This is a Celtic warrior symbol. I got it after my brother-in-law, a former Marine, took his life. I got this for my 40th birthday. He took his life earlier that month. He was covered head-to-toe in tattoos. I wanted something to reflect the fact that I had risen above adversity. This tattoo symbolizes me rising above adversity.

This is a moon with some stars. I went to college late. I was in my mid-30s. I would sit behind all these young people who had tattoos. I wanted one, too. I figured I would get one on my ankle. I expected a whole lot of pain, but there wasn’t that much pain. I wanted it in a spot where I could enjoy it. If I had known that it wouldn’t hurt, I would have gotten a full ankle bracelet.

This tattoo means father; it’s a Japanese Kanji. I have lost both of my parents. I lost my father to homicide when he was in his 30’s.

This tattoo means mother. I lost my mother unexpectedly, two years ago. She was in her 60’s.

This tattoo was a birthday present.

I got this one 15 years ago after a nasty breakup.

This tattoo watches my back.

I got this because someone needed money to leave town. I gave him $50 to give me a tattoo.

I got this dragon tattoo to cover up a bad grim reaper tattoo. I walked into a random tattoo shop in Wilmington, NC. A friend of mine worked at the tattoo shop, but I didn’t know it. He asked if the size was a problem, and I said no. I got something that took up a quarter of my back.

Fiery Aries. This is the fire sign and Aries under it. I was born under an Aries sign.

Blogger note: It has been some time since I’ve asked about tattoos. I did not get the story of these last two tattoos.

I believe the peace tattoo story was that the person walked into a tattoo place, liked it, and just got it. However, this may be incorrect. If this is your tattoo, please contact me for any corrections.

Dice Tattoo: When I first joined the military. I had no piercings, no tattoos. I was super clean cut, my dad was a cop. I kind of went wild. I got an earring, and a tattoo in Florida. I picked the tattoo out from one of those books. The picture in the book had these weird palm leaves over the top, You can no longer see it, but the flames were there to give it a little attitude.

I had the numbers changed on the dice to the way they would be laying. The number 23 was the day of my first girlfriend’s birthday. 33 was the number people knew me by when I played basket ball. The 5 just happens to fall when you lay the dice this way.

I had them use eyes instead of ones. The eyes represent the angels that watch over us.

The dice are there because I was a big fan of dice when I first joined the Navy. They kind of represented the attitude of life where if you don’t take chances you will never win. You are going to lose sometimes your going to win sometimes, but  if you don’t take chances you will never know.

The flames(which did not show up in the picture) sometimes there is discomfort. Bad things that happen because of the choices you make. You have to pay the consequences for that. This does not mean you don’t take a chance.

Uruz and Bull tattoo: “My brother is pagan. I wanted to do something to honor him as a family member.” Uruz means strength and virility, but it also means stubbornness when inverted. It represents good luck and health. “I wanted to find a way to make it more subtle. It’s a bull jumping over a hurdle.”

Eagle wing tattoo: When they were younger, they battled with depression and suicide. As a teenager, they were a cutter. When they got older, they overcame that depression. They did not want to look down at the cuts on their wrist, and be reminded of the past. It was not nice to see the scars. They got the tattoo to cover the scars and show strength after adversity.

Cheetah tattoo: When they were on the USA ski team, their nickname was, “the Cheetah.” At 17, they won their first national race, and snuck into the tattoo parlor. They signed in as a 18-year-old. This was their first tattoo.

Butterfly tattoos: Butterflies are a sign of strength after adversity. They are also a sign of change. They got these tattoo as an adult to show they had grown and overcome their issues.

Let go tattoo: This was one of their first tattoos. They were going through a lot of family and life issues. It was a nice little reminder to be positive and let everything go that you don’t want in your life.

Saint Denis tattoo: This is the image of San Deni or Saint Denis for Americans. This is a French bishop who as the myth goes, fought in a war he was not supposed to be fighting in. Denis got dedicated, and decided to bring his head back to his family, and carry it all the way home from the battlefield. They said it’s a beautiful sculpture that’s in Richmond at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. They fell in love with it.

Skull with a rose tattoo: This was done by the same artist that did the San Dani. This came from a sketch that popped up in their head of a skull with a rose sticking through it. They loved the contrast of something old and decrepit, and something lively and beautiful. Their tattoo artist transformed their idea into something way better than what they could have imagined.

Pennywink tattoo: There’s a painting by Esao Andrews called Pennywink. It’s a gorgeous portrait of this woman. The art is very abstracted and a little dark. Esao used to do some cover art for some of their favorite bands when they younger. They loved the portrait, and gave it to their artist. The artist did their own spin on it.

Hand with snake tattoo: This is a drawing they came up with when they were about to venture on an overseas trip to Seoul, Korea. They connected to this artist online, and sent the artist this sketch. The artist was really into pointillism. They really wanted to draw something that would complement the artists style. They met the artist in person. They got the sketch done super quick. It’s their little memento for visiting Seoul for the first time.

Juturna tattoo: This is also an painting by Esao Andrews. It’s a girl kind of falling into this garden that has a mixture of leaves and thorny vines. There’s a little bit of contrast. This piece was called, “Juturna.” It’s also used by band called Circa Survive. The jest of the album is this kind of whimsical dark feeling, but also positive motivational feeling. Juturna is a Greek goddess in mythology. They are not really familiar with Juturna. They describe Juturna as the goddess of new beginnings, springs and wells. They thought it was a really beautiful depiction of it.

ui tattoo: The letters u and i are typographical symbols from the Kendrick Lamar album, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” They were these awesome singles. The typography on his work is gorgeous, and on a whim they got this tattoo.

Turtle with Kanji tattoo: They got this tattoo in Hawaii. The Kanji says, “Aikido.” They were taking Aikido at the time, and they wanted a turtle tattoo with Aikido in it. This is the artists concept and they let the artist run with it. If you look at the tattoo, it has a spear head surrounded with sharks teeth. This is the artist’s take on what they wanted.