Angel tattoos are a very popular choice of tattoo designs. Angels appear in many religions, particularly Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Beings resembling angels also appear in many other religions around the world. Angels are the messengers from heaven. The popularity of Angel tattoos is easy to explain. Angels are commonly depicted as beings of great beauty and grace. Also, angels encapsulate purity and faithfulness and having an Angel tattoo can be like carrying your guardian angel with you everywhere you go. Some people even choose to have angel wings tattooed on their back – perhaps to reflect that they aspire towards angel-like qualities themselves.
From an artistic standpoint, Angel tattoos and Angel wing tattoos can be beautiful and highly detailed designs. It allows a talented tattoo artist to show his skill. Angel tattoo designs can also be any size, making it possible to put an angel tattoo on any part of the body. It is also possible to combine Angel tattoo designs with other styles.
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Types of Angel Tattoos & Meanings
Archangel
Archangels are angels of the highest rank, such as St Michael. Many Archangel Tattoos depict St Michael battling with one of the Fallen Angels, such as Lucifer.
Guardian Angel
Guardian Angel tattoos can bring protection and serenity, and comfort to the wearer. Many people believe that with a Guardian Angel tattoo, they carry their own guardian angel with them everywhere they go.
Angel Tattoos for Men
It is not uncommon for men to choose an Angel tattoo design when someone close to them has died. This can be a sign of respect and also represent the deceased person watching over them from above.
Baby Angel
Perhaps the most common type of Angel Tattoo designs depict Baby Angels or Cherubs. A Cherub tattoo signifies love.
Cherub
Praying Angel
Some Angel tattoos will often depict an angel praying. There are many fine tattoo pictures like this on the internet.
Angel Tattoos for Women
Angel Wings
Many people choose an Angel Wing Tattoo somewhere on their back. These are usually a tattoo of wings and can often be quite large. This can signify that the person has angelic traits.
Fallen Angel
Fallen Angel Tattoos or Angel Devil Tattoos depict one of the fallen angels: Satan, Lucifer, or Beelzebub. These can look like quite menacing angels, with tattered wings, or even have traits of demons, such as horns.
Angel of Death
Another quite dark tattoo design is the Angel of Death Tattoo. The Angel of Death is similar to the Grim Reaper – although he has wings – while the Grim Reaper does not.
History of Angel Tattoos
Angels are regarded in a large number of religions around the world as spiritual beings. They are depicted in the Christian and Jewish Bibles and the Quran as messengers from God. The word Angel comes from the Greek word ‘Aggelo,’ which means ‘messengers.’
Being depicted as messengers and intermediaries between human beings and God, Angels are also often mentioned as protecting and guiding human beings and carrying out God’s tasks. Individual Angels have been named such as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel – each with appointed tasks and specialties. Satan/Lucifer was also an Angel who fell from God’s grace to become a Fallen Angel. There are also many other Fallen Angels who upset God at some point and got kicked out of heaven!
Angels are often depicted in art as having wings. However, in the Bible, there is no mention of angels having wings. Artists may have confused Angels with other spiritual beings such as Cherubs and Seraphim – who have wings. Also, both the Greek Goddess Nike and the Greek God Eros were depicted as human-like beings with wings, which could have been somewhat of an inspiration to early artists.
Cherubs are usually depicted as winged, male, baby angels. They are generally naked and often carry a bow. Cherubs are the bringers of love. The most famous Cherub is Cupid, who makes people fall in love by shooting them in the heart with an arrow.
Celebrities with Angel Tattoos
- Actress Drew Barrymore has an Angel tattoo on her back.
- The singer turned actor Justin Timberlake has a large Guardian Angel Tattoo on his back.
- Singer Beyonce has a praying Angel tattooed on her left thigh.
- Footballer David Beckham has a Guardian Angel tattoo on his back, which he has combined with his children’s names.
- Kelly Osbourne has Angel wings on her upper back.
Placement
Due to their sheer flexibility, it is possible to have an Angel tattoo on pretty much any part of the body. Angel tattoos can be any size, large or small. It means that a talented tattoo artist should have no problem making a design to fit any area. Angel wing tattoos are usually placed on the back, especially between the shoulder blades, where real wings would be.
It is also possible to combine an Angel tattoo with other styles and designs, and many people combine Angel tattoo designs with banners containing text and writing. Angel tattoos are often combined with angelic paraphernalia, such as Clouds, Bows, Swords, Trumpets, and Halos and Crosses.
Other great places to put Angel Tattoos
- Arm
- Back
- Wrist
- Leg
- Hip
- Neck
What is the name of this angel I want to get tattoo on my forearm?