Cherub Tattoo: Representing Faith, Protection, Spirituality, And Hope

Many in the Western world know of the term ‘Cherub’. It is a term that is used by grandparents to describe rosy cheeked children, who are the apple of their parent’s eyes, or it is used by people to describe the little flying babies we see plastered around on St Valentine’ Day.

Image: @roxy_shetatts

In whatever way you know of the term, the actual name has a deeper meaning, rooted in spirituality and faith, and is often gotten as a tattoo to invoke these two concepts as well as to have a nice bit of body art.

Origin and Meaning

The origin of the word ‘Cherub’ is from the East Semitic languages of the Middle East and is most likely to come from the Akkadian word ‘Karabu’ meaning to bless.

However, over time this word and its connotations made its way to Israel and was adopted into the Hebrew language. Over time, the modern meaning was formed by the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – as a one of the supernatural beings that serve and attend to God, in other words angels.

Depending on which religion you follow and which texts you adhere to dictates how highly ranked cherubs are amongst God’s servants.

In Judaism, they can be the ninth, second, or first ranked amongst God’s servants respectively. In Christianity, they are the second highest ranked amongst the Angels, after the Seraphim. Finally, in Islam, they are the angels closest to God themselves.

Although cherubs have been depicted in a multitude of different ways throughout the years – including having two pairs of wings and four faces, three of beasts, one of a person – the most common representation is that of the Roman god of love and desire, Cupid, who is often depicted as a small, winged boy.

Cherub Tattoo Representing Faith, Protection, Spirituality, And Hope

Thanks to the long and deep religious and cultural history that spans two continents, cherubs and cherub tattoos can have an incredible spiritual significance. They are often seen as loving and benevolent protectors, caring for the things we hold most dear.

They are most commonly drawn as watching calmly or playing with one another, while retaining the innocence that is often associated with children.

The tattoo is also seen as a sign of faith, as cherubs are a servant heavily tied to God and hold religious significance across multiple faiths, they remind the wearer of the higher power they believe in watching over them and better times during darker moments.

In more modern times, the cherub tattoo has come to symbolize boundless love and immeasurable hope for the wearer, as well.

While you can associate any meaning you choose from the tattoo, due to the long history this tattoo already has many varied and entrenched connotations, however you can still adapt them for your purpose. Here are a few of the different meanings behind the cherub tattoo:

  • Love
  • Spirituality
  • Protection
  • Hope
  • Faith
  • Understanding
  • Affection
  • Remembrance
Image: @deft_ink

Due to the connection to religion and God, people will often get the tattoo in remembrance of something close to them.

This could be in celebration for a child that has just been born, or in mourning of someone close to you that has just passed, in getting the tattoo people are not only doing so as a reminder, but as a symbol of protection for their souls, in this life or the next.

Final Thoughts

The cherub tattoo is a great tattoo to get for the enduring themes that come along with it. If your reasons are spiritual, hopeful, for love, or for protection, then this is a great tattoo to be a constant reminder of those things.

However, that should not limit a person, if you wish to get the cherub tattoo despite not being religious, or just for a love of the design, then by all means go ahead, the message is one of love, protection, and hope, which is something everyone can enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does It Mean To Have The Cherub Tattoo?

There is no one particular meaning to the tattoo, but it is a tattoo defined by intense love. All of its individual meanings link back to this one idea: protection, spirituality, faith, affection, hope, etc. These are all derived from the person who got the tattoo’s love of something or someone.

Are Cherubs Baby Angels?

Yes and no. Cherubs are angels, but they are not babies, they just take the form of babies in most depictions. The depictions we see are based on the Roman god, Cupid, and, more loosely, the Greek god, Eros, who were often depicted as young men or small boys with wings.

What Is The Difference Between A Cherub And An Angel?

Nothing, a cherub is a kind of angel, but not all angels are cherubs. There are many kinds of angels in the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – and each has a rank on the totem pole of angel hierarchy.

Cherubs are part of this and fit one of these ranks – where they fit depends on the religion – but they are still angels.

Share

22 thoughts on “Cherub Tattoo: Representing Faith, Protection, Spirituality, And Hope”

  1. Hey there! I’ve been reading your web site for a long time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out
    from Houston Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the great work!

  2. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about
    this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit,
    but other than that, this is great blog. An excellent read.

    I’ll definitely be back.

  3. I have been surfing online greater than three hours these days, yet I never found any fascinating article like yours.
    It’s lovely value sufficient for me. In my view, if all web owners and
    bloggers made excellent content material as you probably did, the
    internet shall be a lot more helpful than ever before.

  4. A person necessarily lend a hand to make critically posts I
    might state. This is the first time I frequented your website page
    and up to now? I surprised with the analysis you made to create this actual submit amazing.

    Great job!

  5. Excellent article. Keep writing such kind of info on your
    page. Im really impressed by it.
    Hi there, You have done a great job. I will definitely digg it and in my
    view recommend to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited
    from this web site.

Comments are closed.