While I do respect people’s decisions and what they want inked on their bodies, I try to make sure they understand what it means before they get tattooed. Had these two gone ahead and went with the caduceus, they would have been branded with the mark of gamblers and thieves, not medical healers. The latter guy insisted his was the right symbol and told his friend to get one with two snakes and a pair of wings until I cleared out the confusion. Each of them had a totally different idea: one wanted the universal symbol for medicine, the Rod of Asclepius from the Greek God Asclepius who was known for his healing and medicine the other wanted Hermes’ caduceus which was a common misconception in the US as a medical symbol but was actually the symbol for commerce, the dead, shepherds, liars, gamblers, and thieves. One time, I had two guys who were EMTs who wanted to get a medical symbol on their arms. Our job isn’t as easy as people think it is because those of us who provide quality tattoos do a bit of research on symbols. ![]() But in my years of experience, more often than not, people have a specific reason behind getting a certain tattoo because of the meaning it conveys.Īnd every now and then, as a tattoo artist, I have to point out that that symbol isn’t what they think it means. Some people might be okay with getting a tattoo of whatever catches their fancy, and that’s alright. And this isn’t even limited to foreign letters. It is instances like these that warn people to do their research first before getting inked. ![]() Post-Tattoo Session: Taking Care of Your Body.Designing Options: Creating Your Final Design.The Skull and Sword’s Meaning, Combined.Now she either has to pay more money to get it out or re-do it, or live with the fact that she has “BBQ grill” on her palm for the rest of her life. If only she had done her research earlier, she might have known what her tattoo really meant. While the shichirin is traditionally a circle, it’s the only thing remotely related to what Ariana was trying to do. It’s “shichirin.” Or in English, a barbeque grill. Had she consulted with someone who understood Kanji, however, she would have found out beforehand that those two characters combined (七輪)isn’t “seven rings.” While she got the Kanji symbols right in her music video (七つの指輪), she thought that since the first character on its own meant “seven” and the last character meant “ring,” it was acceptable to use only these two for her tattoo. Her intention was to make her tattoo say “7 Rings” in Japanese Kanji symbols in honor of her new hit song. ![]() In fact, just take a look at what Ariana Grande did with the tattoo she got on her palm the other day. Take, for example, the people who get Chinese symbols as a tattoo thinking it means dragon or strength or courage, only to find out that it actually says chicken noodle soup, lady, water, or even “I don’t know, I don’t speak Chinese.” Tattoos are a permanent fixture on your skin, so if you’re the type of tattoo fanatic who appreciates the deeper meaning of getting inked, it’s important to understand the meaning behind something before going under the needle.
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