Images of angels have filled man's art since no one knows exactly when. But the renaissance seem to have given much emphasis on this heavenly depictions that have made angels popular as the winged creatures hovering the earth to provide protection against evil elements.
Atleast, that is our general image of what angels are.
Our adoration towards their essence has made us preoccupied with our attempts to create physical manifestations of their being. Nonetheless, we still don't know for sure how they truly appear. After all, no one has seen a true angel yet. So what we now have are pairs of wings and lovely, charming faces.
Nevertheless, they uphold extreme level of spiritual significance (and so do angel tattoos). They were normally depicted as Divine soldiers and messengers of the Most High. They are the deliverers of His word and the deliverer of affliction for those who have committed grave misdeeds. In short, they are thought to be the links, the beings that create the connection between the realms of Heaven and our earthly dwelling.
Not only do the Christians have records of angels in their scripts. Both the Muslims and the Jews have kept watch on their appearances and manifestations in their history.
While nothing material can provide us with evidences that angels truly exist, we still cannot deny the fact that art has been closely intertwined with images. And tattoo, being an art consequently followed the steps of higher (and more acceptable) forms of art.
Although angels have extreme significance pertaining to religion, their popularity has been attributed much to their beautiful forms that are generously submitted to artistic concepts and designs. The wings, which in normal cases are the focus of tattoo designs, are artistic enough even when used alone. In fact, many depictions and tattoo ideas include only the wings of angels. And these wings, being the body of the full design are added with crosses, wordings and other elements that are used to complement their beauty.
As we talk now, it may seem too natural that any one would wear an angel tattoo. But you see, some centuries past people were forbidden from tattooing, especially those that include spiritual symbolism such as the angels and crosses. And this is undoubtedly true among Christians.
A thousand years ago, the Catholic church considered tattooing (of any forms or designs) as a deviltry since it utterly disfigures and disgraces the human body which is considered to be the "temple of God'. And that was a millenium ago. Nowadays, Catholics and Christians alike are forever changing their bodies with tattoos of angels, crosses and sacred hearts.
Thus, the cultural fad becomes a statement of religion and faith.
It is strange to think that the medium the pirates and prisoners used is now common among people of faith.
Many see angel tattoos as effective means of reminding them of their beliefs. Say in one case, a man decided to have in his chest an engraved image of praying hands and an acronym of the phrase- see me through. Thus, he constantly feels that prayer is not only within his spirit, it has also crept into his body.
This is not an unusual line of thought. After all, man has been for long, in search of protection. And representations of this compassionate images drawn in his skin are known to be the most potent types. The angles just happened to be the more popular forms of this protection in our part of the world.
http://www.todaytattoos.com/Designs/48.html
No comments:
Post a Comment