What do your tattoos mean to you?

Question

So what specifically do your tattoos mean to you guys? I think that the majority of people here who get tattoos here have a rhyme and reason for doing so. This is also something that by the way I hope the vocal minority of people who always espouse how dumb they think tattoos are so maybe they will think twice and shut up.

The only tattoo I currently have is a raven. For me it is hard to explain why and for some this may sound dumb but I have always felt really connected with ravens as if a raven was my totem animal. Thus I choose to get a raven

Answer 1

My tattoos mean a lot to me. Each one tells a story. They represent a time in my life that I want to remember. Each one reminds me of who I am and what I am capable of.

Answer 2

My first tattoo reminded me of a car I once owned that's how deep I considered its meaning, however now when you see them all together I had one friend say they looked like I was wearing black body armour, subconscious??? i don,t know. But the element of going through pain does play a role, not on the masochistic level but as a rite of passage. Don,t think this demonstrates a deeper bubbling psychosis waiting to spill over next time someone upsets me, as the suggestion in the comments already posted would indicate, as socially I enjoy a lot of extreme pastimes, and push myself to get better adrenaline rushes, tattoo,s are just another rush. But I do enjoy that I am stereotyped and people do avoid conversation with me purely on the basis that I am heavily tattoo,d, all it does is show the world is a ignorant place, and if they have formed the basis not to speak to me on that level any other opinion they hold should also be dismissed.

Answer 3

I have a tattoo of a pure black lizard going up on the back of my right hip. When i was little, i always felt i have a connection with reptiles, i would always catch them and play with them, and they would never feel afraid of me or run away, i had to shoo them away! I've wanted this tattoo for years. I'm thinking of getting another one of an electric guitar with a banner across it saying true love, as i've always been a musician and music helps me through the toughest parts of my life and really helps me cope. It's also a tribute to rock music out there too. I see tattoos as postcards of what stage you are in life, and i feel that if you get one it should always remind you of a positive stage, and make you smile every time you think of it.

Answer 4

I have a yellow rose, which my mother and I got together. We live in TX and I wanted it so that no matter how far away I moved I would see my yellow rose and think of home. I never want to forget that southern pride. My cross tattoo was inspired by my trip to Ireland. I wanted a cross tattoo since I am a Lutheran and I have a passion to move to Ireland someday. My cross is a reminder of Gods love for me, and my dream to someday start a life in Ireland. My last tattoo is a tribal butterfly which represents Christ to me. Blue is my favorite color, so the butterfly is blue. I know everyone has a butterfly but to me its very special.

Answer 5

My tattoos were done when I was young and not quite lucid. I hate them but I own them for they are a part of me unless I laser them off but even then you can still see signs of them. I see many tattoos that are beautiful and tell a story but get them for a good reason not just to rebel and perhaps when one is a little older.

Answer 6

I have three stars with the word forever underneath it on my left shoulder blade. My two daughters (15 & 17) and I went through a long rough road and the three of is survivied it :). All three of us have matching tattoo's that symbolize the three of us and that we will be together forever even if everything else falls apart.

Answer 7

no matter how much we explain away we will never make those tattoo haters shut up but thanks for trying!

the first tattoo in 2006 that i got is a koi. i'm asian so i decided to go with that theme. i had wanted one for probably three years or more. they symbolize good luck. they struggle up the waterfall of life and once they reach the top (heaven) they turn into a dragon. lotus flowers also are considered to be lucky and they also struggle up from the bottom to surface in the water and are so beautiful once they emerge. after i finished that i was satisfied for a while but i just needed more ink so i asked my artist to come up with something else to add to it... he came up with a sea turtle (which i think represents wisdom, patience and strength which are all things i need and hope to gain with age) and we started on that. i'm still not finished, i'm about 19 hours into it and have a little more than an hour left to finish.

i got a skull on the top of my right foot, not to be morbid or "trendy" but because it conveys the raw emotion that i felt when my coach in high school was murdered. and also when a friend in college died in a car wreck. i never got to really say goodbye to either of those people. so the skull is a memorial to them and it is to remind me that death is just around the corner and i should make every minute count.

my newest tattoo is on top of my left foot. it is in honor of my family heritage. my mom was born in korea but never knew her birth mother because of... racism basically. so i got a takeout box with traditional korean art on and around it. and i got a fortune cookie because i love them so much. this tattoo means the world to me because it is a part of me, my mother and my grandmother whom i have never met.

