Stop asking what my tattoos mean (s)

I say, “Stop it.”

Not all tattoos have a deep spiritual meaning…or really any meaning at all. There are those out there who will get a tattoo because it represents something in their life and has a connection to mythology or spirituality. Bless those people and what it means for them. However, many, many of us have artwork on our bodies because, well…we wanted it for a while, designed it until perfection, and then had it made permanent on our skin.

I have a few tattoos, including one in progress on my body and one I’m designing for my left median. Not a single one of them means something deep. Not a single one is a reflection of my faith, of an ancient religion, or of a tragedy from my past. My tattoos mean exactly this: I have good taste and can design up something awesome.

This ‘Jack of Spades’ is just a ‘Jack of Spades’, okay?

The first tattoo I ever got was the one on my back left shoulder blade. What is it? A cool image somewhat inspired by Tom Petty’s look as the Mad Hatter in his Don’t Come Around Here No More video and dark Gothic imagery of the Jack of Spades. There are even a few fantasy fiction inspirations in there, as you can see, with the ripped raven wing and shining staff. It was a collaborative effort between me and one of my cousins, who is an excellent artist.

So, why those elements? Well, because I like them a lot. Those are three areas of interest that I have: Dark Gothic, fantasy fiction, and strange visuals (much like American McGee’s Alice or even the new Alice in Wonderland). The spades in this were my cousin’s influence, and I loved it. Why not an ace? Well, why would I? Why not a diamond? Well, why would I? The spade works. Besides, I’m a little partial to “pointy things”.

I’ve had several people ask what the meaning is. There is really no meaning behind why I got it, other than it was a lot of work to get it to look right and I wanted it in a permanent medium; namely my body. I always get strange looks when I tell them that. As if tattoos are supposed to be something super meaningful or have some kind of deep, mysterious meaning that only someone with a grand knowledge of the occult or mythology should know.

It means I design a mean tattoo, that’s it!

My latest tattoo is of a sword with angel wings. What does it mean? It means that over the course of two months, I design a badass tattoo. No, it’s not a tie-in to my Christian beliefs. No, it’s not from some ancient artwork. As a matter of fact, this is probably the tenth rendition of the original concept. For two months I worked with my tattoo artist to get this looking how not only I, but he was satisfied with.

I originally had more bird like wings, but I suggested a more “bio-mecha” style when my artist felt it would look better with up-swept wings instead of out stretched wings. He drew up two other wing looks before we came up with this one: A nice combination of arch-angel like wings with bio-metal style feathers.

Again, everyone asks me, “What’s it mean?” They even asked super confused, as though they already know there is no actual meaning behind it. “I design a badass tattoo that I’ve wanted for about two years, that’s what it means,” is what I always tell them. Again, I always get the odd glances, like it should have some secret meaning or awesome story behind it. Not so sorry to tell you, but that’s just not the case.

As I said, I’m into “pointy things”, and blades seem to be my favorite thing to put in my tattoos. Even my newest one that I’m working on incorporates a sword. The other one I’m designing is a shield, but I don’t have anything I’m too thrilled with showing yet as far as concepts go. It will go on my other arm.

Those who have meaning on their tattoos, good for you. It is awesome to hear a story. I would never suggest that any tattoo never has a meaning, unlike some authors on here. It’s just that mine don’t, so don’t assume that everyone who has ink has a story to tell you.

Oh, and yes, of course these reasonably hurt and cost a bit of money.

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Posted 8/11/2010 at 5:11 PM on Xanga