Celtic Arms

These beautiful tattoos are from Celtic tattoos tribe. These are so nice they've inspired me to get more Celtic knot work one day.

Beetle Ink

This is my FIRST reader submitted tattoo!! Yay! This cool scarab and earth comes from my friend, and fellow blogger, Gene. For some great reading be sure to check out his blog, Witches and Scientists.

Pazyryk Tattoos

This is an outline drawing of a fish tattoo from a man of the Pazyryk culture; he was discovered in the 1940s. (A larger image of some of his tattoos can be seen in my new title banner.) The Pazyryk people were nomadic horsemen of the mountains in what is now Siberian Russia who flourished between the sixth and second centuries BCE. Their burials were rich troves of artifacts including saddles, textiles, tools, horses, hash pipes, cannabis and tattooed people. Although no tattoo-specific tools were found the Pazyryk people did make fine embroidery with extremely small needles; it has been concluded that these needles did double duty as tattoo tools.

According to this essay on the history of tattoo:

The best preserved tattoos were images of a donkey, a mountain ram, two highly stylized deer with long antlers and an imaginary carnivore on the right arm. Two monsters resembling griffins decorate the chest, and on the left arm are three partially obliterated images which seem to represent two deer and a mountain goat. On the front of the right leg a fish extends from the foot to the knee. A monster crawls over the right foot, and on the inside of the shin is a series of four running rams which touch each other to form a single design.

There are also a series of small circles along the spine that are believed to be therapeutic in nature. Interestingly, modern Siberians practice this form of tattoo to relieve the pain associated with back problems. In the second half of the 20th century more burials and bodies were discovered. All have tattoos of real and mythical animals.

P.S. Be sure to check out this Hermitage News link for more information about this fascinating culture. And thanks to Luc for the link!!

Moons, Triskele,

I'm loving these moons that also came from the Tattooed Pagans Tribe.

Blue Dragon

This cool dragon comes from the the Tattooed Pagans Tribe message board.

Cernunnos

I found this amazing ink here.

Amazing Goddess

All I can say about this beautiful and enormous goddess is "WOW"!

Betty Broadbent

This is the fabulous Betty Broadbent. She was the first person to be inducted into the Tattoo Hall of Fame and was probably the first famous woman with a full body suit tattoo. Born in 1909 she first encountered the world of tattoo at the tender age of 14. She eventually got a full suit from such pioneering tattoo artists as Charlie Wagner, Joe Van Hart, Jack Redcloud, Tony Rineager and Red Gibbons (who became her husband). She became a star in the sideshow circuit as one of the few heavily tattooed women and lived the circus life for some 40 years. She worked with all the major shows of the time: Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, Cole Brothers, Sells-Floto and others. She left the stage for a few years to perform with a wild west show and during the off season she tattooed in San Francisco. She retired from public life in 1967, settled in Florida and died peacefully in her sleep in 1983.

These are the bare facts of her life and about all I can find out about her online. I'm surprised and quite disappointed that I can't find any images of her own tattoo art on the internet. She may have been the first female tattoo artist. She was certainly one of the most famous female tattoo artists and I'm very interested in learning about the quality of her work. Considering how famous a figure she was/is it would seem natural for her art to be showcased somewhere but I've come up empty. She must have been tattooing through most of the 60s so there are surely people still alive with her art on their bodies, but I can't seem to find any of it. Perhaps there is a book out there somewhere but if anyone knows of online images of her work I'd love to hear about it.

Fall Green Man

I'm just loving this green man. The blending of the colors and the overall dense feel of it are amazing. Gorgeous.

Horned God Branding

This is an amazing image of Lilith's Horned God branding in progress. I can almost smell it, makes me hungry for barbecued steak!



And this is the finished product. Pretty neat, huh?

Stemmy Green Man

I don't know where this particular green man came from; it's just one of the many images I found online somewhere and kept in my documents. I like this one because it's unique; I've never seen another with stems on the sides of the head. Note the two tiny acorns at the bottom.

Fat Aphrodite

This amazingly beautiful Aphrodite (or Venus) comes from Mister Reusch. As pretty as it is I kinda think the arms look a little odd, especially her right arm. But still, gorgeous. If I ever get the funds I'd love to have a somewhat similar tattoo as Aphrodite is my patron goddess. Note the spirals and triskele, very cool.

Green Man Outline

This is a cool Green Man from the knee of my dear friend Lilith. Isn't it cool? I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished.

Australian Scarification

According to a Discovery News article ancient Australian art featured motifs that made it onto ancient islanders' skin.

"Distinctive design conventions can be considered markers of social interaction so, in a way (they are) a cultural signature of sorts that archaeologists can use to understand ways people were interacting in the past," author Liam Brady of Monash University's Center for Australian Indigenous Studies, told Discovery News.

For the study, published in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity, Brady documented rock art drawings; images found on early turtle shell, stone and wood objects, such as bamboo tobacco pipes and drums; and images that were etched onto the human body through a process called scarification.

"In a way, a scarred design could be interpreted as a tattoo," Brady said. "It was definitely a distinctive form of body ornamentation and it was permanent since the design was cut into the skin."

"Evidence for scarification is primarily via (19th century) anthropologists -- mainly A.C. Haddon -- who took black and white photographs of some designs, as well as drawing others into his notebooks in the late 1800's," he added....Brady determined that within the body art, rock art and objects, four primary motifs often repeated: a fish headdress, a snake, a four-pointed star, and triangle variants. The fish headdress, usually made of a turtle shell decorated with feathers and rattles, was worn during ceremonies and has, in at least one instance, been linked to a "cult of the dead."