Answer 8

I have a decorated cattle's skull on my right deltoid to represent my Native American side because I am very proud of it. You don't often run into people who have Native American blood in them, so I display it with a lot of pride.

I have a stylized Gemini zodiac on my right chest muscle just before it connects to the deltoid. My younger brother has the same tattoo because we are both Gemini. Our birthdays are 11 days apart so we got them done on the middle day separating them.

Going down my right shin from knee to ankle I have 'Relentless' spelled in a horror-type font. I am currently training for my first MMA fight, so I got this one to help keep me motivated in my training as well as life in general. It's kind of hard to give up on something when you have such a strong word inked on you =) I chose going down my shin because I train Muay Thai and the shin is where you want your kicks to land from, plus I knew it would hurt like hell and I wanted that experience.

Answer 9

I have several, although I was quite particular when it came to placement.

I have a Luna Moth on my left foot with an Ohm symbol beneath & between the wings & a distant moon behind it's head...I had it done with a shadow cast onto my foot, so it looks as though it's landed on the top of my foot.

Why...I just think that they are lovely & elusive, something that I feel I too want to aspire to be. LOL

I also have a winged lion flying out from the clouds under my naval on my lower abdomen, he too has the moon behind him {encircling my naval with a diamond in the center/piercing} & is emerging as if from out of my stomache.

Why...I am a Leo and my fiance' is my "Emolion" {a personal thing between us}. LOL

I belly dance and have skirts that show the entire tat nicely...the wings expand across the entire width of my abdomen & are lovely white featherd wings {like an angel} and they curve upward and encircle the moon slightly.

I have a dragonfly on my pelvis that flies out from my bikini line towards the sunset...just like dragonflies, again that "elusive" connotation.

A vine of white jasmine around my right ankle.

...and in the the crook of my lower back, I have a Goddess, she's kneeling in a Lotus and holding up the Sun in her hands. The Goddess has six arms, in her hands are a released Phoenix, a waterfall coming from one palm, an infant, the moon & a planet {Earth},.

It is actually relatively small for the amount of detail involved...and likely wasn't explained all that well by me. LOL

I have considered getting two armbands as well...but not something silly like barbed wire {Pam Anderson}, I am considering matching dragonflies.

They would be very intricate and the wings would wrap around the outer part of my arm...so they would be somewhat life-like, but more ornate like a piece of carved silver jewelry might be. {Permanent armcuffs}

Another hard to explain. LOL

Oh, and I forgotten to mention, I had my Goddess modeled after the black & white drawing of Angelina Jolie as Olympia in the movie.

I am very interested to hear everyone else's...my fiance' has an arm semi-sleeve of himself naked {but for a torn trenchcoat} from behind with tattered black wings {fallen angel}, it's stunning.

Thanks for asking...^_^.

Answer 10

I have 3
My first and pride and joy is my shoulder to shoulder/ upper back piece of all black art of an angel wing from spine to shoulder end on the left and a demon wing from spine to shoulder end on the right, to me it shows my inner conflict of how angry I am/can be and how forgiving and compassionate I am/ can be all depending on how I am effected by a person/situation in my personal life, (i.e. family, friends, sig. other)

My other two are below the belt line, just under the cut from my abs, they are galic symbols of love and war war on the right and love on the left, again to illustrate internal conflict, but particularly in the love life aspect... because lets face it relationships are that way, you are very happy for a while then the first fight/ blow ups after that are wars of attrition.