Tattoo Magic... Can It Really Work? Read Here...

Originally posted by Gradius Maximus
reply to post by GhostLancer

 

Any medium you choose can be a portal for your consciousness to amplify your human experience. Otherwise scientifically known as the placebo effect. There are many tattoos and wielders of them which are empowered with an ancient string of belief stretching back thousands of years. The runes, warrior tattoos, symbols, words of meaning and power. Words - are - power. Where do you choose to set the limit? Or do you choose to cast the barriers aside and brand yourself with that intention? I'm beginning to wonder what has more influence,the ancestral lineage and history of a symbol, or a single persons modern understanding of a symbol, or both intertwined? I always question people who speak a word or a symbol from an ancient culture. Do you know what that "means"? And they say...not really, or give some half baked understanding, they were attracted to its vibration and feeling, but the tree power contained within is its understanding and manipulation whose true meaning is likely lost in the sands of time. Lots to think about...

-GM

What fantastic thoughts generated. FANTASTIC. If I could give you 10 stars, I would. I especially like your question about what is more powerful: the ancestral lineage of a symbol, or a single person's modern understanding of it ---or an intertwined hybrid of the two.

Hey All,

In agreeance with the general direction that this thread is heading, tattoos are merely symbols. Symbols, on the whole, only carry as much power as the user/beholder' mind gives them. I do believe that certain symbols can however be imbued slowly over time with a certain kind of resonance if enough people use it for a specific purpose over a long enough timespan. I do not believe that this is some kind of residual power which makes one particular symbol more powerful overall than any other symbol. More this is some kind of archetypal memory that some certain symbols, when used for magick or any other 'energy working' practise, are better suited to a certain kind of result, or a certain type of method.

An example of this would be the planetary seals from a book such as the 'Key of Solomon'. If I were cereomonial magically inclined, and decided to do some sort of ritual energy work to promote peace, growth and harmony, I may try and invoke some kind of planetary spirit guardian of either neptune or venus using the appropriate seals. Now if my Book of Solomon were written in idk Chinese or some other language i didn't understand and I unwittingly picked the seal for Mars the God of War instead of Neptune or Venus, I can pretty much guarantee that the ritual will not be too effective, even if I honestly believed the symbol I had picked was the right one.

The main reason for this is that that particular symbol has been used for centuries in rituals promoting victory, war, disharmony etc etc and unless I was truly magically gifted (in which case I probably wouldn't be using dusty old grimoires any way) I will not get my desired result. I believe this power is similar if not the same that as those talked about in jungian archetypal theory.

None of these symbols have any the type of power to create 'wizz bang' Harry Potter type stuff happen. To the casual observor, the planetary seal for Mars will know more invoke feelings of rage, war or victory than it will invoke peace growth or harmony, unless of course that person is pychically sensitive, or for some reason has been continually exposed to it overtime. These resonances are on the subtle, vibratory level.

Symbols when used in magical working are used mainly as a focal points for the energy gathered to cause the desired change. Whether the symbol itself is charged, or merely used as a channel, the outcome is much more dependant on of the energy initially expended and the mindset of the spell caster/energy worker than on the particular symbol chosen.

I would however caution those thinking of tattooing a magical symbol from any source other than your own making. One does not know exactly what kind of magic it has been used for throughout the ages, or what the original intentions of its maker might have been. Therefore the kind of resonances it has picked up along the way are unkown. Not that I'm saying it will slowly drive you crazy, or possess you, or anything else so dramatic. But if you do work with energy and you permanently have a symbol with powerful resonances inked into your flesh, it can play a little with your subconcious and the natural flow of things especially at times when you are more susceptible to these subtle influences such as during ritual. However this is just a minor caution for if a symbol means enough to somone that they would want to ink it on themselves permanently, I would like to assume (although I know its not always the case) that it means something so important to the wearer that this meaning far out wieghs any negative resonances collected through the ages.

I myself have to tattoos which could be called magical. I got them a few years ago and despite my caution above they themselves are taken from centuries old magical text.



They are from called the 'Seales of the Earthe' and they are designed to keep the wearer grounded during magickal workings. One is power over all things immaterial, such as spirits and unseen forces. The other is power of material things such as the weather etc. I have one on each shoulder. I purposefully kept them as simplistic like in the original design so as to make them easier to incorporate into a larger sleeve piece sometime in the future (when I got a lot of free time and $$$)....These two tattoos on my shoulders I do often use as focal points in energy work, mainly for grounding and sometimes protection.





My third tattoo on my side is more homage to the dreamtime spirits of northern Australia, known as the Wandjina. They are creator spirits, and also have power over thunderstorms. It was also one of my favourite stories as a kid (my babysitter at the time was an Australian Aborigininal woman. This tattoo I designed myself but it was never finished as the tattooist had a serious car accident and I moved interstate before he recovered. I've never used this in any kind of formal energy workings although I do sometimes concentrate on images similar to what is depicted during meditation.

Well, I believe in magic tattoo can protect you from harmful way and everything; that is before it meet knife and gun.

Originally posted by the_0bserver85
Well, I believe in magic tattoo can protect you from harmful way and everything; that is before it meet knife and gun.

If I were on a mission to take out somebody, and I realized that they were "aware" (probably just by looking at whatever meaningful tattoos they have), I would rather just let them live. The world needs heroes

reply to post by 1littlewolf

STAR for your extensive and thoughtful contribuion! I'm still reading and digesting and processing it. Thanks!!!

maybe i'm gonna sound weird, it's almost 5:30 here and i'm tired...
for me, symbols are very important. Not since i've started into magic, but since i've started to learn semiothics. Every symbol, colour and detail means something, magical or non magical talking. that's why i don't have any tattoo yet. The first time i've heard of a magical (protection on this case) tattoo was from a girl from college, that got a very interesting fractal shaped salamander on her whole back. She said: it took me like 2 years to design this salamander, because it contains not only that image, but some 'magical symbols' on it. I needed to make everything look vane enough so i don't get asked about it.... and you're the first person in the world who've asked about it"

I became friends with the girl, and yes, she put some sigils on that tatoo that grants her protection. I asked her why she didn't wore crystals instead and her answer was: i usually lost them, but my tattoo is always with me.
I want to get a tattoo one day, when i finally go away from this country. I'm gonna get a tattoo of a certain deity that had helped me a lot lately with that travel, to honour him. That and a polynesic turtle, because i love turtles and polynesic culture... and it's meaning. The best tattoo artists we have here are from Eastern island, their tattoos are great.