I've had several people ask me about why I have tattoos and what they symbolize to me. I'm not certain that I'm ready to talk about the symbolism of all of them yet, but there are a few that have meaning but not deep meaning to me that I feel okay to talk about.
Firstly many of them, but not all, I got because I was dealing with emotional pain of one kind or another that I couldn't deal with, and I found that if I could translate that emotional pain into physical pain I could much easier get over it and be done with it. It isn't a perfect system, but it worked for me and now that emotional trauma is forgotten.
That said none of my ink was just a willy-nilly "ooh I want something tribal and trendy" like so many people out there get. All of them were well thought out and decided upon months and years before I got them. Most are also nerdy to one degree or another; Star Wars symbols, Lord of the Rings things, Wheel of Time things, Hitchhikers Guide... you get the idea. They remind me of things that I love and that are important to me. I find that due to a few causes my memory is fading and falling apart, so i have these 'strings around my finger' to remind me. Oh how I prattle and ramble on.
The flowers on my shoulder all symbolize the places I've been and how those places and people there have shaped my life, I won't run them all down, but they're all a flower that symbolizes that country to me; the hibiscus for the Philippines, the peony for Japan etc. If you'd like to know any more about them please ask and I will explain in an email more about them.
There is one flower on my shoulder that is extremely special to me and is the sole exception to the 'places' rule. It's a yellow rose with the word 'end' hidden in the leaf. The rose is the birth flower for the month of June when Enoch (my youngest brother) was born, his initials are END, and yellow is my favorite color and the color associated with fun. I got this not long after Enoch passed away and it is the most important think I think that i have ever spent money on.
I have a Far Side cartoon on my back which has always been my favorite cartoon and simply reminds me to laugh, life is a gas (the 'hitchhikers guide piece reminds me of much the same thing). There were a few years that I was completely miserable and lost sight of that. The others on my back are the Star Wars symbols and the battle standard of Muad 'dib. I may be able to talk about those later.
The Filipino writing on my side translates to 'beauty' 'power' and 'love'. Three things that I learned that I have and should share. More info on that if you desire.
I have Lord of the rings on my arm. Superficially it symbolizes goods triumph over evil, there's more personal meaning to it, but I won't share.
On my leg I have a phrase from 'the Wheel of Time' that means 'it's time to toss the dice'. It's supposed to tell me that I don't have to be so anal about thinking about everything so thoroughly, it[s okay to just 'roll the dice' and play them how they land. It's still a work in progress to apply that to my life... Carpe Diem is on my ankle as well as the number of the impact training I went to. More on that by request.
On my other leg I have Link from the 'Legend of Zelda'. This is another one with a few meanings to me; 1)perseverance and endurance through difficulty, 2) simple happiness from playing like a kid and 3)...
Finally on my chest I have an unfinished piece based on the wheel of time. This piece I won't talk about for now.
So these are my pieces and some of what they mean. They (mostly) each have an emotional episode that drove me to get them, if one of those involved you I may tell you about it, or I may not, but I've moved on and any petty stupid things like that have long since been forgiven.
I have a Far Side cartoon on my back which has always been my favorite cartoon and simply reminds me to laugh, life is a gas (the 'hitchhikers guide piece reminds me of much the same thing). There were a few years that I was completely miserable and lost sight of that. The others on my back are the Star Wars symbols and the battle standard of Muad 'dib. I may be able to talk about those later.
The Filipino writing on my side translates to 'beauty' 'power' and 'love'. Three things that I learned that I have and should share. More info on that if you desire.
I have Lord of the rings on my arm. Superficially it symbolizes goods triumph over evil, there's more personal meaning to it, but I won't share.
On my leg I have a phrase from 'the Wheel of Time' that means 'it's time to toss the dice'. It's supposed to tell me that I don't have to be so anal about thinking about everything so thoroughly, it[s okay to just 'roll the dice' and play them how they land. It's still a work in progress to apply that to my life... Carpe Diem is on my ankle as well as the number of the impact training I went to. More on that by request.
On my other leg I have Link from the 'Legend of Zelda'. This is another one with a few meanings to me; 1)perseverance and endurance through difficulty, 2) simple happiness from playing like a kid and 3)...
Finally on my chest I have an unfinished piece based on the wheel of time. This piece I won't talk about for now.
So these are my pieces and some of what they mean. They (mostly) each have an emotional episode that drove me to get them, if one of those involved you I may tell you about it, or I may not, but I've moved on and any petty stupid things like that have long since been forgiven.
Not gonna lie, Enoch's flower made me cry. I didn't know you had that. Maybe doing something similar would help me deal with it. I still dream about him sometimes.
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