Moon and Broom

Here's another tattoo from Sabrina.

The broom and moon is on my lower back; it's a reminder to me that I always have the means to fly and no one can take that from me.

Thanks to Sabrina for sharing her broom and moon!

Pagan and NeoPagan Ink

The history of tattoos is tightly bound up with that of paganism because the first people to create and receive them were pagans or, at the very least, their ancestors whose shamanistic ways gave birth to paganism. Tattoo is one of the oldest forms of art, right after cave and rock art from prehistoric times. In fact, the ancient history of tattoo is so varied and universal that simply picking a spot on the globe reveals a rich history of body art. Throughout history tattoos served many different purposes. Some were rites of passage that marked a person’s journey into adulthood. For some peoples, a tattoo was an attempt at healing or pain relief. Some tattoos labeled a person a criminal. Others were reserved for shamans, priests and priestesses. Still more were exclusive badges of nobility or royalty. Libraries full of books could be written about the history of tattoos but, for my purposes, I’ll highlight the most well-known or popular pagan forms.

Currently, the oldest evidence we have for tattoos comes from the affectionately named Otzi the Iceman. His body was found in the Alps and is dated to approximately 3300 BCE; his is the oldest mummified body ever found. And he just happens to have over 50 tattoos. While they are not very artistic tattoos, being only lines and a few crosses, they are numerous and, considering their placement on arthritic joints, are believed to be therapeutic.

And the ancient tattoo art doesn’t stop there. Tattooed mummies from Russia dating from approximately the 2nd century BCE have been found with beautiful factual and mythical animals. In ancient Egypt tattoos were restricted to women and were oftentimes placed for therapeutic reasons. For example, a circle of dots or lines was often tattooed over the belly in a pattern reminiscent of the growth of the belly during pregnancy. Also featured on ancient Egyptian women was the god Bes.

The history of tattoo in the formerly Celtic lands is a bit sketchier. We don’t have any tattooed mummies and, of course, no first person written records. What we do have is oftentimes questionable histories from Julius Caesar and Herodian, for example. They mention the use of woad body paint and the pricking or scarring of the skin which was then rubbed with pigment, but the dates and facts are inexact. So, while Celtic tattoos are incredibly popular today we don’t know with any certainty what kind of body art the ancient Celts may have practiced.

Speaking of the modern popularity of tattoos only people living under a rock for the last decade would be unaware of the immense rise of tattoo enthusiasts. You never can tell who might have tattoos because they’re not just for bikers, prisoners and gang members anymore. Mothers of small children have tattoos, doctors and lawyers and scientists have ink as do college professors, mechanics, artists, homemakers and everyone in between. Tattoos have become so main stream that several national and international newspapers have regular tattoo and body art sections. As the quality of the art has grown so have its adherents. Many artists are creating museum worthy tattoos. And it seems nearly everyone wants to carry this form of art with them forever. And neopagans are no exception.

As we all know neopagans are not always in a position to freely express their faith, their beliefs or their values. Whether it’s because of narrow-minded family members, on-the-job tensions, custody battles or simply one’s location some of us have to keep a low profile. But tattoos hidden under clothes can be an amazing answer to this problem. Even when one cannot show it off one knows it’s there. If a neopagan doesn’t feel comfortable openly wearing a pentagram or a Thor’s Hammer, etc. these symbols tattooed on the skin can provide comfort and an amazing sense of empowerment.

But that’s only part of the appeal that tattoos hold for neopagans of every stripe. Many of us tend to be freethinking, tree-hugging, nature lovin’, creative and individualistic spirits who were stifled by the religions of our youth. We are a faith set apart by our differences from the dominant Abrahamic religions which are generally anti-tattoo. Those folks say that tattoos are pagan and they are right. By getting and proudly wearing tattoos we are further distancing ourselves from the religions we knew as children.

Many of us consider our bodies to be temples and what better way to honor our gods or protective spirits than with beautiful art on our bodies? Tattoos representing specific deities, the elements, etc. enable our bodies to not only become temples but altars. Tattoos are magic for the skin, the needles entering the skin is a powerful ritual. By enduring the pain, letting it pass through us and owning it we are embracing the primal within ourselves. We are proving ourselves before the gods. Not only is the ritual of getting a tattoo a life changing one but the tattoo itself will last forever as a testament to our pagan ways.

