Wheel of Life Tattoos

Wheel of Life Tattoos - The Wheel of Life is a Tibetan mandala, a visual map of a human being's journey through life's stages from the cradle to the grave. The Wheel is comprised of intricate images, arranged so as to demonstrate the teachings of the Buddha.
   

Some people confuse Buddhism's Dharma Wheel with the Wheel of Life, and for good reason - the literature itself isn't consistent. Anyone looking for a Wheel of Life tattoo should be aware of the difference and potential confusion. Who knows, you might want one of each. The Dharma Wheel is about Buddha's teachings, while the Wheel of Life is a meditation on the universe and its karmic laws.

As a symbol of Buddhism, The Wheel is a graphic depiction of the different realms of human desire into which we are born. It includes illustrations of the causes of evil and suffering, but it also shows the way out of these seemingly endless cycles of misery. Wheels and circles, as designs they have long served humankind as symbols of the cyclical nature of existence. Scriptures mention Buddha using such images to illustrate his teachings.

Some of the images in the Wheel of Life are gruesome, yet their purpose is not to terrify us, but to point the way to a life where, through the teachings of the Buddha, we may be freed from the endless misery and suffering of life on earth.

Some say that the Wheel originated from Buddha himself, while others claim it was the invention of a disciple with the ability to see into the human soul. Whatever its origins, this most sacred of Buddhist mandalas appears inside every Tibetan monastery as a tool for comprehending the complexities of human nature, and as a means of introspection.

The mandala is made up of four concentric circles (or realms), each one divided into sections with images conveying a litany of human weakness and the consequences of giving in to them. The entire Wheel itself is held in the teeth and claws of Yama, Lord of Death, implying that in any of the realms of delusion, death can occur at any time.

mandala images

At the Wheel's centre we find a circle containing a pig, rooster, and rat, representing Greed, Delusion, and Hatred. Known as the Three Poisons, this trio is believed to be the cause of all of human grief and suffering, since they corrupt us from within. Not that these animals are evil in themselves, but that a human's lower nature is no more enlightened than that of an animal.

Wheel of life

The next circle is a band divided into Black and White, indicating the forces of good and evil, light and darkness. The next concentric circle is divided into the six Realms of Desire. Here we encounter the kinds of lives we live as a result of choices we make, ranging from Heaven to Hell. One of those realms - the Titan, for example - is that of warfare and hatred and all the consequences of such behavior. The outermost circle instructs us in cause and effect, an endlessly repeating motif suggestive of what occurs when we're trapped in any of the six realms of desire. Spiritual desire is no less a trap.

These six realms reflect myriad circumstances such as socio-economics, personality type, as well as our karma, which amounts to the consequences of our previous actions going back through all of an individual's lifetimes. In each realm we find an image of Buddha pointing the way to the Right Path. Concentrating on the Wheel is meant to help us see how life will continue fruitlessly in those realms if we ignore the ways and practices that lead to moksha (freedom and liberation).
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_wheel_of_life.htm

Duck Tattoos cool

Duck Tattoos - Think 'duck'.

Disney's Donald Duck likely comes quickly to mind, or any of his extended family, including his girlfriend Daisy, and Uncle Scrooge McDuck, or nephews Huey, Dewie and Louie. Or Warner Brothers' Daffy Duck, or that ill-tempered Howard the Duck from Marvel Comics.
   

The expression 'lame duck' is familiar, or "Duck!" (as in, watch out!) Or the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup. Or, 'Ducky', the term of endearment. There's Peking Duck, duck a l'orange, 'sitting duck' and 'dead duck' (yikes!), and rubber ducky, and-the poor duck has been co-opted into our modern culture without much respect for the many natural characteristics that, through the ages, have made it a symbol of honesty, simplicity, and resourcefulness.

Time for a reality check-ducks are the largest and most diverse and versatile group of waterfowls, being as much at ease on land as in the air or on the water. Their short legs, webbed feet and efficient wings allow them to allude enemies by flying, diving, swimming or running. As a result, they've earned a reputation for being resourceful.

Their habitat is predictable-wet reedy lakes to which they return year after year. Their broad, flat bill is well suited to foraging in these shallow waters. Native North Americans long ago took notice of the duck's patience, placidity, and their apparent knowledge of the edible treasures that lie underwater. One creation myth involves a duck heroically diving to the bottom of the sea to bring up mud, so that Coyote could put the finishing touches on his creation-'the earth'.

In the Celtic tradition, the duck symbolizes honesty, simplicity, and once again, resourcefulness. It is revered as much for its proportion and beauty as for its adaptability and sensitivity to its environment. Honesty and understanding are other duck attributes and associations that have grown up over time.

The male of the species owns the most colourful plumage, but both sexes are graceful and agile in the water, and are known for their easy adaptation to nature. They seem very much at home in their chosen water world. For most people, the duck connotes comfort. It seems the perfect bird, unperturbed and enjoying life. 'Water off a duck's back,' refers to a disregard for worldly concerns.

