Dualing Arm Tattoos

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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!

Alchemical Elements

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These tattoos come from the Flickrstream of Notquitetrish and is listed as All Rights Reserved but is featured here by kind permission of the owner. (Thanks!)

These tattoos feature the alchemical symbols for the four elements. The top tattoo represents Earth and the next is Air followed by Fire. The next is the symbol for Water followed by the astrological symbol for Leo the Lion.

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.

Horus Ink

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

This tattoo features the Egyptian god Horus, which is a somewhat misleading thing to say. The name Horus has come to be a catch-all name referring to four distinct deities, the most famous one being Heru-sa-Aset or Horus-son-of-Isis who battles the evil Set to avenge his father Osiris. He is a falcon headed deity who wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

You can see other Horus tattoos here and here.

Grapes

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These grapes come from the Flickrstream of Rambleonsylvie and are licensed by Creative Commons.

Today is the festival of the Vinalia Rustica; it is a day to make offerings to the ripening vines. It is a day belonging to the goddess Venus (Greek Aphrodite) in her aspect as patroness and protector of gardens, olive groves and vineyards. This day also marks the founding of her oldest temple in 293 BCE.

Sigil Ink

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

Don't know what this personal sigil means of course but it looks awesome! For those who don't know a sigil is an image created either from pre-existing symbols or original designs or a combination of both intended for a specific goal by the practitioner. Geometric images often feature in the sigil and each element of the whole has its own meaning.

More Maori Ink

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This nice work comes from the Flickrstream of DesignRhea and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This is another fine example of Maori Moko tattoo art. Maori tattoo isn't just pretty and intricate designs. It is a language in art that can express a persons social standing in their culture, convey marital status and represent things/persons important to them, etc. The Flickr page says this tattoo represents the owner's three children. To learn more about Maori tattoos visit this previous post.

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.

Dog Days End

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

Today marks the official end of the Dog Days of Summer. The term was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to denote the hottest days of summer running for about forty days from roughly July through August. Why "dog"? Because of Sirius the Dog Star. These days were originally the days when Sirius became visible right around sunrise; this is no longer true due to the procession of the equinoxes. Romans were even known to sacrifice dogs to Sirius to appease its rage hoping for a break from the dangerous heat. Because this time was so hot and offered the least rainfall it was/is considered a somewhat evil time when life was precarious and all manner of bad things could take place.

Peri

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

This tattoo features the Persian Peris, descendants of fallen angels who must serve penance before being readmitted to heaven.

Colorful Celtic Knot

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This tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Photo o'Randomness and is licensed by Creative Commons. The tattoo was created at Iron Brush Tattoo and Body Piercing out of Omaha, Nebraska.

The Celtic knot is a favorite of many tattoo owners including pagans but many others as well. There are more Irish-Americans than there are actual Irish in Ireland so it makes sense that tons of people would have Celtic knot work tattoos. Contrary to popular belief, however, the Celtic knot isn't an invention of the ancient Celts, or Gauls, who originated in a large area of what is now mostly France and only entered Ireland to escape the Romans. They are a 7th century CE art form created by Irish Catholic monks to decorate their religious manuscripts of the gospels as they worked to convert the last of the pagan holdouts to Christianity. They were influenced by older knot work designs from the Middle East which they transformed into a completely unique and now wildly popular Irish symbol.

Sutton Hoo Ink

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This tattoo, of the Dancing Warriors from the Sutton Hoo Helmet, comes from the Flickrstream of Prince Heathen and is licensed under Creative Commons. It was inked by Tatu Pier.

The photo of the helmet comes from the Flickrstream of Toothycat and is also licensed under Creative Commons. If you look closely you can just make out the Dancing Warriors above the left eye on this excellent replica.

The original Sutton Hoo Helmet comes from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, in Suffolk, England, dating to the 6th and early 7th centuries; they are rich in artifacts and of great importance to history and archaeology. According to Wikipedia:

Sutton Hoo is of a primary importance to early medieval historians because it sheds light on a period of English history which is on the margin between myth, legend and historical documentation.

The helmet was crushed when the grave roof collapsed; it was fragmented into hundreds of pieces and required extensive reconstruction. Even so, the original helmet isn't perfect and gorgeous reproductions like the one above really do the helmet justice.

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!

Simple Witch

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This cute little witch comes from the Flickrstream of RobW and is licensed under Creative Commons.

Just a pretty little thing to brighten your day!

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.