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!

Nice Eye Horus

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This awesome Eye of Horus (or Eye of Ra, depending on which myth you read) comes from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Micaeltattoo who works out of Sao Paulo.

We hadn't had any Egyptian stuff lately so I felt the urge and this tattoo was just calling to be posted. Enjoy.

Cornucopia Ink

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This gorgeous tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of my_new_wintercoat and is licensed under Creative Commons. (To see another cool tattoo from my_new_wintercoat, go here.)

This tattoo was inked by Mike at Black Cat Tattoo out of Boise, Idaho.

The word "cornucopia" means "the horn of plenty" and is most closely associated with the Greek goddess Copia, a goddess of prosperity and plenty, who carried it with her. She belongs in the posse of the goddess Fortune, goddess of fortune and luck. There are various versions of its origins. The most popular one states that the cornucopia was originally a goat's horn from which the god Zeus drank as a child. To protect him from his father Chronus, who was eating all of his children to prevent them from usurping him, Zeus was sent away to live in a cave. The story goes that either the goat herself tore off her horn to nourish the infant Zeus or that he, jerk that he could be, tore it from her head. Now, you might ask, how does a horn, from the head of animal, provide milk to feed a child? I don't know, I really don't, I just work here. To read more about the cornucopia visit The Flower Shop Network.

Lotus

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

This tattoo was inked by Kelly at Tattoo Zone is Rockaway, New Jersey.

We will first turn to Egypt. As the lotus sinks under the water at night and reemerges when the sun returns it was closely associated with the sun. It was also linked with the idea of rebirth and was thus closely tied to Osirian cult as Osiris ruled over death.

The lotus features more heavily in several Asian religions, especially Buddhism and Hinduism. Many deities are depicted as standing upon lotus flowers; Vishnu, Brahma and the goddesses Lakshmi, Sarasvati and Kubera are among the most closely associated with the lotus. Within the realm of Buddhism it is said that everywhere Gautama Buddha stepped a lotus would spring forth.

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.

Woody Green Man

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This interesting Green Man comes from the Flickrstream of Banana Donuts ~ Half Baked Photography and is licensed by Creative Commons.

I like this Green Man, it's different than any other I've seen before. It makes me think of the Green Man during the fall and winter after all the leaves have fallen. And though we are a way from that here in the Northern Hemisphere I can feel it coming slowly but surely.

Huginn and Muninn

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This amazing tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Mez Love and is licensed by Creative Commons.

Mez Love is probably my favorite tattoo artist, for two reasons: 1. Amazing artistry, I've never seen any of her work that wasn't flat out gorgeous. 2. She has tons of her tattoo images on Flickr licensed for free use. Awesome.

Anyway, this tattoo features Huginn and Muninn who are the two ravens associated with Odin, chief of the Norse pantheon. Huginn is thought, Muninn is memory; they fly all over the Earth and at night they return to Odin and report what they have seen.

From the Grimnismal:

The whole world wide, every day,

fly Huginn and Muninn;

I worry lest Huginn should fall in flight,

yet more I fear for Muninn.

Jaguar Ink

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This cool tattoo comes from Pietra and was inked by Wagner at Dabliw Tattoo Studio in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. Here's what Pietra had to say about her tattoo:

I would like to share a tattoo I have recently done. It is a jaguar skin inked on my shoulder. I have made it to honor the God Dionysos.

Thanks to Pietra for sharing her tattoo with us! And be sure to check out her Strega site and Podcast!

Fawn

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This gorgeous sleeping fawn tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Mez Love and is licensed by Creative Commons.