Flowered Ankle

These pretty flowers come from Sabrina from Goddess a Day, which is a really cool site. She is the eleventh person to submit her art and had this to say about the meaning behind the various images:

The flower piece on my ankle is a rework of a single poppy; it was my first tattoo (at age 30!) and needed an update before 40, which is coming up all too quickly. The poppies are for me (my birthday is 11/11); the tiger lily symbolizes
the courage to pursue my dreams that I get from my husband; the daisy is
for my son, with its ladybug for luck; the holly leaves and berries are
for my daughter (a Yule baby); and the spiderwebs are for me (since I make
my living writing and creating on the Web).

Sabrina has submitted other tattoos so we'll be seeing more of her in the days ahead. Thanks so much to Sabrina for sharing her art!

Grateful Backpiece

This back piece comes from Jackie, a cool gal I just found on Witchvox. She is the tenth person to submit her art to NeoPagan Ink! Whoo hoo! Thanks Jackie for submitting your art!

The Sorcerer

I know this picture is tiny but I couldn't help sharing it once I found it. This tattoo comes from the Just the Life of a Wiccan Mom blog. This is the first tattoo of this kind I've ever found. It comes from "The Sorcerer", an image from the Trois Freres cavern in France. It dates from approximately 13,000 BCE and may be the precursor to later Horned Gods like Cernunnos and Pan. I would share an image of the actual cave art but it is so degraded that all we have to go on is a modern drawing of it. The Sorcerer is a fascinating bit of history as it could be a vision of the earliest shamans in a state of ecstatic communion with the gods. It could also be an image of a hunter preparing for the hunt, or both, as hunting for survival and early shamanism would have likely been closely intertwined. Note the human feet and genitalia, bear like paws and what some people consider a bird-like face. This is a perfect example of therianthropy which features in nearly every ancient culture on the planet.

Green Ganesha

This gorgeous Ganesha comes from the Hindu Blog. If you have an interest in Hindu tattoos I recommend you check it out. I know Hinduism isn't strictly pagan but it is of great interest to many non-Hindus, as pointed out on the Hindu blog.

An Eye on an Arm

This awesome eye tattoo comes from the arm of Em's husband. She is the ninth person to submit art to NeoPagan Ink. If it looks kinda familiar it's very similar to eyes featured on some TOOL albums and with good reason as it's based on the artwork of Alex Grey whose work has been featured on cd artwork by various other bands including the Beastie Boys and Nirvana. Just for the hell of it I thought I'd post the lyrics to one of my favorite TOOL songs, this is the song Lateralus from the album of the same name. It is one of the albums which features the eyes of Alex Grey. To learn more about TOOL visit The TOOL lyrics page. And thanks to Em and her husband for submitting their image!

Enjoy.

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see there is so much more
and beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.

Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going, going...

Colorful Brighid

This absolutely stellar Brighid comes from Tattoo Now. Art by Mulysa Mayhem out of Saugus, MA. I am so in love with this tattoo.

Floral Moons

These pretty moons and flowers come from Tammy of Mimmsical Creations; she is the eighth person to submit her art! She had this to say about it:

I have had it since 2003. I had thought about a tattoo for many years, and finally came up with the idea for the design. I am quite drawn to the moon and its symbolism. Therefore, the triple moon symbol (birth/life/death or maiden/mother/crone) is what I chose as the basis of the design. The artist who did the tattoo took my idea and made it his own design incorporating flowers.

Thanks to Tammy for submitting her tattoo!

Stylized Pentagram

This beautiful black and gray pentagram comes from Amy; she is the seventh person to submit her art to NeoPagan Ink. Yay! Soon I'll be into double digits. Anyway, Amy had this great story to go along with her tattoo:

This summer, on vacation to see my mom and brothers, I was checking out my brother's tattoos and asked him who did them. He looked at me like a kid in a candy store when I said I was considering getting one. (My first, and until then, my last, I had gotten ten years ago lol) He was on the phone in a flash to his artist, who normally takes appointments a month in advance. He got me in the next day! I was so psyched, and so was my big brother, who was dying to see his baby sister get inked. So long story short, the design I settled on was very similar to the necklace my husband gave me for my last birthday, a floral pentagram. The necklace is wreathed in tiny, intricate flowers, but for the tattoo, we decided on thorns, and a fairly open design that will allow for additions if I decide to expand it.

Thanks to Amy for sharing her art!

White Snake

This white snake comes from Anna from over at Life's Too Short for Mediocre Chocolate. She is the sixth person to submit her art to NeoPagan Ink. Given my recent post about purely white tattoos I asked Anna how her snake has held up over time.

I got it around St Patrick's Day of this year. So far, it is just as beautiful as the day I got it. I have very pale skin, though--I think that's part of the reason it's visible at all.

