Five thousand four hundred years ago, Otzi – the Iceman walked on this earth. A few years ago, his body was found buried in ice. Apart from a life-ending mark of an arrowhead on his heart, Otzi was covered in staggering 61 tattoos. Humans have been tattooing their bodies for thousands of years. Many of the Egyptian Mummies preserved for more than 2000 years ago had tattoos on them. From Papua New Guinea to the frozen lands of Alaska, we humans have been decorating our bodies with ink for thousands of years.

Since the dawn of time, the Tattoo has been used as the mark serving right of passage, military rank, social status, or decoration of bravery. Do you know that ancient civilizations used tattoos to symbolize fertility, protection, talismans, or amulets? Apart from that, specific symbols have been tattooed on bodies as religious and spiritual devotion marks. In this blog, we are exploring the relationship between tattoos and spirituality.

More than a hundred years ago, tribe members from northeast jungles of India were denied entry into the temple of Lord Rama. As a result, they started tattooing the Lord’s name everywhere on their bodies. And even though discrimination is not followed in Indian temples nowadays, the tribesmen still follow this tradition of tattooing, and the tribe is now called Ramanamis.

What do tattoos represent?
Tattoos get linked to your body’s energy permanently. It’s a permanent watermark of your thoughts, culture, mindset, and subconscious. A tattoo can be a significant milestone in your life, or it can be a representation of your affiliation with the world. It could be the name of a lover, or it can be the holy name of the Divine. Many draw their spirit animal, and many choose to draw religious symbols like a cross, a star, or an Aum on their body, connecting themselves to the higher powers of the universe.

They are considering Tattoo just as a fashion accessory will be superficial. One has to choose the design consciously, submit their permanence, and undergo a considerable amount of pain, which shows there is a lot more going on underneath than just an attractive design. People consider tattoos as a medium of self-expression, ownership, inclination, and growth. For many of them, it’s a meaningful ability to show to the world “this is me.”

Studies reveal that their confidence, body satisfaction, self-body image, and general feelings rise after one gets inked. Tattoos help to boost self-esteem. Even the participants mentioned that getting a tattoo enabled them to feel much closer to their bodies. We undergo certain situations in life, and sometimes, we get inclined to few things in life. This inclination can be so strong and so self connecting that words cannot describe it. And here, Tattoo comes to our aid. They help us to tell what we feel, without words, starting a conversation.

Read this before you get a spiritual tattoo:
Tattoos will be there with you till the end, and it’s something one should not do out of a whip to regret later. The tattoo process takes a lot of time, some money, and not to mention, some amount of withstanding the pain. And hence, one should repeatedly think, checking, double-checking, questioning, and cross-questioning the decisions to have a tattoo. If you are not sure, go through these steps before you decide to ink yourself.

1. Think about why you want a tattoo.

2. Have you consulted a tattoo artist?

3. Then it’s time to decide what you want to tattoo. Make a list of your favorite things. Try some soul searching after meditation and daily Mantra chanting. Opportunities are truly endless here; make sure you can connect with them spiritually. Check repetitively that whatever design you choose is making you happy. Get inspired from the ancient texts, your family values, keeping an open mind. If you look with open eyes, you will get inspiration from even the strangest of the places. When you will finalize the design, have some self-restraint. Once you finalize the design, sit on it for a couple of months, and get back to that design, asking yourself, do you still want that on your body?

4. Once you have finalized the design, decide where you want that Tattoo.

5. Great patience is needed in this whole process, whether to have one Tattoo, during deciding on the design and even while getting that Tattoo on you. You might have to sit for several hours to get that Tattoo on you, so be mentally prepared for it.

6. After choosing the design, the next important choice you have to make is selecting an artist. It’s vitally important that the artist must capture the essence of what you are trying to express here. The tattoo artist will break your natural layer of protection, that is, your skin, and will draw blood, pouring his imagination and skills as an artist on you. And it becomes imperative to choose a good tattoo artist who will connect with you, understanding what you want to achieve.

Spiritual tattoo ideas:
Getting a tattoo is a ritual. Make sure whatever design you have chosen has a power of manifestation, a force of transformation that will reshape as you grow up further. When you get a tattoo, it pierces your skin deeply, drawing blood. Some say it releases an enormous amount of energy, and the Tattoo becomes an energy centre for you.

Spiritual tattoos are one of the most popular tattoos nowadays. People get Mandalas, their spirit animals, or lotuses. It is believed that Lord Buddha was born out of a lotus, and hence, the lotus tattoo has a great significance as a throne for meditation in meditation practitioners. Tattoos of Lord Buddha, Jesus, Shiva, or yin and yang are trendy these days. Mantras from ancient scriptures related to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity are very common.

Many draw Chakras as per their locations, and even they go for their specific colors as well.

Often Beej (seed) Matras of these specific chakras are tattooed on the body in their particular locations. Many get the natural elements done on their body. Tattoos of moon and sun have been popular for thousands of years, where the moon represents mystery, life, eternity, while the sun symbolizes new beginnings, fertility, and power.

Trees are considered sacred in almost every culture. The symbol of a tree speaks for growth, development, stability, and life itself. Tree of life, loaded with fruits and flowers depicted as a tattoo with the belief of contributing to good health. In some cultures, it represents a bridge between an individual and their ancestors.

Dove tattoos represent freedom and peace, while the knot of the trinity, a Celtic symbol, represents three main natural elements: Earth, air, and water. A dream catcher is one such potent symbol of the Native Americans. Dream catcher protects a person in his sleep from evil spirits.

The body is the temple of the soul. The body is the vehicle, taking us towards the divinity, and hence, when it comes to our bodies, it’s the most sacred thing we have been gifted by the almighty. Marking this gift with the name of the Divine in the form of the Tattoo makes sense to many, and hence, they are empowering their bodies with the Divine symbols, making deep connections with the universal powers.