Symbolic Trio

Beltaine Sun and Moon

Dualing Arm Tattoos

Click image(s) to see the larger version(s).

This image comes from Rebecca and were inked at Phoenix Tattoo Company out of Tempe, Arizona. Here's what Rebecca had to say about her tattoos:

I put some thought into the symbolism of the tattoos when I got them done. I have a sun with the Libra sign and the horned god symbol on my right arm. They are on my right arm because in Wicca and Paganism the right hand side of your altar is for God and male spirituality. I have the Libra sign because my amazing husband is a Libra. I have the opposite on my left arm. I have a moon, Scorpio symbol, and the triple goddess symbol. For similar reasons-goddesses and female spirituality go on the left hand side and I am a Scorpio. I love the balance of my tattoos! I am representing myself, the goddess, my husband, and the god!

Thanks to Rebecca for sharing her tattoos!

Turtle and Moons

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These tattoos come from the Flickrstream of Jake Sutton and is licensed by Creative Commons.

The tattoo was inked by Fish at Th'Ink Tank Tattoo in Denver, Colorado.

The turtle features heavily in many American Indian creation stories. Usually various sea animals bring mud from beneath the ocean to form the land which the World Turtle carries on its back.

Wild Back Piece

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This amazing back piece comes from the Flickstream of Wolf94114 and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This back piece was created by artist London Bellman of Atomic Art Tattoo Studio of Portland, Oregon.

I'm lovin' the moons and the owl for obvious reasons. I imagine the human-like figure is based on some badass original art; if anyone knows the origins of the image I'd appreciate a heads up. At any rate, a very nice and extremely unique back piece.

Happy solstice folks!

P.S. For some background about this tattoo be sure to check out the comments!

Pentacle and Moon

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Here's a very pretty tattoo from the Flickrstream of Dmaelus; it is licensed under Creative Commons.

This pentacle tattoo with the moon and clouds in the background makes me kinda think I might get a similar tattoo one day. All of the elements but fire are represented here, with the moon and clouds representing water. The clouds are also representative of air and the pentacle itself is made of wood, so that takes care of earth. And while I think all of the elements should be honored I too would consider excluding an image symbolic of fire within a similar tattoo. Being a watery person all around I have a healthy respect for fire, and all its associations, as well as a great fear of it.

Moon Phases Tattoo Link

If you've never visited ModBlog now is the time! They've got a great image of a woman with the phases of the moon tattooed on her arms. FYI it's not safe for work as the woman is topless. Anyway, go see it, it's a super cool idea for a tattoo!

Purple Pagan Fairy

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This gorgeous fairy, inspired by the fantasy art of Amy Brown is from Rate My Ink and was created by Mike at Blue Horseshoe Tattoo of Hampton, Virginia.

I really like this tattoo. The work is well done and incorporates several different symbols and ideas without being cluttered. There's the triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone) moons hanging from her leg. The caduceus, which has taken on a medical meaning today, has a long, rich pagan history. It was first held by Iris, the messenger of Hera, the topmost goddess of the Greek pantheon. Later it was shone in the hand of Hermes, Greek messenger to all of the pantheon, psychopompos and protector of many people including shepherds, merchants as well as thieves. As Hermes was the rough equivalent of the Roman Mercury the caduceus also became astrologically linked with the planet of the same name. (It should be noted that the caduceus is not the same as the rod of Asclepius, another common medicine-related symbol, which has only one snake and no wings.) And the tattoos on her legs are the icing on the double chocolate pagan cake.

Black/Gray Goddess

This very nice goddess comes from Rate My Ink and was inked at Tattoos by Wayne in Derry, N.H.

This goddess exemplifies the idea of the triple goddess, with the waxing crescent representing the growing maiden, the full moon representing the grown woman possibly full with child and the waning crescent linked with the diminishing but still powerful crone. The spiral in her belly is an age old symbol found all over the world throughout all of history representing the never ending continuity of life and the creative forces of the universe.

Coyolxauhqui

Here's a nice tattoo from Rate My Ink. Not the brightest picture but still, pretty awesome, eh? By clicking on the image you will see the larger version and be able to take in the details. FYI, Coyolxauhqui is the Aztec moon and earth goddess. When her mother became pregnant, by stuffing a sky fallen ball of feathers in her chest, Coyolxauhqui and her brothers, outraged by the scandal, attempted to end her life. But before they could their brother Huitzilopochtli emerged fully grown and armed from his mother. He then killed all of his siblings and threw Coyolxauhqui's head high into the air in the hope that his mother might be comforted by her face in the heavens.

Triple Moons

More triple moons from Rate My Ink. Created by Vince Paolucci at Oceanside Ink in California.

The triple moons so prevalent in modern paganism are directly related to the phases of a woman's lifetime. The waxing crescent represents the young maiden growing to maturity. The full moon represents the mature woman full of possibility/child. The waning crescent represents the aging, yet still powerful, crone.

Three Inks

These cool tattoos come from Lady Greywolf; she is the 24th person to submit art to NeoPagan Ink! Yay!

Thanks to Lady Greywolf!

White Triple Moons

Here's another tattoo from Rate My Ink. This was created by the folks at Top Tattoo in Shoreline, WA. This tattoo was inked by Majenta who is now at her own place Diamond Tattoo.

My Moons

I finally got a new USB cord for my digital camera so I'll be posting some images of my own tattoos. These moons were done by a fella named Karl at Miller Cottons in Springfield, Missouri.

Moon Pentacle

I'm just loving this tattoo! This belongs to a fella named Bob and comes from Rate My Ink.

Today is the Roman festival honoring Luna!

Blue Moon Fairy

This pretty fairy comes from Fairy Tattoos a blog with, unfortunately, not much to show for itself in the way of posts. But still, great tattoo, ain't it?

Creation of the Universe

This cool tattoo comes from Muse en Lystrala, who is another groovy person referred by Jaspenelle! She is the seventeenth person to submit art to NeoPagan Ink! Yay! She had this to say about her tattoo:

This is a tattoo I designed myself. The black is for the void, the blue for the creation of the universe; the moon is for the goddess, the star for the god. This was inked by Jay at East Coast Tattoo and Piercing (Providence, RI) in December of 2004, and took approximately two and a half hours.

Thanks to Muse en Lystrala for submitting her art!

And another special thanks to Jaspenelle for referring her!

A Moon on a Hip

This is another great tattoo from Kim and this is what she says about it:

The tattoo on my hip is a crescent moon with three raindrops falling from it. I first had this tattoo done ten years ago, but was never completely happy with it. My astrological symbol (Cancer) is nestled inside the crescent. I had it redone by KC at the same time he did my pentagram.

Greco-Roman Back Piece

This amazing back piece comes from Rank My Tattoos. It appears to be Zeus/Jupiter in the center with his lightning bolt, Aphrodite/Venus in lower left being born from the foam in the classic Botticelli pose, Hephaistos/Vulcan toiling away in the lower right, a scorpion in the upper left and another god, perhaps Apollo in the upper right. Very nice. I can't help but wonder what this would've looked like in color. Be sure to click the image to see the larger version.

Zodiac

Art by Boe at Tat2Times.