I got a tattoo with white highlights about that same time and the white is now all gone. So Anna must have gotten the special white ink I keep hearing about. Here's hoping her white snake lasts forever! Thanks Anna for sharing your tattoo!

You see, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.

Julio Rodriquez

Flamin' Hoot

Michael Rose

Sweet Puddin'

This is a crossover post from another blog, Batman Tattoos, where this Gabe Tucker tattoo is also posted. I think Harley qualifies for pinup status too, no?

Hello, Puddin'

Gabe Tucker

Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

Dennis Prevost

Celtic Pentagram

This super cool tattoo comes from Nydia from Brazil; she is the fifth person to offer up her pagan art.

As I'm pagan/Wiccan for almost 12 years, and I thought it would be good to have this symbol of my spiritual path in my skin for as long as I live. It was made about three years ago, though. It took me a long time to find something that I enjoyed enough to have forever. Originally this one was a piece of jewelry, a silver pendant. I love it!

Thanks for submitting your tattoo Nydia!

The Hoot For Red October

image removed at request of artist :o(

And as you can see, I'm a lot happier!

Mike De Masi

Goddess Backpiece

I must say my favorite aspect of this gorgeous black and gray tattoo is the hair, amazing. Click through for more detail.
Source

SUERTE

Back in the bay, Lucky olelo from soul signature tattoo in hawaii.
Tattooing for a couple weeks, ...for appointments pls call the shop, 408-288-6814
or come to the shop and set one up,
Thanks HB

Goddess Sleeve

Notice the shell on the lower left of the moons.


The banners feature the names of her kids. I just love this sleeve, not only the various goddess images but the spiral vines and flowers are gorgeous. Very cool. Thanks so much to Kris for sharing her sleeve!

Horus

This is another image that's been stagnating in my documents so I don't know where it came from. Pretty neat though? By the way, the text is from a great Alice in Chains song that was very popular in the '90s. The song is "Down in a Hole" and the lyrics are as follows:


Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb...in bloom

Down in a hole and I don’t know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
You don’t understand who they
Thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who won’t let himself be

Down in a hole, feelin’ so small
Down in a hole, losin’ my soul
I’d like to fly,
But my wings have been so denied

Down in a hole and they’ve put all
The stones in their place
I’ve eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
Of my feelings beneath

Down in a hole, feelin’ so small
Down in a hole, losin’ my soul
I’d like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Bury me softly in this womb
Oh I want to be inside of you
I give this part of me for you
Oh I want to be inside of you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers (oh I want to be inside of you)
In a tomb...in bloom
Oh I want to be inside...

Down in a hole, feelin’ so small
Down in a hole, losin’ my soul
Down in a hole, feelin’ so small
Down in a hole, outta control
I’d like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Stupid Tattoos

It seems that getting stupid tattoos is making the news around Europe lately. BBC reports about the foolishness of what is termed "party tattoos".

A number of teenagers have become infected after getting tattoos at a house party.

Several under-18s visited their doctor with signs of infection after illegally being tattooed at the event in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire.

The National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) said it was unclear if safe practices were followed and warned of the dangers of under-age tattooing.

It seems the individual performing the dangerous and very stupid tattoos has not been located but will obviously be prosecuted if discovered. Not only are a lot of these stupid, stupid, stupid kids having to visit their doctors for infection but they were all underage. It kinda makes me think the tattooer is underage because surely, I hope, no adult would be so stupid as to tattoo a bunch of obviously dumb, and quite possibly intoxicated, kids in unsafe conditions. But then again, an interest in tattoos obviously doesn't preclude stupidity.

Stupid tattoos news from The Local: Germany's News in English features the phenomenon of the so-called tramp stamps. Now, for those of you who don't know, a tramp stamp is a tattoo on the lower back of a woman. These notorious tattoos are also known as "ho tags" or, in Germany, Arschgeweih, or "ass antlers". Now, I can't imagine why any self-respecting woman would want a tattoo identifying her as a whore but apparently they were very trendy during the '90s. And now it seems the trendy are tiring of their tramp stamps.

But now a herd of Germans are stampeding to get them removed as they and other tattoos go out of fashion.
“The number of laser removals for tattoos has almost doubled in the last five years,” Heinz Bull, president of Germany's GÄCD plastic surgery association, told news agency DPA on Thursday. “Now young people who got tattoos on the spur of the moment want to have them removed.”

