Hummingbird and Sun

Here, have a twofer.

Beltaine Scorpion

Beltaine Pent

This nice Ouroborus pentacle is another of the great tattoos I photographed on Beltaine!

More Beltaine Ink

Here's another tattoo from Beltaine!

Beltaine Ink 3: Hawk

Another of the great tattoos photographed on Beltaine! This belongs to my cool new friend Bob and was inked at Electric Voodoo Tattoo in Springfield, Missouri.

Amazing Horned God

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This positively gorgeous Cernunnos comes to us from reader Richard who says:

It is a representation of The Horned God, Cernunnos, or Herne. To me it is symbolic with my connection to him as one of my patrons and was done as a devotional act to honor our bond.

Thanks so much to Richard for sharing his stunning tattoo!

Kingfisher Ink

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These gorgeous Kingfishers come from the Flickrstream of Graeme Fraser and are licensed by Creative Commons.

In ancient Greece, the week before and the week after the winter solstice were peaceful days on the sea allowing the kingfisher to hatch her egg. As the Greek goddess Alcyone was represented by the kingfisher we now call these days the Halcyon Days. From Wikipedia:

The myth of Ceyx and Alcyone describes how Alcyone, as recorded by Ovid, pines all day by the shore where Ceyx was destined to return. Unfortunately Ceyx, who is referred to as the son of the morning star (a reference to the solstice, not anything satanic), has died in a shipwreck. Alcyone finds this out, and throws herself into the sea. The gods feel pity for Ceyx and Alcyone, transforming them into Halcyon Birds. The first Halcyon days were those days in winter, on which Alcyone first lay her eggs. Her father Aeolus, god of the wind, calms the seas each year since so she can lay them again.

These are considered days of peace and prosperity. I like to think of these days as a calming time before the insanity of the mainstream holidays kicks in.

Tiger Totem

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This tattoo comes to us from reader Heather! It was inked by artist Alex at Good Times Tattoo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Heather had this to say about her gorgeous tiger:

I've always been attracted to tigers and everything that they stand for. My very first tattoo was of one and I feel like it's not just my totem but that perhaps I was one in a prior life. My love for them surrounds me and my home.

Thanks so much to Heather for sharing her tattoo!

Athena: Watchmen Style

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This gorgeous Athena tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Ohnocriso and is licensed under Creative Commons.

This tattoo is based on original art by Dave Gibbons from the comic The Watchmen.

Cat People Tarot

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This fabulous tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Shannon Archuleta. The fabulous original artwork comes from the later, great Arizona artist Karen Kuyendall.

CATBEAR?!

aaaaarrrrghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
It's a cat! With shark teeth! Or maybe it's a bear?

Boar

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This supercool boar was inked by the fine folks at Mod Tattoo out of Stoughton, Wisconsin and belongs to reader Richard. He had the following to say about it:

The boar is a totem spirit of mine and represents my connection to the Earth and also protection, particularly my role as protector of my family.

Thanks to Richard for sharing his tattoo!

Killer Cat

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This supercool tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Tlindenbaum and is licensed under Creative Commons.

Bat in Flight

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Here's a nice bat from the Flickrstream of Earley Curley and is licensed under Creative Commons.

If you look closely you can just make out what appears to be two nipples, so, I don't know how accurate this is but it's neat all the same!

Halloween Kitty

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This cute scaredy cat comes from the Flickrstream of Neverfeltbetter and is licensed under Creative Commons.

Just one of many spooky themed tattoos to come!

By the way, I'm still hot on the pursuit for contributors so if you're interested let me know.

Halloween Every Day

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This groovy tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Katie Cowden and is licensed under Creative Commons.

I know we're still two weeks 'til the actual day but I'm getting the Halloween/Samhain fever so here's the first tattoo celebrating my favorite season. If you haven't already done it this is your official NeoPagan Ink message to get out your pumpkin lights and skull candles.

Haida Ink

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This awesome tattoo, of an egg, a raven, a whale and a woman with a labret piercing, comes to us from the Flickrstream of Zach_ManchesterUK and is licensed under Creative Commons. It was designed by Haida artist Freda Diesing.

The Haida were and are American Indians of the northern coast of British Columbia near the border of Alaska. Like many native peoples their use of symbols and mythic figures on masks, totem poles, etc., often denote lineage and status. Unfortunately, much of their myths have been lost to time leaving us with only educated guesses as to the meaning of many of their symbols. We do know that the raven features heavily in Haida mythology and art and serves as their trickster who provides freedom but also threatens chaos.

Curly Autumn Tree

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This tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of MadeMistakes and is licensed under Creative Commons.

This is an original design by the owner and I'm just lovin' it! It's an autumn type of tattoo what with there being no leaves on the tree but the little curled branch is evocative of the fun and playfulness of this time of year as well. And the bird looks to me like a raven and that's all Edgar Allen Poe and that's autumn and Halloween-ish too. Nice.

Garuda

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This amazing tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Eylon and is licensed under Creative Commons.

This tattoo was inked at Slave to the Needle out of Seattle, Washington by guest artist Isaac Fainkujen from Phoenix, Arizona.

This tattoo features Garuda who, along with Ganesha the elephant-headed god and Hanuman the monkey god, is one of the principal animals gods of Hinduism. Garuda rules all birds and also displays his mastery over the wind with his amazing speed. He has the head, wings, beak and talons of an eagle and the rest of his body is human. He is a great fighter for good and often eats the evil.