Once upon a time Finn mac Cumhail, a warrior of heroic proportions, was out hunting when his dogs refused to kill a white deer he had been hunting. Later in a dream the goddess Sadb told him that, due to a spell cast upon her, she had been transformed into the white deer he had chased and that only his love could free her. It was a love he freely gave. Unfortunately, after Finn had been called away to war the sorceror who cast the original spell reclaimed Sadb and she could not be found. Years later Finn was out hunting again when he came across a naked boy who, though knowing nothing of his father, knew his mother to be a deer. Finn instinctively knew this boy to be his son and named him Oisin, which translates as "fawn". Oisin grew to be a great warrior like his father but, taking after his mothers, also became known as the greatest poet in Ireland.

Corn for Lughnasadh

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This tattoo image comes from the Flickrstream of Steve Rhodes and is licensed by Creative Commons.

Hey folks, Happy Lughnasadh! Today marks the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox and is the traditional beginning of the harvest season.

Lughnasadh was begun by the Celtic god Lugh, a god of many, many talents, in honor of his foster mother Tailtiu who, after clearing and thus preparing the fields of Ireland for planting, died of exhaustion.

Cernunnos

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This tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Mateoutah and is licensed by Creative Commons.

The original image comes from the famous Gundestrup cauldron dating from approximately the 1st century BCE. It was found in 1891 in a peat bog in Denmark and features what is probably the most popular image of Cernunnus, the Celtic god of fertility and the wild.

You can find more Cernunnos tattoos that have been featured on NeoPagan Ink here and here.

Kukulcan

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This gorgeous tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Carolina Velis and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This tattoo was inked by artist Michelle Tarantelli of NY Adorned.

This tattoo features the Mayan god Kukulcan who reigns supreme over the Mayan pantheon. He is master of all the four elements and is also a deity of resurrection and reincarnation. His name translates as "the feathered serpent" and the tattoo above features just that.

Serene Buddha

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This very nice Buddha comes from the Flickrstream of Sebastian6 and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This tattoo was created by Thomas Pendleton of the new A&E show Tattoo Highway. And while the photo quality isn't that great I decided to feature it here anyway because not only is the tattoo very well done but because of the perfectly captured sense of peace. If anyone ever needed a reason to try and practice meditation this tattoo looks like a very good one.

Gautauma Siddhartha is thought to be an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and, by urging his followers to give up worldly possessions and pleasures, founded the religion of Buddhism. He taught that by destroying and hopefully removing the ego one could achieve Nirvana which is the highest level of bliss and the ultimate goal of the earthly study and practice of Buddhism.

Anubis Ink

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This very cool tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of ThisParticularGreg and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This tattoo features Anubis the jackal-headed Egyptian god of embalming and all things mummification. Being as he is so closely connected to death he is often linked with Osiris, ruler of the Underworld. This is largely because he was the original lord of the dead, a role later transposed to Osiris leaving Anubis in a slightly lesser role. Anubis is one of the oldest of all the Egyptian gods. We know this because many mastabas, ancient Egyptian tombs that predated pyramids by many, many years, feature his names (and there are many) carved into their stone walls. He is so old that his parentage is largely uncertain and varies greatly depending on the date of source material. He is not only in charge of mummification but he is also the protector of the dead who presents righteous souls to Osiris. Note the Ankh in his hand. When held by the loop, which originally represented the womb, this symbol of eternal life is meant to represent the key to the gates of death that would lead to immortality.

Lady Liberty Pinup

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

The Statue of Liberty, on which this pinup is obviously based, is itself based on ancient images of the Roman goddess Libertas and the god Apollo. Libertas is a goddess of freedom from slavery, tyranny and oppression. From Wikipedia:

This symbol of Liberty and Freedom is not standing still or at attention in the harbor, it is moving forward, as her left foot tramples broken shackles at her feet, in symbolism of the United States' wish to be free from oppression and tyranny.

The seven rays on her head are said to represent either the seven continents or the seven seas. However, her entire head is very heavily inspired by images of the god Apollo who also often had seven rays of the sun coming from his head and who is closely linked to the sun as well as reason and learning. The torch represents enlightenment.

Happy Fourth of July to my fellow American neopagans!

