You can get tattoo ideas from everything and everyone around you. Rose tattoos are probably one of the most popular and significant ones being showcased in almost all tattoo parlours around the world. The rose to the west is what the lotus is to the east: it symbolizes love. It has also been closely associated with beauty and women. During the 40s, sailors would have rose tattoos on their upper arm or on their chest to signify a loved one usually their wives, girlfriends or mothers whom they had to leave behind in order to serve their country. For these men life at sea was rough and these tattoos gave them the peace they needed in a highly symbolic manner. Rose tattoos represent both the inner and outer beauty of women and life.
There is just something about a rose that seems to exude everlasting beauty and what best way to express this by a permanent reminder of something beautiful on someone's skin. And with little accents to a tattoo you can easily change its meaning. A tattoo of a rose with thorns can mean that the person who had it done does put too much emphasis on the external beauty but rather shows of a strong willed personality. It says, "You can look but you cannot touch." The simple addition of the thorn can reveal how people perceive love. Just like the rose, love is wonderful but you can get hurt or pricked. The thorns are reminders that love and life is not always easy. The colour of the rose tattoo more often than not hold a meaning as well. It could be the favourite colour of the person to whom they are dedicating the tattoo.
