Yeah, I’m finally getting my tatoo. I had some internal back and forth on what to get, where it should go, the timing etc. But last year I made the decision to get it done, and while here in California, I finally came to the conclusion that I should stop agonising over the exact image, and just find an artist I could trust and have him do his thing. So on September 1, Gordon from Braindrops will put the needle to skin, with a second session a few weeks later for colouring.
The image will be a Death Tarot-card, and yes, there is a Masonic connection here, although not too directly to interfere with my Obligation; hard to explain without getting into specifics, so I won’t. The basic meaning of the card is not so much “death as a final destination” as “a new beginning” – I feel it’s an appropriate image for my first tatoo, and setting out on a quest (and as I write this, it is incidentally the current lesson of my BOTA course …). The card shown here is from the Vertigo Tarot designed by Dave McKean and based on ideas from Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel The Sandman. But my tatoo will be a completely new design, based on my notes, a few favouite decks and Gordon’s own style. It is a combined Christmas and birthday present from my wife, which makes it extra nice.
For more: go to Masonic ink (you have to join up).
Next: Death, a peek under the robe.
