first published February 24, 2018

"What Do Your Tattoos Mean?"

I'm guessing I'm going to hear this a lot from now on. Because my tattoos aren't obvious. So people will ask. And I expect I'll get more in the future, so I'll just keep them all together here.

original tattoo, 2015

Modified IDIC

• designed by Tori Stephens
• inked by Shannon Wages
• July 2015, touched up October 2022
• left upper arm
• keys - diversity, geekery, faith, family

I've used the IDIC as a personal symbol for about a decade before deciding I was ready for the tattoo. It's a symbol of a philosophy that stresses strength from diversity, beauty from contrast, and unity of the unlike. The things that make us different from one another are the things that make us worthwhile (read more here - https://meronym-thoughts.blogspot.com/p/idic-infinite-diversity-in-infinite.html). 

Also, the IDIC comes from Star Trek, so it announces my geek nature and first fandom to those that recognize it. Whereas the Vulcan salute is recognizable to almost everyone, only fellow TOS fans may recognize the IDIC.

touched up, 2022

Looking at the gold rope in the middle of the tattoo, you can see (if you want to), an ichthys, or 'Jesus fish' (read more here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys). I am a Christian, but I often eschew the use of a cross as a symbol. I don't want to tie myself to my faith by a symbol of suffering. I prefer the older symbol that evokes images of feeding and helping people.

I use the color red to identify myself, and blue for my daughter. So the red gem at the center is my 'core'. You can see the gold rope 'arms' coming down to encircle the blue section, representing my daughter. So it's a mother holding her child. Or, if you add in the silver disk, an angel.

Someone saw a partial ankh in the black drop-line. The blue triangle was meant to resemble a pyramid. Together, these hint at Scott's Egyptian interests. Other people have seen other things in the tattoo. I love that it has so many intended and potential meanings.

This tattoo is not perfectly symmetrical; it is as Tori sketched it when we talked about it. The beauty comes from the balance in its design, not its precision, fitting in with the IDIC philosophy. It is located in the fairly traditional spot for tattoos on my left upper arm, for anyone to see and appreciate.

 

Original tattoo, 2015

BIRDS ON WRIST

• designed by Tori Stephens
• inked by Shannon Wages
• July 2015, touched up October 2022
• right wrist
• keys - family

touched up 2022

This one's a bit simpler than the IDIC, but perhaps more meaningful to me. 'Tori', in Japanese, can be translated as 'little bird'. So Tori is the little bird - which is V-shaped (for Victoria), and I am the larger bird - which is M-shaped (for Martha). The larger bird could be supporting the smaller, or leading it. The tattoo is on the edge of my right wrist, which means it's always visible to me.

When this one was touched up in October 2022, we added a tiny line of blue to the V bird and red to the M bird.

 

Multiplicity Star

• designed by Martha Stephens
• inked by Shannon Wages
• November 2015, touched up October 2022
• right upper arm
• keys - multiplicity awareness

 This is one of several ideas I had for representing my multiplicity (read more here - https://meronym-thoughts.blogspot.com/p/i-am-multiple-personality.html). I have a core of five personalities, with intermittent appearances of other alters. The upright pentagram represents the five core alters, with associated colors. Blue for Kiara, Green for Paul, Black for Rubi, and Red for Sam. I also see myself as Red, but used Purple for me in this situation. For past and future, currently inactive, alters, I added the leaves of an inverted pentagram behind the upright one. I chose brown, gray, orange, yellow, and white (the white currently looks a bit pink thanks to some bleeding during the tattoo).

There are a few additional meanings with this one. The pentagram sometimes represents female energy, with the male called by the inverted symbol. It can also refer to the four elements plus the self, or the five stages of a woman's life. I also found a reference to the pentagram as symbolizing the five senses, the five virtues, or the five wounds of Christ. There are a lot of religious meanings attached, but none of them are why I chose to use the pentagrams. I'm drawn to simple shapes with strong straight lines. I wanted five of something in front and separate colors in front and behind.

Ladybug

• designed by Tori Stephens and Shannon Wages
• inked by Shannon Wages
• September 2017, touched up October 2022
• right upper arm
• keys - family

This is one of a group of tattoos coordinated between myself and my two children. My bio-daughter got a firefly, and my other-child got a stag beetle. We had a big art night where we discussed designs, and then redid them a bit when we got to the tattoo studio. All have their wings open, which is an unusual way to do bug tattoos. So for me, this one is really about family, but also ladybugs are a favorite of my youngest alter, and ladybugs symbolize luck as well.

