Mandala

April 2007

my mandala backpiece I designed

Inked by Radar of Walk the Line Tattoo, Athens, GA

I spent about a year designing this tattoo during a very transformative part of my life. I meditated heavily on what concepts I felt were important enough to include in the design. All in all it's a symbol of me, a personal crest. Here's a short synopsis:

At the center is Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, representing my spiritual ideas as well as my largely Scandinavian and Germanic heritage. Around that is a five-pointed lone star that stands for Texas, where I was raised. My family decided to move there a couple hundred years ago when they were done being Vikings. Heh. The pentagram also represents some really close friends of mine from college. The big nine-pointed star is an ancient Norse symbol of good luck. I also chose it because there's no way to make it perfectly even. Nine-pointed stars are always a little "off," a little wonky. I like that. Like an infinity symbol, this one in particular has no discernable beginning or end. The runes contained within it stand for concepts and ideas I hold dear (detailed explanation below). The laurel wreath represents my name as well as a city where I spent several incredibly formative years. My time there really helped me become who I am, so I chose to honor it this way. It always reminds me of very happy memories and silly times.

The colors are simply my favorites.