Symbolic Valkyries

Found this free to use tattoo on Flickr.  The owner says: "My first tattoo, represents the valkyries taking warriors to valhalla where they will feast until they have to fight in the ragnarökIt was made in the Brutal Tattoo @ Mexico City, Londres #101, Zona Rosa - by Magic."   Pretty awesome ink, eh?

The Wiccan Rede

Another Flickr find, this one inked by Clark Kent at Slave to the Needle.

Remaining Beltaine Ink

I've been away from blogging for a good long while and must now play catchup!

Fragile Beltaine Bulb

Beltaine Dog Tags

Beltaine Root Beer Fanny

Beltaine Issues

Some more great ink from Chelsea photographed on Beltaine.

Beltaine Runes

Green Man Chest Piece

Awen's Green Man

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Here we have another reader submission, this one from Awen 13 who says:

The center piece is the green man which has six additional faces within the design.  On my chest there are five bind runes and two other symbols.  The two pentacles on my upper body are ancient symbols from Hebrew texts.  The tattoos were done by Shad Perlich who did a fantastic job. 

Thanks so much to Awen 13 for sharing his great tattoos!

Awesome Triskele

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This gorgeous tattoo comes from reader Kitsune and was inked by Nathan at Sailor Jim's Electric Tattoo Company out of Logan, Utah. Here's what Kitsune had to say about her tattoo:

In the tattoo itself the Triskele shows that all three principles of Eolas, Fírinne and Dúlra are connected to each other. The Irish Gaelic around the triskel says ” Truth, Nature and Knowledge” which are the three flames that illuminate all darkness, in an Irish saying. The acorn and oak leaves represent growth in knowledge and strength..It reminds me to always step in the direction of these three principles with strength and commitment. My Celtic ancestry guides my heart naturally to these and If i steadily grow with them I cannot fail.

To read more about Kitsune's tattoo, visit her very interesting blog.

And thanks to Kitsune for sharing her beautiful tattoo!

SPQR

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This tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Geekygirlnyc and is licensed under Creative Commons. This tattoo is really red cuz it's fresh, but still mighty fine.

SPQR stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus which, roughly translated means "The Senate and the People of Rome". This was a phrase that by most accounts became well known not too long after the founding of the Roman Republic but, of course, lost some of its luster under the monarchy when the Senate and public opinion were subjugated by the Caesars and their successors. It appeared on coins, military standards, monuments and countless speeches and documents.

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.

Valknut and Runes

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This stunning tattoo comes to us from the Flickrstream of rv3 || cls and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This tattoo was inked by artist Tim Kern out of Last Rites in New York City.


The use of the Valknut symbol goes back at least as far as Viking Age that spanned the eight and eleventh centuries. Unfortunately its historical meaning is unclear and even its original names is lost to us. The term "Valknut" is a modern name roughly translated as "the knot of the dead" or "the knot of the slain". The symbol has been rightfully claimed by modern Norse and Astru pagans with quite a few different meanings attached to it usually focusing on death but with others as well. There are even some who dispute which symbols are true Valknuts and which are not, depending on their historical age. The image on the left is from the Stora Hammar Stone which is a Viking Age standing stone in Sweden. It includes a scene of a ritual sacrifice with the Valknut appearing over the altar.

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.

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.

Fire Ambigram:Update

Edit: Hey folks, there was a really neat tattoo here (see the comments). If you want to see it go visit the Flickrstream of Piers.

This tattoo features that lovely, tricky little thing called an ambigram which is a word that looks the same upside down due to its creative font and style. Be sure to check out the above link as he has similar tattoos for each of the elements, not ambigrams but nifty nonetheless.

Today marks the ancient Roman celebration of Vesta, goddess of the home and hearth. I wanted a fireplace tattoo, couldn't find one, but found this instead! Not what I was looking for but pretty damn cool if I do say do myself!

Curly Tree of Life

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This very pretty tree comes from the Flickrstream of Three Little Cupcakes and is listed under a Creative Commons license.

This nifty tattoo was created by Amanda Cancilla at Artistic Skin Designs in Indianapolis, IN. The original Flickr page says that the owner's son's name is in the roots, but I can't quite make it out. UPDATE: Clare picked out the name in the comments section: it's Sawyer!

The Tree of Life is a title that features in many ancient cultures; what follows is a small sampling. In the Bible the Tree of Life grows alongside the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden of Eden. In Persian mythology the tree of life, Gao-kerena, has roots that reach into the world ocean called Voura-kasa. Its seeds can not only resurrect the dead but grant immortality to people who eat them! In Sumatra and Indonesia it is called Djambu Baros and grows in the topmost heaven. On each leaf a word is written such as: joy, prosperity, etc. Each soul must acquire one of these leaves before it can leave the Earth and whichever leaf it obtains decides the fortunes of the souls future incarnation. The most popular Tree of Life, among most neopagans, is the Celtic Tree of Life. This tree has its roots in the Otherworld, its trunk resides into our waking world while its topmost branches reach into the heavens and was believed to bestow blessings upon the living. When tribes cleared land for settlement they were known to leave one large tree in the area and it was known as their own local Tree of Life. (More on the Celtic reverence for trees in a few days.) In the tradition of Kaballah the Tree of Life is interpreted as a map of reality and equated, by some, as the same Tree of Life from the Bible (and the beginning of this paragraph). This concludes my summary of the Tree of Life and its significance in various cultures and mythologies.

Bona na coroin

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This fabulous tattoo comes from reader William of InsanityChyld; he is number 28, yay! This tattoo was inked by Roger when he was at Ink Link Tattoos of Florida, USA. William had this to say about his tattoo:

Attached is my tattoo of the traditional Irish fox with broken collar and sword through the mouth. The words translate into "Neither collar nor crown" meaning you're not a slave, but you're not a king, you're free.

Thanks to William for sharing his art!

The Doors of Moria

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The tattoo comes from moyerva34's Flickrstream and is listed under Creative Commons. The drawing? Unknown. (I couldn't find a free to use image of this!)

From The Lord of the Rings: A Journey in the Dark

The Moon now shone upon the grey face of the rock; but they could see nothing else for a while. Then slowly on the surface, where the wizard's hands had passed, faint lines appeared, like slender veins of silver running in the stone. At first they were no more than pale gossamer-threads, so fine that they only twinkled fitfully where the Moon caught them, but steadily they grew broader and clearer, until their design could be guessed.

At the top, as high as Gandalf could reach, was an arch of interlacing letters in an Elvish character. Below, though the threads were in places blurred or broken, the outline could be seen of an anvil and a hammer surmounted by a crown with seven stars. Beneath these again were two trees, each bearing crescent moons. More clearly than all else there shone forth in the middle of the door a single star with many rays.

Gandalf: "They are wrought in uhildin that mirrors only starlight and moonlight, and sleeps until is is touched by one who speaks words long forgotten in Middle-earth."

Runestone

Bob at Yankee Shamrock Custom Tattoo's in California City, CA.
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The Nordic runes are an ancient written language used for communication as well as for divination. The runes are most closely associated with Odin, the all father of the Norse gods, who hung from the World Tree for nine days to learn the eighteen runes as well as nine powerful, magical songs.