Assyrian Ink

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This nifty tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of MyTat_2 and is licensed under Creative Commons.

This tattoo includes several different Mesopotamian images that have been combined to form a unique piece of art. The wings are a fairly well-known image, often associated with Ahura Mazda as in the image below.



The star in the middle is usually representative of the planet Venus and, thusly, the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, and her Sumerian counterpart Inanna, who was closely associated with the planet.

It's always nice when I manage to find tattoos of Mesopotamian subject matter. To be clear, the term Mesopotamia covers a wide range of cultures that existed between or around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq, parts of Iran, Turkey and Syria. It includes the Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Akkadian and Uruk cultures. The mighty Persian Empire was/is closely related to Mesopotamia through conquest. While the aforementioned nations are all linked by geography and - to some extent - religion and style they are by no means identical. Even the cultures of Babylon and Sumer, which had their cores in the same exact spot, are unique. And all are fascinating and loaded with beautiful images of their gods and goddesses. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of this imagery to be found on skin. To that end, if you manage to find any that's licensed by Creative Commons I'd love to have a link!

Green Man Neck Ink

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This tattoo was created by artist Trevor Collis of Iron Age Studios in St. Louis.

Here's another Green Man, this one offered up by reader David. I don't think I've seen a Green Man with such an expressive face. Pretty cool, eh? David had this to say about his Green Man:

Green man is very important to me because in all my Pagan and Druid studies, things come back to him in one way or another, no matter what he is called the outcome is the same. Many cultures through out history have recognized him, no matter the name.

Thanks to David for sharing his tattoo with us here at NeoPagan Ink!

Nice Green Man Back Piece: Update

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This nifty tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of cp_odd and is licensed under Creative Commons. No artist information provided.

This tattoo is based on original art that I've seen elsewhere on the web at least a hundred times. But, of course, now that I'm want it for the sake of comparison I can't find it. At any rate, a very nice Green Man to bless your day.

Update: Fabulous reader Niklaus has informed me that this Green Man is from the wonderful fantasy artist Brian Froud!

The Oak

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Here's another very nice tattoo from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Mez Love, this one an oak tree. The text reads: As the roots lie in the soil, Our heritage lies in our name, wise words to be sure.

June 10 marks the beginning of the Celtic tree month of the oak, the most sacred of the many trees revered by the Druids. Among the ancient Celts, as well as the Greeks and the Romans, oak leaves were worn as status symbols. As one of the largest and oldest trees, often living over 200 years, the oak is considered a repository of wisdom and sacred knowledge. As the oak tends to be very tall is often attracts lightning and is thus linked with the Dagda, ruler of the Tuatha de Danann (children of the goddess Danu, foundress of the race of Irish-Celtic gods). The Dagda is a god of the earth, treaties and magic as well as war and, you guessed it, lightning.

Jewel Toned Green Man

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This very shiny, very nice Green Man comes from the Flickrstream of tattoo artist Mez Love and is listed under a Creative Commons license.

This is a truly unique Green Man, unlike any I've ever come across before. Instead of rough, earthy foliage his greenery has the sheen of jewels or silk perhaps. If you get the chance check out Love's Flickr page, he's got a lot of his excellent work posted.

The figure of the Green Man, while a favorite of neopagans and environmentalists of the western hemisphere is actually a widespread archetype with representations from all over the world. The overall quality is, of course, the never ending continuity of the Earth and it's green growing things. The figure that we neopagans are most familiar with is the Green Man of European churches dating from the 11th century to the 20th. There are thousands of these images on churches from all over England, Ireland, France and many other countries. Outside of Europe the Green Man can most notably be found in India. Considering the immense time span and different cultures involved Green Men can look nothing alike from one to the next but still be considered equally representative of the same ideas, and ideals, of nature, wildness and growth. For many images from all over the world and further information be sure to visit one of the best Green Man sites I've come across, Mike Harding's Green Man site.