the elements accompanying it. Putting various colors and details can personalize the meaning for the wearer.
Details are what make a tattoo unique and special for every individual. Choose the right rose tattoo design for you and go to your favorite artist to get inked.
