Spiritual Ink

Like many people both pagan and non I feel that tattooing is a spiritual experience. They have many meanings to many different people and usually a lot of symbolism and metaphors are involved. I feel that ink is spiritual to the person and that it's relevance is equally individual. I remember ladyoceanstar  had a particularily beautiful, colorful flower on her shoulder. I admired it for a very long time and originally incorporated the flower into a design that my girlfriend was kind enough to draw out for me many years ago. Since then, my desire for a tattoo has changed many times over. Usually between picking something typical (at least in the imagry involved) to using my limited drawing skills to try and create something of my own. Not a lot of luck there, and after my unspecific requests my girlfriend finally threw up her hands at it. *chuckle*

Mostly, what has prevented me from getting a tattoo in the past was money. Whenever I had the desire and idea we were broke. Whenever we weren't broke the money automatically had somewhere more important it really needed to go. However recently we've been doing alright. What's needed to be paid is paid with a little bit left over for fun. So I've finally laid it down. I have an idea, something that to me is both asthetically pleasing and spiritually meaningful. It is of my own design, though not my own ethnic background. (Which I was surprised to find is equally important and unimportant when it comes to spiritual ink on others) I don't claim to have hand draw this in ANY way shape or form. All I can really say is goddess bless google and goddess bless photoshop.

But I thought I'd show off the design here. The design is comprised of traditional mehndi symbols which I found beautiful and worked together in a way that for me is remminiscent of an passionate emotional state. This is both an expression of how I feel now that I'm returning to paganism and how what I am seeking in my rituals and communications with the divine. I would like the mehndi to be a burnt crimson color (or as my graphic designer girlfriend would say RGB #330002). I have seen black mehndi and though it is pretty I do like a little more color. The typically maroon color is lovely but a little too bright for my skin tone. I intend on getting them done on each hip, so that when I dance I can feel more beautiful knowning their moving with my skin and muscles.

I was debating including more color, but I think it's going to look better if I keep it to a clean design. I can always decide to add color later but looking at this thing x2 (one on each hip) I'm guessing 2-3 hrs minimum in the chair for each side. So likely two sessions. Someone with more tat experience can feel free to correct me on that. I've contacted a few places to ask about pricing information. I'm hoping to do it within a week or so of my birthday (April 8th). Pricing...IDK maybe $200 a side? Probably more.