Some tattoo symbols are inseparable from belief. They originate in religious doctrine, spiritual practice, esoteric systems, alchemical traditions, and occult frameworks — contexts where an image carries protective, devotional, or metaphysical intent. Tattooing them raises questions that other categories don’t: in some traditions, it is an act of devotion; in others, a violation; and the distinction often depends on who is wearing it and under what authority. The articles here cover symbols rooted in these traditions — what they mean within the systems that produced them, how they function when removed from those systems, and what that specific image actually carries when it becomes permanent on a body.
All | Animals | Botanicals | Maritime | Mythology & Fantasy | Sacred & Spiritual | Subculture | Objects | Patterns
The hamsa — also spelled khamsa, also called the Hand of Fatima, the Hand of Miriam, the Hand of Mary, or simply the protective hand — is one of the oldest continuously used apotropaic symbols in the world. An apotropaic object is one designed to turn away evil, and the hamsa’s function has been consistent for millennia (…)