The triangular designs, on the other hand, were often scarred onto women's skin and likely indicated these individuals were in mourning.

I just love it when connections like these are made. And I'm especially pleased since these snake designs inspired my own spiral snake tattoo. (Which I can't post because the USB cord I use with my camera has quit on me.)

Stag Pentagram

I just found this awesome stag and pentacle on Kali's Witchy Ways.

Wizard

More from my friend the Dragon. I like how the hand really looks like it's coming toward the viewer.

Red Dragon

This a detail image of my friend Dragon's Red Dragon.

Dragon, Scorpion

These amazing brands come from some friends. Their tattoos and brandings are so cool and numerous I'm sure I'll be posting more.

My Dreamcatcher

This is my dreamcatcher. Notice the Celtic knot in the center. I know, I know. I hear the purists saying you can't mix cultures. But I chose it to honor my mothers side of the family: Irish and American Indian, Cherokee to be precise. This was done by Jake Dalton. Sorry the picture quality isn't so great, the tattoo is a good deal darker than the photo makes it look.

Gorgeous Green Man

I found this image just searching on Gooooogle. I guess it was posted to a public place so I hope she doesn't mind it being posted here. Anyway, awesome green man.

Kali

This amazing tattoo of the goddess Kali comes from moonrat42's Flickrstream. This is an amazing Kali! The non-traditional things she's holding her hands makes it very personal and unique.

Fire Goddess

This gorgeous firey goddess comes from Gabriel Cain's Flickrstream. I absolutely adore this tattoo. The figure is pleasantly plump and the fire looks hot!

Horned God

This simple but profound tattoo comes from faelinjp's Flickrstream

Moons, Pentagram

This tattoo comes from Cetta's Flickrstream It's a very fresh sparkly tattoo with some very nice lines. Gorgeous.

UPDATED: Dryads

It's a shame the photo quality isn't a little better. But still, what a tattoo!! This gorgeous black and grey tattoo comes to us from LadyMockingbird's Flickrphotostream.

Updated 12/10/08: Thanks to Ailia for letting me in on a little secret. These ladies aren't a triple goddess representation. They are dryads from the above Boris Vallejo painting. Thanks again Ailia!

Floral Spiral

This image comes from Rigphoto's Flickrstream
I really like this spiral and it inspires me to have my next spiral tattoo (I have two) done in a similar floral pattern. Perhaps a vine. Anyway, lovely tattoo.

Ancient Egypt

Kemet, the name ancient Egyptians used to name their homeland, has a fascinating and complex history of tattoo. Our knowledge of ancient Egyptian tattoo comes to us from the Middle Kingdom, about 4000 years ago. To the left is an image of the earthly remains of Amunet, an Egyptian woman who had been a priestess of Hathor and probably a special concubine to the Pharoah Mentuhotep. We know this because his name is written on her wrappings and she appears alongside other concubines in temple art. Of all the tombs in Metuhotep's complex hers was the only one not plundered by thieves. Notice the patterns on her abdomen; they are right where the belly expands during pregnancy.

The oldest known non-geometric tattoo pattern also comes to us from ancient Egypt. The mummies of two dancing girls found under the tomb of Hatshepsut have images of the the god Bes who, among other things, was a protector of children and women in labor. Interestingly, the Bes tattoos are on the upper thighs which obviously makes the images close to the newborn child.

To date, no Egyptian males have been found with tattoos. There are only female mummies with tattoos, which, along with the placement of the tattoos, leads many to believe they were therapeutic art concerned with pregnancy and childbirth. Strangely enough, there is ancient Egyptian art that clearly shows men with tattoos but, so far, no male Egyptian mummies have been found with ink of any kind.

The Iceman

These are just a few of the 50-some tattoos on the body of Otzi the Iceman, who has the distinction of being the oldest mummified human body ever found. He died around 5300 years ago, apparently as a result of murder, and was quickly buried by ice which kept his body from deteriorating completely. Being that many of his tattoos are near arthritic parts of his body it is widely believed that they were meant to be therapeutic. His tattoos are quite simple; no elaborate images here, they are only lines and groups of lines.

As you can see, his tattoos are all over his body. And while some of the tattoos appear near arthritic spots the same can't be said for all of Otzi's tattoos. The others may be purely artistic or signs of status. Otzi was not an average guy as he lived past the age of 50, double the average age of most folks in 3300 BCE. So, he must have been well-fed and had access to the medical care of the day. I find Otzi and his tattoos fascinating. Was he a nobleman of some sort to be so lucky to live so long? Was he a shaman to be blessed with so much ancient ink? We'll probably never know but I still thinks it's awesome that the oldest human body ever found had numerous tattoos.

P.S. I also think it's awesome that hometown boy Brad Pitt has Otzi on his arm.

My Crab and Shell

To get the ball rolling on my new NeoPagan Ink blog I thought I'd post my own latest ink. I've always been fascinated by spirals, they are dearer to me than the pentacle, and the crab is my zodiac sign. This tattoo was done by Ken at Sundown Tattoo and Body Piercing in Springfield, Missouri, USA. (I would include his last name but it's not on the card and I honestly don't remember.)

Edited in September to add: I never noticed it before but my crab is missing a leg. Shit, shit, shit, shit and fucking shit. How did I let this happen? And how did I not notice 'til now? HOW!? I wonder if I could get it fixed free of charge?

EDITED again to add: I've decided to leave this tattoo as it is. Why? Because it has 7 regular legs and two claws. And my birthday is 7/2. I could have planned it! I didn't and that's what pissed me off. But I like it now.