Tattoo symbols: Patterns

Patterns in tattooing operate differently from figurative subjects. They do not depict a thing — they organise space, rhythm, and repetition on the body’s surface. Their origins range across sacred geometry, architectural ornament, textile traditions, mathematical structures, and indigenous visual systems, each with its own rules and symbolic logic. A pattern can carry cultural, spiritual, or cosmological meaning within the tradition that produced it, or function as pure visual structure with no referential intent at all. The articles here cover pattern types used in tattooing — where they originate, what organising principles they follow, what meaning they hold within their source traditions, and how they translate onto skin.

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