The Cross, one of the most ancient and important symbols of human history is today perhaps one of the most popular wrist tattoo designs in the World. As a tattoo design, no religious icon or symbol is more universally recognized today than the Latin Cross. Some people get a cross tattoo to express their religious feelings, others may just like a certain design or just want to give a powerful symbolic meaning to their tattoo. The cross symbolizes life and immortality, fertility, the union of heaven and earth, the sun and the stars. Its four pointers symbolize North, South, West and East, the four winds, the four basic elements (Air, Earth, Fire and Water) and the human form itself.
Cross tattoos often function as memorial tattoos, combining the ancient symbol of the cross with the name and/or date of the one who has passed away. Memorial tattoos unfortunately always become very widespread after certain tragic disasters (like 9/11) or a war (Iraq, World War) as tribute to someone, but as sadly personal losses occur more often, this kind of wrist tattoo gets tattooed on millions of wrists day by day. Memorial tattoos have always been a very honest way of saying final farewell to ones beloved ones, so a memorial cross wrist tattoo is one of the best ways to express grief, and even has the strength to replace the role of a gravestone.
Since the cross symbol was used all over the world for thousands of years, it is not big a surprise, that it took on many different meanings within different cultures, and has many different shapes and meanings these days. Cross tattoos are among the most versatile tattoo symbols out there today. Wrist-Tattoo.com collected the following cross wrist tattoo designs to help your wrist tattoo research: the Latin Cross, the Celtic Cross, the Maltese Cross, the Greek Cross, the Southern Cross, the Anchor Cross, the Indian Cross and combinations of the cross with other designs.
Latin Cross Wrist Tattoos
Latin Cross, also known as Roman or Christian Cross is by far the most popular one. The Christian faith thinks of the cross as a symbol that represents the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and also Jesus's victory over dead. And as the Christian religion doesn't have a rule against tattoos, it is very popular among believers to 
show their devotion to God in such a way. It is interesting to know, that this universally recognizable symbol of Christianitywas not adopted as such until 300 AD.
If we just do a little research on the basic Latin Cross symbol, we will find, that there is a huge variation of symbols and images, and this way a tremendous number of wrist tattoo designs. The origin of the basic cross, the one that actually is The Latin Cross comes from the Latin expression of "crux ordinaria". Since ancient histories the vertical line always represents the divine, while the horizontal line represents the world. The intersection itself represents the union of the two axes. Latin Cross wrist tattoos are generally quite small and are usually done in black ink. Most popular parts of the body for such a tattoo are the wrists, hands and arms.
Other type of Latin Cross wrist tattoo designs are:
- The Crucifix, an image that also shows Jesus himself on the cross.
- Combining a crown of thorns and/or nails with the cross or the Crucifix is a popular way to express Jesuss sacrifice.
Celtic Cross Wrist Tattoo
The Celtic cross is a standard Christian cross, but with intricate knot-work, and a circle around the intersection of the two axes. Arguments over the spiritual meaning of the ancient Cross symbol go around eternally, just as the knots and the circle within the Celtic cross wrist tattoos. As an emblematic expression, the circle and the cross could not be more different. The cross is a religious and spiritual symbol while the circle is almost geometrical. The circle stands and always stood for eternity and from a religious aspect it symbolizes the endlessness love of God. The cross relates to the four Cardinal directions, or "corners" of the Earth, or perhaps to the four elements (Air, Earth, Fire and Water); while the axes symbolize the coming together of forces such as Heaven and Earth, or holy and human. Read more about Celtic tattoos.
Maltese Cross Wrist Tattoo
The Maltese cross, symbol of an ancient group of Christian warriors (the "Ordre des Hospitaliers") has 4 V-shaped arms and 8 points that stand for: Faithfulness, Piousness, Integrity, Courage, Glory, Disdain of death, Helpfulness, Respect for the church.
Greek Cross Wrist Tatoos
The Greek Cross, originated from Ancient Greece about three thousand years ago, predates the Latin Cross and was not intended to represent the cross of the crucifixion. Instead it represents the four directions of the earth, the spread of the gospel, and the four platonic elements. It was also popular in pre and post Christian Celtic art. It is known today as one of the most recognized symbols of the World: the Red Cross. As this cross design is equal in all four arms, this sign became the symbol of everyone being equal from all aspects of human rights.
Southern Cross Wrist Tattoo
The Southern Cross, also known as the Crux, is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, mostly visible in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Cross is somewhat kite-shaped, and its uniqueness comes from that it has a fifth point, compared to the regular cross symbols with their four points. The five points are actually five stars where the fifth star is the Crucis itself. You can find this symbol on several national flags as well, like the flags of Australia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. The term Southern Cross can also refer to the blue saltire as used in various flags of the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War.
Anchor Cross Wrist Tattoos
Other popular cross symbol is the Anchor Cross, also known as the Sailors Cross, which is a popular design for people facing hard times. The word "anchor" in Greek is "ankura", and a the phrase "en kurio" means "in the Lord". The anchor is a life saver, for centuries it came to symbolize hope. As it can prevent a ship from crashing into rocks, it is believed, that it can also save spiritual lives when tattood on ones wrist. The nautical image of an anchor also gives the idea of "navigation through life".
Indian Cross Wrist Tattoos
As one of the oldest cross symbols, the Indian Cross originates from about four thousand years ago. It was the symbol of auspiciousness, and it was seen as the "wheel of the World", symbolizing an ever-changing World around the unchanging God-centre. It was also used in other parts of the World: the Near and Far East, North America, and Europe. In more recent history the reverse of this symbol, also known as the Swastika, was used to represent Nazi Germany under Hitler.
Combining a cross wrist tattoo with different symbols
Very often cross tattoos dont stand alone, but are combined with other tattoo designs. As all tattoo symbols have their own history and meaning, by combining your cross wrist tattoo with another design, one can add a personal meaning to his or her cross wrist tattoo design and make it a unique piece of tattoo art. Below you will find the most popular tattoo designs that can be easily added to a cross wrist tattoo:
- Butterflies
- Hearts
- The sun, the moon and stars
- Tribal tattoos
- Flowers
- Flames
- Other symbols: When a countrys flag is placed behind the cross as a background, it ads the patriotic meaning to ones wrist tattoo. It is quite often to see various sentences or just a few words (usually from the Bible) displayed with the cross. Angel wings, daggers, praying hands and rosary beads are very popular choice as a combination with cross wrist tattoos as well.
The impressive number of variations of cross tattoo designs, and simply the emblematic power of the cross as a symbol, ensures that by choosing a cross as your first (or next) wrist tattoo, you have found a tattoo design thats power has been around since the ancient histories, and will remain until the end of time. So, are you still thinking of getting a cross wrist tattoo but can't find "the one" you are looking for? Wrist-Tattoo.com can help! We have reviewed a lot of the webs tattoo design collections and can tell that the ones below are by far the best ones. Whether you are looking for cross wrist tattoo designs or other styles, these collections will help you find the tattoo you want for the rest of your life.
Browse other wrist tattoo designs
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