Popular Free Tattoo Patterns: The Rose

A fairly complex symbol, it is linked to both heavenly perfection and earthly passion. The symbol represents Time and Eternity and Fertility and Virginity.

The rose symbolizes:

• perfection
• completion
• the mystery of life
• the heart center of life
• the unknown
• beauty
• grace
• happiness
• passion
• sensuality and seduction

In the symbolism of the heart the rose occupies the central point of the cross, the point of unity. As the flower of femininity it represents love, life, fertility, beauty, verginity, and creation. The thorns of the rose represent pain, blood, and martyrdom. The rose also represents eternal life and eternal Spring.

The different rose colors also have meaning:

Gold/yellow rose: perfection
Red rose: desire, passion, beauty, consummation, joy, charity
White rose: innocence, virginity, spiritual unfolding, charm
Red & white rose together: the union of fire and water, the union of opposites
Blue rose: unattainable, the impossible

The rosette and the Gothic rose also have wheel symbolism, denoting the unfolding of power, making the rose an emblematic equivalent (in Western culture) of the Asian Lotus. A secondary meaning of the rose is discretion.

Rose Symbolism & Mythology

Egyptian: roses were sacred to Isis because they symbolized true love free from any carnal ties.

Hebrew: the center of the rose is the sun and the petals are infinity.

Graeco-Roman: symbolizes love, joy, beauty, desire, and was an emblem of Aphrodite/Venus. Roses were brought at the Rosalia festival and scattered on graves. The Roman Emperor wore a crown of roses. The red rose was believed to grow from the blood of Adonis and was a symbol of Aurora, Helios, Dionysos and the Muses. Additionally, Cupid allegedly stopped gossip about Vanus’ indiscretions by bribing the god of silence with a rose. This led to the hanging of live roses or painting of roses above Roman council tables as a sign that conversation within the room was private or confidential.