Tori's Tattoo

Lucious' Tattoo

 

House of Aten

• designed by Scott Bechtel
• inked by Shannon Wages
• February 2018
• left outer thigh
• keys - family

Scott's Tattoo

 

My husband and I got coordinating tattoos on our first wedding anniversary, which was our sixth anniversary for our collaring. He got his first tattoo, an Aten symbol (left). By putting the box around it, it turns it into ‘House of Aten’ and marks me as belonging to his household. This is the same symbol that he uses as a maker’s mark on his leather projects. We also got them colored similarly. This one is on my outer thigh, and is by far the most painful tattoo I’ve done. That thick dark line was terrible.

 

 

The Mark X

• design from The Mark's logo
• inked by Britton Asbury
• September 2022
• right upper arm
• keys - community

My first trip to a Tattoo Festival, so I added a small flash tattoo to my right arm. The Mark is my kinky community center, where I've been a member since 2009. It's my second home, and where all my friends are. This is a variation off The Mark's logo.

Sanguine

• concept design by Lucious Rhoads
• final design by and inked by Devon Greig
• January 2023
• right outer thigh
• keys - geekery

Firefly is one of my favorite geekdoms, and sanguine has become my favorite word. It just felt right to put the word inside the outline of the ship. And look at that detail on the ship!

Zoe:     You sanguine about the kind of reception we’re apt to receive on an Alliance ship, Cap’n?
Mal:     Absolutely. What’s “sanguine” mean?
Zoe:     “Sanguine”. Hopeful. Plus, point of interest? it also means “bloody”.

Mal:     Well, that pretty much covers all the options, don’t it?

Definitions:

• confident: cheerfully optimistic
• ruddy: flushed with a a healthy rosy color - "a sanguine complexion"
• blood red: of a blood red color
• bloodthirsty: eager to shed blood 

 

M Logo with Watercolor

• design by and inked by Chip Harbin
• January 2023, touch-up April 2023
• lower back
• keys - identity, geekery

For some time, I've been using a Wonder Woman logo flipped upside down as a personal image. And another of the Wonder Woman logos I like has the metallic gold look to it, so I wanted to combine those into an M with a star over it. 

Behind that, I chose some watercolor splashes in the colors of the gender fluid pride flag. This one is probably the largest tattoo I have, and likely to remain so. 

FUTURE TATTOOS

I have a number of tattoos I am considering for perhaps future inkings. I'm thinking of having a whole bunch of tiny tats all in the same area, done as time and finances allow. I do have a Pinterest board with some of these ideas - https://www.pinterest.com/marthatori/ideas-tattoos-bodypaint/

Coyote - I identify with the coyote, and would like to see him in ink. Not sitting and howling, as you often see coyote depicted, but running or jumping. I've thought about group of coyotes running and chasing each other around my arm as a band - just silhouettes.

The other coyote idea is one laying down at my elbow with the tail on the upper arm and the body on the lower arm, so when I close my arm he curls up to sleep.

The outline of a top hat (a Christmas Carol symbol for me) with the red leather and chains image that we used for the cover of my Christmas Carol companion anthology book.

Semicolon - mental illness awareness (read more here - http://www.mtv.com/news/2204380/project-semicolon-tattoo/) - the most appealing of these I've seen has been in the word 'FIGHT'.

Birthstones - a small birthstone or other gemstone for each of the three children of my heart and other people important to me

Fortissimo symbol - for my love of music - and living loudly

Butterfly - blue morpho - Kiara's favorites

Infinite Love - the word 'love' wrapped in the infinity symbol. If any single word can sum up my belief system, it's 'love'. But I'm afraid this one's become too cliché, so probably not.

A Lego - definitely 3D for this one, probably in green - Paul's favorite thing

Klingon trefoil - I (and especially Rubi) identify with a lot of Klingon leanings

A tiny book hidden somewhere.

A D20 with the text 'Chaotic Good Enough'.

A ribbon wound on my left forearm with gender fluid flag colors - maybe androsexual colors too, or even pride or trans colors?