Crown symbolism has a lot of different meanings through thousands of years of history and other cultures. Getting a crown tattoo can have many implications, both from a symbolic and religious standpoint, two more personal elements.
Crown tattoos usually symbolize royalty and authority, but they can also mean self-expression and control over your personal life. They’re also associated with religious and spiritual beliefs from Jesus in Christianity to the crown Shakra in spirituality.
Let’s discover some of the many meanings of crown tattoos and other decorations and colors you can incorporate into the design to express these meanings further.
What is the History of Crown Tattoos?
Generally speaking, the crown symbolizes royalty or some importance associated with the individual. This symbolism stretches all across the globe dating back almost 4,000 years. There are lots of different design features that go into crowns from all over the world, whether that is Egyptian or British.
However, in more recent history, the crown tattoo symbolizes something more sinister. Around the 2000s, perpetrators of sex trafficking used crown tattoos, and they would tattoo a crown on a victim’s body as branding. They may add other things such as money bags or barcodes to the design. However, this history is less widely known.
What Do Crown Tattoos Symbolize?
The crown tattoo symbolizes markings on a Scyther royalty or a leadership role. Crowns are used in multiple cultures to help differentiate a specific person of importance from the general populace or even those in charge of governing.
What Do Crown Tattoos Mean?
While many cultures have some version of the crown, they mean many different things depending on the intent of the person getting the crown tattoo and what kind of ground you will incorporate. Here are just a few of the different meanings that crown tattoos usually have.
Authority
One of the most common and probably your go-to meanings for a crown is to symbolize authority. Many get a crown tattoo because they want to convey a sense of authority or power in their personality, not necessarily over others. It represents that they are in control of themselves and their lives, or it could be symbolic that they’re trying to gain that control.
Responsibility
Being in charge of a group of people as the crown represents also comes with many responsibilities. However, getting a crown tattoo is more about wanting to take responsibility for your life and your actions. It can also be taking responsibility for future life experiences. Some people even use it as a sign of strength or kindness because they take responsibility for their actions.
Sign of the Leo Zodiac
In the Zodiac, crowns are symbolic of Leo since Leo is a lion or the king of the jungle. It’s common to see people who want to incorporate that Leo energy into their lives to get a crown tattoo, perhaps along with a lion to represent this meaning. However, some people might choose just the crown since it’s a more subdued representation of the zodiac sign.
The Crown Chakra in Spirituality
In spiritual belief systems, there is also a system of chakras that people work with during meditation. One of these chakras is the crown chakra, which strongly connects with universal energy. It’s also linked with the color purple, so some people make it a purple crown tattoo to represent their wanting to maintain this connection to the universe or their energy work.
Religious Imagery
In the Christian faith, Jesus usually wears a crown of thorns during his crucifixion, so some people have a crown tattoo as a direct connection to this specific religious event. It may be a crown of thorns or a more stereotypical Crown design. The Christian crown is usually associated with happiness, joy, and resurrection.
Characteristics and Styles of Crown Tattoos
We’ve already alluded to many different representations of elements that people put into their Crown design tattoos, so here are just a few things people like to associate with their crown tattoos.
Choosing Colors
Colour and crown tattoos are very tight together, whether purple, as mentioned above, for either a royal color of purple or to represent the crown chakra. Brightly colored crowns are usually depictions of confidence or authority since they typically have visible Jewels with them. At the same time, something that is sparsely colored or even black and white has more of a sense of religious symbolism.
Decorations
Adding decorations such as flowers or Jewels is a way of incorporating other symbolism into the crown design. More jewels usually have more of a connection to authority and the royal connotations of a crown. In contrast, flowers can have many different meanings as each flower has its symbolism and can also honor nature and feminine power.
Where Do Crown Tattoos Usually Go?
Where you decide to put your crown tattoo has almost as much symbolism as the design itself. Here are some of the popular places people like to get crown tattoos.
Wrist
Many people who get the crown tattoo as symbolic of their faith or Christianity like to have it tattooed on their wrist because it allows them to look down and see it on many occasions, including during prayers. It can signify strength and inspiration during times of hardship or an uncertain team.
Arms, Legs ; Back
Crown tattoos incorporating animals or significant decorations are usually found on the arms, legs, and back because these spaces have more room to make a bigger tattoo and allow these decorations to show clearly. Arms also will enable you to show other people your tattoo easily.
A Place of Personal Significance
Considered the meaning of your crown tattoo when thinking about where you want to have the tattoo. You may decide to have it on your chest over your heart because you want to incorporate self-love or have the representation of a beloved pet or family member. You may decide to have it on your neck because you want the confidence to speak up for yourself.
Conclusion
Crown tattoos can symbolize so much more than just royalty and authority. They represent strength in oneself and actions and even go as far as to symbolize more religious connotations, from the thorn crown that Jesus wore during the crucifixion to the crown chakra and Leo Zodiac signs in spiritual beliefs. Incorporating other elements like flowers and colors can further personalize what the crown symbolizes to you.