The heart, a simple design that is full of emotional meaning, has long been used as a spiritual or moral symbol, once thought to be the seat of the human mind.

The heart refers to the life and soul of someone, including their personality. A “warm hearted” person is welcoming and loving with open arms, where as a “cold hearted” individual is the complete opposite. In extreme cases, death and violence are even used as connotations.

The Sacred Heart is a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice and has been around since medieval times. It is particularly significant to the Roman Catholice Church. The Sacred Heart signifies God’s love as a source of illumination, hence the flames. The thorns surrounding a Sacred Heart represent the Crown of Thorns that Christ wore on the Cross.

Most commonly, the heart symbols is simply used to denote true love. Variations include a heart with an arrow signifying someone who is lovestruck and a broken heart is love lost. Flaming hearts often represent passionate feelings and a heart with a dagger through it signifies pain or grief.

Heart tattoos can symbolises multiple meanings depending on their design, so choose carefully.