65+ Images of Praying Hands Tattoos Designs & Meanings – Way to God (2020)

Despite its immense popularity, very few people know where praying hands tattoo from. There are different stories and accounts that try to explain the origins of this famous artwork but most of them are quite inaccurate, and they are simply just stories.

The origin of this tattoo idea starts from the story of an 18-year-old German artist named Albrecht Daurer.

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According to this story, Albrecht painted the praying hands as a gift for the mayor of Frankfort in the 15th century. The mayor received the gift with a lot of excitement as he considered it as a magnificent piece of art. He was so pleased with the painting that he even commissioned it as an altarpiece in 1508.

After the commissioning, it became very popular but a fire in 1729 destroyed the original one. However, there were other copies and some sketches that Albrecht had made. It is from these copies that people started replicating this artwork into other mediums and eventually as a tattoo on their bodies.

Meaning of the tattoo

Just like any other type of tattoo these tattoos have different meanings to different people. The meaning of this tattoo depends on the individual who puts it, why they put it, the design of the tattoo and also the location of the tattoo on their body.

However, there are some people who get the tattoo simply because it looks good, or they think it would be great to have such a famous tattoo.

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In some cases, the tattoo is done to remember some important family member or a dear friend. This meaning is probably based on a story about Albrecht. According to some historical accounts, Albrecht drew this tattoo to honor his brother who had to sacrifice his artistic ambition for him.

Since his family of 18 children was penniless, they could only afford to sponsor one artist and so a coin had to be tossed between Albrecht and his brother.

Albrecht won the toss, and that is how he became an artist and so to honor his brother he decided to draw the two praying hands. Nowadays people do the same to honor a particular person in their family or friend who has passed away.

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This tattoo can also be used to represent the hardships and depressions that people have had to face in life and how they have overcome them successfully. In other cases, parents might also get the tattoos and also have one put on their children.

This is aimed to symbolize the everlasting bond between a parent and his or her off springs.

The praying hands are also used as a symbol of religious devotion. By closing your eyes when praying it is a symbol of keeping your mind quiet and by putting your two hands together you silence your physical being so that your spirit can be more focused.

For religious people, this is what the praying hands tattoo means to them.

Types and designs variations of this tattoo

It would be incorrect to give a specific number to the types or design variation of this tattoo. This is because people are very creative and are always coming up with a new type or variation in design.

In fact almost all the praying tattoos that people get have a unique element in them. However the following are some of the most popular types or design variations.

• Scriptures

Some people will often add a few lines from the Bible to their tattoo. In most cases, the Lord’s Prayer is written just above the tattoo or slightly below it. This is usually a sign of religious devotion, and it is more popular with Christians who have this tattoo.

• Rosary

This type of tattoo is synonymous with Catholic Faithfull’s. It portrays the two grasping hands holding a rosary. The rosary is not only aimed to show religious devotion but also to show how the Catholic Faithfull’s pray. It is also a sign of Catholicism as the Rosary is mainly associated with the Roman Catholic Church.

• Crosses

A cross is another image that works well with this tattoo, and it is also quite popular. There are many ways to add the cross to this tattoo, but most people will prefer to have the hands holding a part of the cross while the rest of it extends upwards above the hands.

• The praying hands on a Bible

Adding the Bible to this tattoo is another way of expressing one’s religious belief. In this tattoo variation, the hands can be drawn resting on the bible or the bible drawn as a separate tattoo adjacent to the hands.

• Crown of Thorns

This tattoo encircles the praying hands with a crown of thorns to add some meaning to the praying hands. The crown of thorns can also be placed in front of the thorns in a different variation of this tattoo. Both variations look equally good and so personal preferences should be used to choose between them.

• Doves

Doves are a sign of peace, and they hold a special place in Christianity as they can be found in many Bible stories. The praying hands are often combined with one or a couple of doves to symbolize peace.

• Praying Angel/Mary

This design or variation is quite different from the rest because the praying hands form a part of a tattoo but are not necessarily the center of attraction for the tattoo. For this tattoo, you an angel is drawn praying or a woman who represents Mary the mother of Jesus can be drawn praying.

This tattoo is normally larger compared to the other variations, but you can always have one drawn to your preferred size.

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While the above tattoos are the most popular ones, each artist is different, and so they have different styles. Due to this a praying tattoo with doves or crosses from one artist might look very different from that of another artist.

The different tattoo artists also use different colors, techniques and equipment to do their tattoos. So it will be important to find an artist who can offer you the tattoo you want.