Tattoos Anyone?

[Lionheart]

I went ahead and copied my reply to the thread you mentioned. I may add a picture of my tat in near future if I can figure out how to post a pic hee hee. :p The tat has faded and needs to be re-inked

 

[freakofnurture]

One is a semicolon on the back of my neck

Why a semicolon?

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

;

I looked it up :)

 

[MurphyJB]

@njray ... You bring up a very interesting question about tattoo placement.
I really think it is probably different for everyone.

 

[Kintsugi]

Years later, I found out that there is an African tribe that considers the Raven to be protector of the child spirit. There are five types of blackbirds in the Corvid family.

I worked in a museum exhibit ages 13-16. I had a very special bond with the giant cowbird there (it was an animal/nature/fossil sort of children's exhibit. This was the only no-touch animal we had other than fish and toads). Giant cowbirds are part of the blackbird family and resemble ravens. We had to go into his cage to clean it and feed him, and he was notoriously nasty. We had gear called "cowbird protection gear" that included heavy gardening gloves, a construction helmet, and wide protection goggles. I, however, always went in totally unprotected. He would fly to my shoulder and sit on my forearm and hands if I lifted them just so. He put his head down and split his feathers for me to stroke his neck. He nuzzled me and cleaned his beak on me. I sang lowly to him and he would talk to me (they are smart and repeat what they hear like parrots).

I always saw him as a type of guardian. One of my favorite fantasy characters I wrote about (actually my second complete novel, so I wrote about her extensively) was a telepathic girl who had been through lots of various trauma. Her telepathy was sort of evil. I won't get into it. She had a raven that she traveled with with whom she could communicate telepathically. I always wished for such a creature for myself. I can see them being protectors of child spirits. My character was twelve (the age I was when I created her).

Why a semicolon?

Sort of a long explanation. You can see how much text I put down and decide whether or not to read it.

I have a fascination with punctuation as it can be personified and played with as a sensation, an evocation--they are symbols, after all. The dash is actually my favorite punctuation mark, but the semicolon stands for more to me in general life. Semicolons separate two independent clauses and work to create a connection between two independent thoughts/statements/ideas. The connection that they depict is softer than coordinating conjunctions (,and ,but ,yet ,or ,nor ,for ,so) yet softer than periods. Their aesthetic even lends itself to an image of connection to me, in a way.

I am very interested in neurology, especially brain hemispheres, communication between hemispheres, and savantism. I am fascinated by how the two hemispheres generally have pretty different functions yet are in constant dialogue with one another.

I chose to put a semicolon on the back of my neck for these reasons:

1) I believe in the connectivity yet simultaneously independent nature of the sides of the brain.
2) I believe that semicolons can remind us that the end of one thing is really just the beginning of another.
3) It is a reminder to always follow my dreams and never let anybody take away from me what I have worked towards so hard for so long--success in writing. Not just success, though. Mastery.

There you go. Told you it was a doozy.

Here is my other one, a tribute to my biological family.

 

[Lionheart]

I always saw him as a type of guardian. I can see them being protectors of child spirits.

Yes, ravens and the other corvids are fearless, intelligent creatures. I wish I could have communed with the cowbird the way you did, I bet that was awesome.:)

By the way, I especially like your star of life tat as it is also a form of Celtic shield knot and is considered to be protective.

 

[freakofnurture]

There you go. Told you it was a doozy.

I love your explanation and I thank you for giving it :) And your experience with the cowbird... wow. If you ever post your novel somewhere, make sure to note me; that would be nice.

See, I like the semicolon, too! I write stories/novels, just like you, and I've had rather heated (in a non-serious sense) discussions about it with my best friend (who also writes). She doesn't like it, I love it. There are just some places where you need a semicolon to make a succession of two sentences feel right. That's how I see it, and I'll fight for it :D

 

[Kintsugi]

If you ever post your novel somewhere, make sure to note me; that would be nice.

There is a little of my memoir and poetry work in my trauma diary, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt.

I've had rather heated (in a non-serious sense) discussions about it with my best friend (who also writes)

I have a close friend who is fellow lit/film analyst, writer, tutor, and grammarian. We have had incredibly heated, incredibly serious yet affectionate debates over semicolons, colons, and dashes. People stopped sitting with us at dinner for some time because we would not stop fighting. We even fought in class, and all my lovely professor could do was roll her eyes and grin.

She doesn't like it, I love it. There are just some places where you need a semicolon to make a succession of two sentences feel right. That's how I see it, and I'll fight for it :D

I describe semicolons as garnish. You cannot splatter your work with them, but they have a time and place and can be used in strict moderation OR in necessarily semicolon-ridden genres/forms/eras/era-styles.

By the way, I especially like your star of life tat as it is also a form of Celtic shield knot and is considered to be protective.

That is a lovely fact, Lionheart. I did not know what it was called, to be honest. I wanted something Celtic because my mother was almost purely Irish with perhaps a dash of British, and I apparently am her mirror image (she is passed, so I did not meet her). She had five children, me and my three brothers and our little sister. I wanted to get a tattoo that would commemorate the life that she has sprung, and now that I know it is the star of life, it makes even further sense. It is nice to think of it as a protective symbol. Frankly, I did not know of its protective properties outside of the Irish quarter of Boston! Though I am ever-appreciative of the very protective community there. It's one of the only places where I feel comfortable roaming the streets when I please.

It is so nice that we have a place to discuss our body art and its meaning/significance.

 

[Lionheart]

I wanted something Celtic... It is nice to think of it as a protective symbol. It is so nice that we have a place to discuss our body art and its meaning/significance.

In German mythology, hugin and munin, Odin's two ravens represented thought and memory. In other parts of the world the raven is considered to be a shape shifter and a bringer of magick. :D (I am of Germanic-Celt and Portuguese Cherokee descent).

In contemporary pagan thought, the star represents the five elements out of which everything is made; earth, air, fire , water and Spirit, with spirit being the uppermost point of the star. In this way, it represents the spirit ruling over the material world and is called a pentagram. I think that makes your tat especially cool!!! :cool:

 

[freakofnurture]

There is a little of my memoir and poetry work in my trauma diary, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt.

Ah, okay. I started reading a little there, but I haven't gotten very far yet :)

@Lionheart: Ravens are also song birds. Which I find funny. Cause they're not really known for their beautiful voices.

 

[Lionheart]

Lionheart: Ravens are also song birds. Which I find funny. Cause they're not really known for their beautiful voices.

I hadn't even thought of that, that is cool :D This might explain my bad singing but my intent to do it anyway. lol

 

[Kintsugi]

(I am of Germanic-Celt and Portuguese Cherokee descent)

Wow! Sure we're not related? I'm Irish, German, and Cherokee. O.o