Cross tattoo ideas, meaning and designs

Which cross you actually mean

The Latin cross is plain and vertical, with the crossbar set about a third down. A crucifix adds the figure of Christ and is a much harder tattoo, because a small human body needs anatomy and drapery that only survive above roughly 12 cm. Rosary beads wrapping a cross are a Catholic device and a useful compositional one, since the chain gives the artist a way to follow a limb.

Celtic high crosses, like the tenth century Muiredach's Cross at Monasterboice, are the reference for most Celtic cross tattoos: a ringed cross covered in interlace panels. Worth knowing before you book, a plain circle enclosing a cross with equal arms is a different symbol, the sun cross, and it has been adopted by white nationalist groups. Artists will usually steer you toward the interlaced high cross form for that reason.

The main forms at a glance

• Latin cross, plain, long lower arm, the default Western Christian form
• Orthodox cross with three bars and a slanted footrest, used across Eastern churches
• Celtic high cross, ringed, panelled with interlace, tied to Ireland and Scotland
• Coptic cross, equal armed with flared ends, Egyptian Christian
• Crucifix, the cross with the figure, which needs at least 12 cm to hold

Getting a straight line onto a curved body

Put a cross on the inner forearm and the vertical arm should follow the line between the wrist and the elbow crease, not the line of the bone underneath. On the outer forearm it tracks the ulna. On the spine it follows the vertebrae, which are rarely perfectly straight, so the artist marks the actual line with the client standing the way they normally stand.

The center of the chest is the hardest spot. The sternum curves in two directions and breathing moves it. Most artists will draw the stencil, have you stand, sit and raise your arms, and redraw it at least once. Expect that process to take twenty minutes and do not rush it, because a chest cross that leans is visible in every photograph you will ever be in.

Size, texture and lettering

A plain cross works small. Two to three centimeters on a wrist or a finger is fine because there is almost nothing to close up. Once you add texture the floor rises fast: wood grain needs about 8 cm, interlace panels need 10 cm before the strands stop merging, and a crucifix figure needs 12 to 15 cm. Nail heads, rope wraps and thorn crowns each add another few centimeters to the minimum.

Lettering is where most cross tattoos are decided. A date in small roman numerals along the lower arm of the cross is the most common addition and it holds well at 6 mm character height if the font has no thin serifs. Verse references work. Full verses usually do not, because the line length forces the type so small it greys out within a decade.

Placement, aging and what people regret

Forearms take crosses well and keep them visible at work only when your sleeves are up, which is why the inner and outer forearm are the two most requested spots. The upper arm, the shoulder blade and the center of the back all suit larger panelled versions. Behind the ear and on the finger are popular and are the first places a fine cross blurs, because the skin there is thin and constantly moving.

Regrets divide into two kinds. Geometric ones are crooked crosses and crosses that looked level when the arm was flat on an armrest and lean in every mirror since. The other kind is meaning drift, where someone tattooed a tradition they have since left. That is worth sitting with for a few months, because a cross is one of the harder shapes to cover, and laser removal of solid black takes eight to twelve sessions.

Before you book

• Ask for the stencil to be checked standing up, not lying on the table
• Decide the tradition, since a Celtic ring or an Orthodox third bar is not decoration
• Keep any date in roman numerals at 6 mm character height or larger
• Avoid a plain circle around an equal armed cross
• Sit with the design for a few weeks, because solid black is hard to remove