Tattoos revisited - your stories

[Wildwood]

Hi

I am starting to do some research into the motivations and
reasons behind the particular tattoos people get. I'm really
interested in how people feel about their tattoo once the
first rush wears off.

I'm trying to research doing a ritual with a tattoo as the focal
point and I'd love to hear peoples experiences who have done
this before. Maybe I'll even write up an article or something
one day. I'll have to have something to keep me occupied
when my exams are over.

So please share with little old me.

Thanks
Wildwood

[Eveningthief]

I actually have two. But they are in locations that I can choose if I want them seen or not. One, which is a peace sign with roses intertwined, is on my left shoulder. The other is a leather arm band with indian beads and a couple of feathers, around the upper part of my right arm.

I have had them for a few years and still like them. Probably because I chose something simple and not too outrageous. My five year old loves them and thinks they are pretty cool.

[Amethyst Rose]

I have two tatoos and I'm planning on possibly two more in the future. I think that my tattoos symbolize a certian time in my life, and the person I was at that moment.
My first tattoo was a rose growing out of a music note, on the back of my right shoulder. I was 18 when I got it, and had just graduated from highschool. During that time, music was incredibly important to me, as were the things that a rose tends to symbolize. It's basically a reminder of the person I was 5 years a go. Because of where it is though, I don't even realize it's there anymore.... when I do notice it, it's like reliving a good memory.
My second tattoo is on my upper left arm... it is the triple goddess, with my zodiac (aquarius) sign underneath it....so it looks like the full moon has just risen above the water. I got this one about 2 1/2 years ago. At that time, I had been studying the craft for 2 years and was just at the point where it and the goddess had become very important to me. I am especially proud of this tatoo, and it still represents the person that I am. Maybe that's the reason why I haven't gotten a third yet.

[Lucidia]

I have rather extensive tribal tattoo work. I personally feel that body modification can be a rather spiritual experience. I think it was a rite of passage for me. I have tribal glyphs running down from my shoulders, down the center of my back, and down the sides of my legs. Each one has a special meaning to me, and all together they express my past and present. from top to bottom, their meanings are:

Faerie: I am heavily involved with faerie lore, and I feel a deep connection with the legends of the leanan sidhe.

Logic: I would say this has a double meaning.. i've done some very illogical things in the past.. but i try very hard to think with both logic and emotion, rather than let my heart get the best of me all the time.

Philosopher: I am in my opinion, a philosopher. I study many other philosphers, as well as simply observe the world around me and put together my own concepts and theories. Someday I hope that my written works will inspire people the way that many of the philosphers of old inspire me.

Powerful: Well.. i try to be humble, but i'm not weak in most ways. I've been through a lot of hard times, and I've spent most of my life studying very heavy spiritual practices, so I feel confident in saying that I am powerful in some respects. However, I've never felt the misguided notion that this meant that I should have any less respect for the life around me.

Tortured: It took a lot of pain to get where I am now...

"Crying Goddess": This one is a long long story.. too long for this post... but it's a "nick name" I acquired a while back...

Elegance: Rather self explanatory... wouldnt' want to sound terribly conceited by going in depth with this one...

Astral: I have been a practicioner of astral projection for many years. It's a deeply rooted part of my life...

Faith: true unadulterated Belief can be everything sometimes... Faith is a very important aspect of my life... it's the glue that holds it all together...

Individual: I have rarely been one to follow the crowd... although it is hard to be completely unique in this world.. i refuse to lose my identity in this stupid system we live in...

Purity: For all my pain and indulgences... I am still pure of spirit.

Protected: Although i fight it sometimes... I always have the protection of those that care for me.. and for that i'm so very grateful and fortunate.

Energy: The bottom glyph.. and the root of everything... from which it all came and the state to which all things must eventually return... very symbolic...

so that's pretty much it... I've had them for something like 8 months now... and sometimes I get angry because the world judges me so negatively.. and there are jobs i can't have unless i cover them all up... but then again... nudity is often considered illegal and "wrong" and to me... these tattoos are a very intimate thing to me.. so I can't exactly say i mind covering them up.. because people that judge me because of my body don't deserve to even see me in the first place.

Personally.. i think that pain can be very spiritual.. and modifying your body through any means (tattoo, peircings, scarification, branding, etc) should be a very meaningful thing, as even if you should get something removed... the memory remains forever.

[Morgaine14]

I have two tattoos. One is a butterfly, with a tiger's face in the wings- I got it about a year ago. The other I have is a purple dragon- and this one told me it had to be there, and so it is. I love both of them still, and plan on getting more eventually. The dragon has been there for about two years. The dragon is on the outside of my right leg, and the butterfly is on my left shoulder blade.

[gunner]

i'm not tattooed myself, i missed getting an eagle, globe and anchor wih "death before dishonor" only by grace of the onset of sobriety one evening, my daughter says she wants a hatching dragon on her tummy just over and one side of her mappa tazzi, why i don't know.