Notice the phrase "as they and other tattoos go out of fashion". Think about that for a minute, and I'm talking to the newbies here. Getting a tattoo because it's fashionable is one of the very worst reasons for getting one. Why? Because they're PERMANENT and fashion trends aren't. And, as the article says and most folks know, getting them removed is exponentially more painful and expensive than the original tattoo. And, even when you've shelled out the money, gone through the pain and made numerous trips to the office you're still gonna be left with an ugly scar. So, for those of you reading this who may be contemplating your first tattoo, read this and consider it well: getting a tattoo to be fashionable is STUPID. Good reasons for getting a tattoo include: a rite of passage, to memorialize a lost loved one, to provide yourself with a profound reminder, to express your inner self, to decorate your body with amazingly beautiful art, etc. Bad reasons to get a tattoo include: to be hip, cool or badass, to impress the chicks/guys, to be trendy. Got that? Good.

Okay, rant over, I feel better now.

The Beat That My Hoot Skipped

A tattooist submission! This is awesome, Bart Bingham!

Now I'm always smiling!

Jesse Allison (pic ripped from BME - I suck)

And I thought my jokes were bad

Two Jokers for the price of one, from Gabe Tucker

Tamara Never Dies

I love this Tamara De Lempicka tattoo, done by old skool icon Chad Koeplinger

Tamara Never Dies pt 2

Another tattoo that has that Lempicka inspired art deco style...done by aaron 15.

Cute Witch

This super cute witch comes Kris. She is the fourth person to submit art to my little blog. Isn't it awesome? She's submitted other images so we'll be seeing more of her on NeoPagan Ink.

Yellow Fever

Reader Submission! Tina Hope sent this classic pinup in yellow, done by Gary in Illustrated Man, Sydney, Australia.

Tank Girl! (sorta)

Not so punk as the original, mind. Done by Chris Blinston.

I am a man of few words, but many riddles

Aries Backpiece

I found this awesome Aries symbol on the InkedBlog which hasn't been updated in two years but is still a wealth of tattoo images. Awesome Aries symbol, don't ya think?

Aztec Backpiece

This amazing black and gray Aztec tattoo comes from the Aztec Tattoo HubPage. I'm not sure if all pagans consider Aztec (or Mayan, etc.) religions to be neopagan but I do as they are the pre-Christian religions later stamped out and now seeing a resurgence, much like the pagan traditions of Europe. As always, click through for the larger version.

Like a Virgin!

Sorry for all the music references. Very 80s, and very gay. Perhaps my unconscious is trying to tell me something. Anyway, this Mary was done by Kristel.

I'm in the Army now, woo-oo!

Another Tony Ciavarro pinup, an army tattooist girl. Which is kind of ironic, given that the army are trying to purge tattooed soldiers from their ranks.

Life's a Beach!

It is for Chris Blinston, anyway.

Chicken Hoot

Lou Jacque

Pure White Tattoos

According to Mail Online the latest Hollywood craze is white tattoos. Purely white tattoos, that is, with no other color at all.

But white-ink tattoos have become an overnight success with a host of celebrity followers from supermodel Kate Moss to actress Lindsay Lohan.

The permanent designs are applied with a regular tattoo gun, yet use ink that is thicker and of a higher quality than normal to stand out on the skin.

I'm kinda on the fence about this. On the one hand, anyone who has ever had any white highlights on a tattoo knows that it will fade. No matter how little sun you get the white will eventually fade away leaving bare skin color underneath. So, in that sense getting a purely white tattoo seems like a waste of time, money, expertise and, not to mention, pain.

On the other hand, getting a purely white tattoo would be almost like getting a temporary tattoo in case the image/writing loses its appeal. So, I guess, if you've got the money to spend on a tattoo that won't last but a few years then it might seem like a good idea.

That said, you won't catch me spending precious tattoo funds on a white tattoo. How about you? I'd be interested to learn how others feel about white tattoos.

You... you complete me

Chris Thomas

Hawaii Guest artist

Bong from Tattoo Krew and Lucky from Soul Signature and tattoo krew is coming in

from the islands of hawaii and will be guest spotting in humble beginnings tattoo studio.

they will be tattooing during the san jose tattoo convention , from oct 23 - nov1st...or longer...

for appointments pls call or come to the shop, thanks orly

visit bongs myspace       http://www.myspace.com/bong187

visit lucky                      www.soulsignaturetattoo.com

Multicolored Starflower

Just found this pretty tattoo on a MySpace page. I like this design and overall look so much that if I ever get a pentacle/pentagram tattoo it will be very similar to this.