The History of Heart Tattoos
The art of heart tattooing is very popular among tattoo enthusiasts.
It is representing the lost love, mostly unreturned love. Keep in mind
however, before tattooing a broken heart on your body that all sentiment
all subject of change. Your feelings about your lover might change
quicker than you imagined. The heart tattoos might also signify the
warmness of spring or summer or even the supremacy of light. According
to the Tarot, hearts might also indicate knowledge, love and fecundity,
or fortune of delight. There are almost endless options for the heart
tattoo figure. Regardless of your choice it will remain something to
reflect on each time you take a look on it.
 Even if scientist managed to track back the heart symbol as far back
as the most recent Ice Age, there is no general agreement on the
significance of it. Amid 600 and 400 B.C. the Greeks the heart symbol
was used to indicate one of their musical instruments - the lyre. It was
also linked to Eros, the God of love, lust and beauty in the Greek
mythology.
The most probable cause for our correlation of the heart symbol with
passionate love lies in the Cyrene city of North Africa in the 7th
century B.C. The city turned into a busy world trade center because of a
heart shaped seed of the fennel plant, which has died out in the
meantime.
What was the reason for its extended harvest that eventually led to
extinction, and mostly how is it related to love?
To cut a long story short, the remarkable valuable seed had a highly
valuable side effect – working as an extremely simple and accessible
birth control method. We can presume that being protected against any
unwanted pregnancy, love relationships could be established more
willingly. Hence, it is understandable the obvious association between
the form and its present interpretation.
 Christianity brought new spiritual meanings to the heart symbol. The
first Christians used the symbol of heart to represent the good value of
charity. In many biblical translations, charity means love, but in a
brotherly way. Later on, appears the Sacred Heart, representing a
wounded heart with a divine light as a symbol of Jesus Christ and His
Love, becoming well-liked in the Middle Ages. In some cases might also
symbolize unity, deliverance and peace.
Christians however did not have any exclusive right upon this symbol.
The heart symbol had its own particular meaning in the culture of other
people (Hindus, Aztecs, Muslims, Jews or Celts). The sign is also
present in the Voodoo arts, symbolizing Erzuli, the loa (spirit) of
love, splendor and purity. The sign exists even in the art forms of the
Asante people from Ghana, being used as part of their cultural and
religious life to express love. Pure coincidence or not, the heart looks
almost as the Asante symbol for wisdom.
Between 1000 and 1400 the picture of the heart is widely and
intensely used on the Middle Age heraldry (on insignias, crests, coat of
arms and on genealogical badges) representing honesty and lucidity. At
the same time, in these medieval times the heart symbol becomes closely
linked together with the tale and legend around the Holly Grail. You
might find hard to believe but the heart symbol and the Holly Grail were
so interlaced one with the other that on the first decks of playing
cards the sign of the grail was replaced by the suit of hearts! |
