Tattoo Art - Does Your Tattoo Have a Hidden Meaning Which Can Trip You Up?

A tattoo is a tattoo is a tattoo, right? Not true if your tattoo art is based on some kind of symbol. For example, you may think that a double lightning bolt looks pretty cool. So do I, actually. But in some places, this double lightning bolt is the symbol for white supremacists. This is one tattoo you do not want to show off in a black ghetto. Another example would be the swastika. Before Adolf Hitler and his Nazis stole it, the swastika actually meant good things to Native Americans (or Red Indians to people of my generation). In the East, the swastika is actually the symbol of Buddhism, one of the most peaceful religions on this planet.

So, how do you find out if your tattoo has some kind of hidden meaning? First, you need to classify your tattoo design:

• Flower
• Zodiac
• Celtic
• Animal, Bird, Fish, etc
• Nautical
• Tribal
• Chinese/Japanese words
• Others

After that, just look up an appropriate reference book in your local library or on the internet. For example, if you type in "meaning of flowers" into Google, you can get references to what flowers normally mean. One of these websites says that marigold means "cruelty, grief or jealousy". Probably not a tattoo you want to get to celebrate your new girlfriend or marriage.

Of course, Chinese and Japanese words are not so easily researched. Unless you know a native Chinese or Japanese speaker, you should give these a miss. For example, there are 2 forms of Chinese words, old Chinese and new Chinese. Old Chinese is still used in Taiwan, and by many overseas Chinese. New Chinese is used in China, and is increasingly superseding old Chinese in Singapore and Hong Kong. Additionally, old Chinese words have slightly different meanings depending on which dialect of Chinese you are speaking. Beyond the basic meanings, the same word in the mainstream Mandarin dialect (used as the standard dialect in China) could have additional meanings in Cantonese (the original main dialect in Hong Kong), or Hokkien, or Hakka (other dialects used by overseas Chinese).

Animal and bird symbols are considered significant by both psychoanalysts and astrologists/fortune-tellers. When I typed "animal symbols in dreams", I found over 800,000 references. Among the more fascinating things I found out:

• Gold koi fish represents wealth
• White and red koi fish represents love
• Tiger represents power and energy
• Coyote represents ingenuity and resourcefulness as well as playfulness

If your tattoo design is more abstract, you could look up the Anti-Defamation League's website. They have a pretty comprehensive list of hate symbols used by extremist groups. I found the swastika and double lightning bolt on their website. If you think the viewpoint of the Anti-Defamation League is too Jewish, you can also google for "racist symbols". But I have to warn you that their website is well-regarded, and appears on the first page of search results.

Some of you may prefer a printed reference, with all the information you want in one place. Terisa Green's "The Tattoo Encyclopedia : A Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo" (ISBN-13: 978-0743223294) is a good and cheap reference book. She organizes the most common tattoo symbols into alphabetical order, and has 800 tattoo images in her book. I found the paperback version of her book on Amazon for only $12.

Tessa's Tattoo Illustrates the Battle of Head Versus Heart

Yesterday, I wrote about two of Lindsay's tattoos. After talking to her, I spoke to her friend Tessa, who had this amazing piece on her left shin:


First, I need to commend Tessa on the quality of this tattoo, which looks crisp and fresh, as if it had just been inked a few weeks ago. She actually had this done in 2005 by Adam Barton at Samuel O'Reilly's Tattoo Parlour in Santa Cruz, California. The quality of the tattoo is judged not just on how well it is done, but how it sustains its vibrancy over time. Tessa won the lottery with this piece.

The theme behind this tattoo is head versus heart. The struggle between logical thinking and emotional feeling are universal, and Tessa acknowleges that this tattoo reminds her of the ongoing battle between the two sides telling her what to do.

Thanks to Tessa for sharing this, one of her nine tattoos, here on Tattoosday!

A Ship and An Owl Sail in from California

I ran into Lindsay and her friend Tessa as they were coming out of Penn Station last month.

Between them they have seventeen tattoos, many of which are fairly amazing. Lindsay shared two of her pieces with us here at Tattoosday.

First up is a traditional ship tattoo on the front of her upper left arm:


Aside from the aesthetics, and the nod to the classic style of traditional tattooing, Lindsay told me that this piece is a steady reminder for her to "stay the course" in her life.

It was inked by Shawn Phelps at Integrity Tattoo in Campbell, California.


The back of Lindsay's arm hosts this incredible owl tattoo:


Owl tattoos are a popular tattoo motif. I've mentioned before this great blog dedicated solely to Owl Tattoos. On the far side of her upper left arm, she says her owl, aside from its decorative strengths, "watches [her] back". This great tattoo was done by Karl Fisher at Tattoo 13 in Oakland, California.


I humbly thank Lindsay for sharing her a little bit of her body art with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to check here to see what amazing piece Lindsay's friend Tessa offered up to the blogosphere!

Christina's Flawed Tattoo is Just Right

I spotted this interesting tattoo while in Penn Station last month:


Christina, to whom this piece belongs, called this a "reverse tattoo," in that the main focal point of the piece is the word "Flawed".

The word is empty of ink and is created by the artist using negative space.

But why "flawed?" Christina explained that "we all have a weakness" and that "only God is perfect." It"s a reminder that "everyone has need for improvement" and that no one is ever perfect.

This is one of four of Christina's tattoos.

