Triple Moons with Tree Goddess

Another free to use image from Flickr. I've seen several similar tattoos over the years, with varying images within the full moon but this may be one of my favorites.

Dogwood Blossoms

White Dogwood

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 The above is a nice tattoo to celebrate our blossoming spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. This tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of TheNinth and is licensed under Creative Commons. These pretty flowers were inked by artist Adam at the Baltimore Tattoo Museum. FYI, the dogwood is both a flower and a tree and is the state tree/flower of my home state of Missouri!

Happy spring!

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!

Cornucopia Ink

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This gorgeous tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of my_new_wintercoat and is licensed under Creative Commons. (To see another cool tattoo from my_new_wintercoat, go here.)

This tattoo was inked by Mike at Black Cat Tattoo out of Boise, Idaho.

The word "cornucopia" means "the horn of plenty" and is most closely associated with the Greek goddess Copia, a goddess of prosperity and plenty, who carried it with her. She belongs in the posse of the goddess Fortune, goddess of fortune and luck. There are various versions of its origins. The most popular one states that the cornucopia was originally a goat's horn from which the god Zeus drank as a child. To protect him from his father Chronus, who was eating all of his children to prevent them from usurping him, Zeus was sent away to live in a cave. The story goes that either the goat herself tore off her horn to nourish the infant Zeus or that he, jerk that he could be, tore it from her head. Now, you might ask, how does a horn, from the head of animal, provide milk to feed a child? I don't know, I really don't, I just work here. To read more about the cornucopia visit The Flower Shop Network.

Curly Autumn Tree

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

This is an original design by the owner and I'm just lovin' it! It's an autumn type of tattoo what with there being no leaves on the tree but the little curled branch is evocative of the fun and playfulness of this time of year as well. And the bird looks to me like a raven and that's all Edgar Allen Poe and that's autumn and Halloween-ish too. Nice.

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.

Earth Tree

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

I'm just lovin' this tattoo. So beautiful and unlike any I've seen before. I find it interesting that the top of the tree, the branches and leaves, is very compact and uniform while the roots are much wilder and asymmetrical. Very cool.

Update: Tattoo owner Dan chimed in with the artist link: www.heathrave.com.

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.

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.

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."

Odin and the World Tree

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Here's another tattoo from Rate My Ink. Artist unknown.

This is Odin, the big boss of the Norse pantheon, hanging from Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Odin is one of those fascinating deities who rule over war and violence as well as poetry, prophecy and magic. By hanging from the tree Odin gained power over the nine worlds, gained the knowledge of the eighteen runes as well as nine magical songs.

Gorgeous Goddess Back Piece

This amazing tattoo belongs to a groovy gal named stereogab and was created by tattoo artist Susan Behney.

Isn't this gorgeous!? Love it!

Unique Tree

This unique tree comes from Jennifer and was created at North Texas Tattoo. Jennifer is the 22nd person to submit art to NeoPagan Ink! Yay! I really like this tree, it looks wild and natural unlike some tree tattoos that come out looking unnaturally symmetrical.

Thanks to Jennifer for her submission!

Tree of Life

This nifty tattoo comes from lunanymph's Flickr page. (Don't ya just love that name?) The tree of life's traditional name is Crann Bethadh and aside from being a popular symbol on its own is also the symbol associated with the Celtic god Ceadda, who is a deity of healing springs and holy wells. Ceadda eventually became known as Saint Chad who was known to spend all night immersed up to his neck in a holy well as a form of meditation. For these reasons this is a good day to clean up around holy wells and to leave offerings of fresh flowers.

Sleeve with Pentacle

This amazing tattoo work comes from The Guy Aitchison Galleries.

Chilly Ink

This wintery tattoo was done by Stevie G. at Pair-A-Dice Tattoo out of Juneau, Alaska. Be sure to check out the site as they've got a nice gallery of great art. As always, click through for the larger version and note the big spiral in the background.

Bare Tree

This neat tattoo was done by Nik Lensing of Fluid Ink Tattoos in St Paul, MN. and comes from About.com.

Yggsdrasill Backpiece

Yvonne found this amazing beautiful and elegant Yggsdrasill here. Thanks Yvonne! Photo by Terry Cooper. Art by Mark S. Holsworth.

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!