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The rose is the single most popular tattoo design among men and women alike. This flower, which is classically used to symbolize romantic love, has become an integral part of tattoo culture and tattoo design. However, there is actually a great deal more to the rose tattoo than you might first expect. While of course rose tattoos nearly always indicate a level of affection and deep emotion, the various types of emotion and the various indications of the level of affection and the type of affinity one feels can be discerned in great detail by examining the rose tattoo design itself. If you are considering getting a rose tattoo design of your own, make that beautiful rose tattoo design highly indicative of exactly how and what you feel by factoring in the many layers of meaning that a rose tattoo design can hold. 

In real life, some roses have thorns and some are bred without them. Of course, as the famous rock song, Every Rose Has Its Thorns can attest, just because the thorns are not visible does not mean they are not there. However, when you get a rose tattoo design, the decision to include thorns will say a lot about why you got the tattoo and the emotions that are behind your rose tattoo design. A rose tattoo that includes a rose with thorns indicates that beauty requires sacrifice, and love requires caution. Just as a beautiful rose can draw blood if it is not handled carefully, a beautiful love can break a heart or wound the one who loves if they do not handle their emotions and the relationship carefully. Even if you do love judiciously (which is hard to do anyway), you still can end up suffering when you ultimately lose the one you love at least temporarily to death or physical separation. Rose tattoos that have thorns symbolize love, but they also serve as a warning that love is not all beauty and happiness, but also comes with pain. 

Rose tattoos without thorns tend to be more focused on idealized, romantic love. When you get a rose without thorns, you are asserting your belief that love is pure and that in the end, love conquers all and is worth everything. Some people even get rose tattoos without thorns to indicate that their love or their relationship is literally perfect and that they believe that the beauty of their love will not bring them or their beloved pain. Thornless rose tattoos also are used to indicate love at first sight, and generally focus on the romantic side of love that is rosy, pink and happy. They also can be used to indicate pure love, such as love for ones first sweetheart or even ones children. Either type of rose, thorny or thornless, can be an individual tattoo design or can be used as decoration for a larger tattoo, such as a memorial tattoo or a picture tattoo of someone that you love.

The colors of rose tattoos also play an important part in the symbolism of the tattoo. Traditionally, a red rose means love, end of story. However, that is really just the beginning. While red roses are probably the most common colored rose tattoo, there are many other colors of rose tattoo design just as there are many other colors of roses. Red roses indicate romantic love and can also be used to indicate lustful feelings or physical affection for someone.

Yellow roses are often used to symbolize joy, and are often used to accent images related to one's children, particularly babies, or accomplishments. Yellow roses are also sometimes used to indicate religious joy, although this is more unusual since white roses are generally symbolic of pure love, platonic love and spiritual love and devotion.

White roses also are used to indicate virginity, and often adorn tattoo images of the Virgin Mary and other female saint tattoos. Accents of red or pink on a white rose tattoo can indicate the blossoming of a different kind of love out of a friendship, and, more practically, create greater depth in the rose tattoo.

Black rose tattoos are also extremely popular. These mildly macabre rose tattoos are popular with people who enjoy goth tattoos and also with people who have been burned by love or who have given up on love. Even if they have not given up on all love, a black rose tattoo can symbolize the death of a relationship or an unwillingness to pursue a romantic goal any farther.

Although not entirely identical to a black rose tattoo, grayscale rose tattoos are extremely popular. However, in this instance, the color is slightly less symbolic since many people just really like grayscale tattoos and prefer them to colored ones. Grayscale roses are also popular in memorial tattoos, and many people feel that they are more realistic looking than color rose tattoos.

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Aaliyah had three tattoos. She had a Shooting Star with an "A" to celebrate her love of being on stage and her feeling that she was going places. Her friends Kidada Jones and Nicole Richie share similar tattoos. She also had a music symbol, another tattoo in dedication to performing music. Aaliyah had a dove tattoo as dedication to her grandmother. She always said that one hurt the most but it was worth it because of sentimental significance. Dovetattoos often mean peace, tranquility or the holy spirit.


Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001) was an American singer and dancer. She became famous during the 90's with several hit records including "Are You That Somebody," "Rock the Boat" and "One in a Million" which was produced by Timbaland and Missy Elliot and sold over one 11 million copies. In addition to her musical success, she also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger and starred in two movies. On August 25, 2001 she was returning home from filming a music video in the Bahamas when her plane went down, killing a total of nine people.

African tribal tattoo art is among the most unique forms of indigenous tattoo art. While most types of tattooing techniques and designs ultimately originated with the principles of opening the skin and rubbing in some sort of pigment that would remain under the skin after the wound had healed, African tribal tattoo art is actually a texturing process rather than simply a dying or pigmentation process. This makes it not only unique due to the procedure, but also unique because it can be quite painful. It is not surprising that African tribal tattooing is often used to mark passage into manhood or womanhood, which can also be very painful if one is part of an indigenous African tribe. 

There are a fair number of indigenous tribes in Africa today. Some are nearly untouched by the modern world, while others preserve many of their rich traditions while also interacting with their more modern neighbors on a regular basis. Either way, the African tribal tattooing process is both primitive and elaborate. To get an African tribal tattoo, one must work with someone who is well versed in the art. Usually, in an indigenous tribe, these would be some form of elders who would supervise a child's passage into adulthood, arrange marriages and officiate in public meetings. The African tribal tattoo design is cut into the flesh with a knife or other sharp object. Because of the dark pigmentation of most African people, simply pigmenting or dying the cuts is not sufficient to create a clear, distinct tattoo design. To resolve this issue, the cuts are packed with dust, ashes or colored soil to create a raised design. The resulting scar is the tattoo. 

Of course, this practice is by nature excruciatingly painful, but it will clearly indicate whether a girl becoming a woman or a boy becoming a man will be able to withstand the difficulties of living the often hard life that is part of membership in an African indigenous tribe. These tattoos are highly prone to infection since the tools used are seldom sterilized according to modern standards, and packing any wound with dirt poses an inherent risk to healthy healing. However, these tattoos, which often indicate age, affiliation and rank, are highly prized because they are not only symbolic of a major accomplishment in determination and hardiness, but they also are ruggedly beautiful and work in conjunction with the lines of the body to create an beautiful and mysterious element of danger. Furthermore, certain tribal symbols often indicate particular milestones or accomplishments, and having one of these symbols literally engraved on the body is a way to let everyone know your worth to yourself and your tribal family. 

In more modern areas of the world, African tribal tattoo art is popular as a way to remain in touch with one's roots and celebrate one's history. Darker, ethnic skin tones often react differently to the tattooing process than lighter tones, and some scarification is not uncommon with darker skin tones. Also, often a greater quantity of dark ink is necessary to make the tattoo visible on the darker skin, so this can also contribute to the inflammation and irritation in the area that leads to a raised design once the tattoo is healed. 

Traditional African tribal tattoos often originate in West Africa. These designs indicate certain characteristics about the owner of the tattoo, and they are highly indicative of a closeness to one's heritage. For example, adrinka designs, which are geometric symbols, include the adinkrahene, which indicates greatness of character and charisma, and the akoma, which means literally the heart and indicates patience and tolerance. Just as with any other tattoo design that you might get that is in a language or symbolic text that is not your native tongue, you should always work with an expert or a scholar before actually getting a traditional African tribal tattoo inked on your skin to make sure that you are very clear about the meaning of your new tattoo. African mask tattoo designs are also extremely popular and are a great way to show appreciation for art, culture and heritage all at once.

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Are you going to a rave, or a really hot club? Is there a masquerade, festival or party coming up, and you really want to make an impression? Then maybe its time to consider airbrush body art tattoo designs.

With them, you can transform yourself into nearly anything from a wood nymph, to a fairy, to a monster or demon. You can use art to transform your body from flesh into a magical canvas showing hints and peeks into a strange and magical land. You can become a cosmic goddess covered in suns and stars, or a goddess of nature whos body art displays butterflies and flowers.

Regardless of what image you choose to portray, with full-body airbrushed temporary tattoos, youre sure to illicit some kind of response!