Thanks to Christina for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday!

Nine Little Foot Tattoos and a Prayer for Peace

It is embarrassing to admit, I don't remember the name of today's contributor.

Normally, regular readers may know, I'm a bit more diligent about contributors to the site, but in this case, Z, as I will refer to her, gave me her card, which included her email address and website (she's an artist that works mostly in oils), and I subsequently put it somewhere safe. So safe, I forgot where.

In other words, I lost it.

But let's talk about how I met Z and came to know her tattoos.

Fate spilled me out on the 36th Street platform in Brooklyn. An express train (N) came before the local, so I hopped on, with the intention of riding to 59th, one stop away, and then grabbing an R train.

Standing on the N, I looked down and saw a tattooed foot. Not your normal tattooed foot, with a rosary (like this one), or flowers, or whatnot, but a foot with tattooed marks on it. Just the right foot. The left foot was bare, although there were symbols circumnavigating the calf, just above the ankle.

As luck would have it (Luck loves Tattoosday), Z exited the train at 59th Street and I started talking to her on the platform.

We both caught the R and talked tattoos all the way to 95th Street. Upstairs, at street level, I snapped some photos.

This is her foot:


Up close, one can see that the marks are ants.

Z grew up in New Orleans and always remembers the big, black ants that scurried about.

One day, she was bored, and drew some ants on her foot with a Sharpie. She went several days with her foot be-speckled by these ants, and they grew on her. She wandered into Cherry Bomb Tattoo in Brooklyn, and had them permanently tattooed.

There are nine ants in all.

The following tattoo is above her left ankle:


The Tibetan prayer is "om mani padme hum". She told me that this is the prayer for universal peace.

Thanks to Z for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

UPDATE: It took a while, but our paths crossed again, on July 2, 2010, I was hanging outside of the laundromat near home when I saw a woman with black spots on her foot crossing the street across the avenue from me. When I saw the ring of Tibetan around her left ankle, I knew it was the same person. I scurried across the street and re-introduced myself. The subject formerly known as "Z" is actually named Jeanette, and I was finally able to update this post, with her proper name attached.

Tattoo Ideas - Want to Have a Better Idea About Your Tattoo?

A tattoo reflects the inner meaning of your personality. The splendor of your tattoo design increases when you know the deeper meaning of it. The main categories of tattoo symbols can be broadly classified into the following; cultural symbols, famous symbols, Celtic designs, rainbow tattoos, tribal tattoos, Chinese and Japanese tattoo symbols. These can be further classified into smaller tattoos. The meanings and the tattoo symbols are listed below:

1. Anchor - Salvation, Hope and safety.
2. Angel - Guardians, Protection, and keepers of dreams
3. Bat - happiness, Longevity and mystery
4. Bear - brings good luck, Good nature and also ignorance.
5. Bird - Freedom, Birth and intuition.
6. Bull - Fertility, power and strength.
7. Butterfly - Spiritual immortality and temporary element of life.
8. Cat - Sign of bad omens and Magic.
9. Centaur - Spirit of womanhood and Knowledge about nature.
10. Chain - If broken then freedom. If the chain is intact then slavery.
11. Clover - Good luck.
12. Clown - Uncertainties, laughter and tears.
13. Crescent Moon - Feminine power, Transformation and rebirth.
14. Cross - Love, Sacrifice, and salvation.
15. Crow - Gods messenger.
16. Devil - Mischievous, urgent desire for sex.
17. Dog - Faithful and loyalty
18. Dolphin - Benefactor and an emblem of a savior.
19. Dove - Peace.
20. Dragon - Strength and power.
21. Dragonfly - Spiritual Affinity.
22. Eagle - King of the birds and also Mighty.
23. Eye - Self protection.
24. Fairy - Supernatural powers of Good or evil.
25. Feather - Spiritual elevation, Creativity and rebirth.
26. Fish - Spiritual peace.
27. Frog - Symbol of pregnancy.
28. Hawk - Self discipline.
29. Heart - Love.
30. Horse - Friend to man and shows kingship.
31. Leaf - Joy and rebirth
32. Lion - Might, brave, immortality and awareness.
33. Lizard - The soul searching for light.
34. Lotus - If open represents the sun, if closed then the moon.
35. Mermaid - Temptation, materialism, and seduction.
36. Monkey - Good knowledge, Wisdom, or evil powers.
37. Moon - Varied rhythms of life.
38. Phoenix - Rebirth
39. Reaper - Death
40. Rose - Fertility.
41. Scarab - Strength and rebirth.
42. Skull - Courage and Death.

With the above list, you can choose your tattoo that best suits you.

Cenk's Skeleton Tattoo Pays Homage to Yukio Mishima and St. Sebastian

I met Cenk where I meet so many Tattoosday volunteers, outside of Penn Station on the plaza adjacent to Madison Square Garden.

He shared this, one of his four tattoos:

This is an interpretation of the depiction of St. Sebastian, as seen by the Japanese author Yukio Mishima, one of Cenk's favorite writers. A variation of the St. Sebastian imagery graced one of the many covers of Mishima's Confessions of a Mask:


Mishima even posed for a publicity photo as the martyred St. Sebastian:


This piece was tattooed by Myles Karr at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. According to his website, he has since left Saved, and opened Three Kings Tattoo Parlor. Mr. Karr's work has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here.


Thanks to Cenk for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!