The duck's strong sense of community provides the hunter with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of targets in a single sighting. The hunter's decoy - a wooden facsimile of the duck that floats on the water to attract the flock - has become a decorative feature in many households of the Canadian prairie and the Great Plain of the United States. And duck hunting in the Fall and Autumn as the flocks make their annual migratory pilgrimage south to warmer climes is a deeply engrained cultural practice in many rural areas. Duck hunters have long recognized their unique role in protecting duck environments and ecosystems to ensure the long-term viability of their sport. Ducks Unlimited is an international organization with three quarters of a million members that has been protecting wetlands and estuaries to ensure the survival of waterfowl species since 1936. And while the role of hunters in protecting species may be controversial to some, there is no denying that the Ducks Unlimited Organization has been instrumental in wetland conservation and educating the public about the importance of habitat protection for wild animals. Duck habitats and breeding grounds have been threatened by overdevelopment, agriculture, the use of herbicides and pesticides, climate changes, dams and oil and mineral exploration. Poisoning from lead shot was once a problem, but the switch to steel and other alternatives has alleviated the problem. Whatever your position on duck hunting, there is no denying that duck hunting enthusiasts have led the fight for greater conservation and management of waterfowl populations. In 1918 in the United States, duck hunters were at the forefront of the movement that led to the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibited the possession of migratory waterfowl without a license.

The Mallard is the most common species, and the one from which most others have evolved. The Wood Duck ranks as North America's most beautiful species, but in the Orient the Mandarin Duck is the one most often depicted by artists. This oriental species wins the beauty contest with its purple breast and orange 'sails' on its back. Because it's a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity, the Mandarin Duck often shows up at Chinese weddings as a harbinger of wedded bliss. Never mind that the species isn't monogamous at all. A popular motif in Chinese households, the artful depiction of a duck holding a lotus stem in its beak is a promise (wishful thinking) of having many sons, one after the other.

In India, ducks are associated with the rice harvest, since they predictably show up for the harvest's leftovers, then lay their eggs. They symbolize the constant cycle of birth and rebirth. Ducks are a symbol of prosperity and fertility in Korea, where a duck-shaped funerary cup was found from the 6th century A.D.

In 13th century Europe, the 'drake' (Mallard) was a symbol of male promiscuity and fertility. Pagan cults took the drake as their symbol.

As a spirit guide or favourite tattoo, the duck is there to teach you about free will, even if greater wisdom ultimately reveals it to be an illusion. A model of grace and the ability to see clearly through emotions, the duck is the spirit helper of mystics and seers. A duck tattoo is an announcement to all that you are a seeker after grace and comfort in your life. If you're superstitious, a duck showing up in a dream is a good omen.

Duck Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!If you are a conservationist, a duck tattoo is an excellent symbol of your commitment to protect the environment for future generations and to preserve wildlife in their natural settings.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_ducks.htm

Compass Tattoos

Compass Tattoos - The compass design is a popular maritime tattoo, reflecting the long history that has intertwined body art and sailors, and is similar to the nautical star in its symbolism. In the early age of sail, mariners navigated their way through uncharted waters and unknown perils armed only with the stars at night, a compass to point North and there own wits to guide them.

The compass and the North Star were all that a good sailor needed to find his way in the world, hence both were popular tattoo designs. A tattoo not only to help navigate the sea, but to make ones way through life. Some of the most popular compass tattoo designs are lifted straight off of old navigational charts.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_compass.htm

Skull Tattoos cool

Skull Tattoos - Skulls are represented in a number of tattoo design genres, and a classic tattoo design that has been popular for generations of tattoo enthusiasts. Nautical Tattoos with the Jolly Roger, or famed pirate's flag of Skull and Crossed Bones, Old School Tattoos, New School Tattoos, Bio-Mechanical and every School of Tattoos in between.
   

Skull symbolism is instinctive in human nature. The human mind is primed to recognize faces, and so eager to find them that it can see faces in a few dots and lines or punctuation marks; the face that looks back from a human skull cannot avoid recognition as having been once human. Moreover, a human skull, with its eyes much larger than in life, displays a degree of neoteny (think of kittens, puppies and babies, no, seriously), which humans often find visually appealing. Yet, a skull is obviously dead. As such, human skulls have a visual appeal beyond the other bones of the human skeleton, and can fascinate even as they repel.

One look at a skull and we can see death staring at us from those big empty sockets. It's not surprising then that the skull is known all over the world as a symbol of death. In many cultures, it is held up as a reminder of our own mortality or, in the universal Latin, a memento mori - a memento of mortality.

In the play Hamlet, playwright William Shakespeare uses a skull to great effect. When Hamlet discovers Yorick's skull, the King's former Court Jester, in the graveyard in the first scene of Act V, he speaks directly to the skull as he fixates on death's inevitability and the disintegration of the body. The physical object of the skull is used to symbolize the themes of mortality and death presented in the play. In the end, none of us can escape death and even Kings are eaten by worms.

In Christian art and culture, the skull has been seen as a symbol of eternity, repentance, and human vanity and, therefore, a reminder to keep to the straight and narrow. It appears in medieval religious paintings as Adam's skull placed at the foot of the Cross and symbolizing the Redemption. An ancient symbol of the skull with a serpent crawling through the sockets was the symbol of knowledge and immortality. The serpent in the skull is also a favourite emblem denoting �'"knowledge surviving death".Many great Renaissance masterpieces prominently feature skulls, and most portraits of Saints, Cardinals, Popes and Royalty contained a skull as a reminder of the importance of living a virtuous life.

Historically, the skull was a popular symbol of triumph over the enemy, and a warning to the people defeated in battle. Collections of skulls might be stacked by the victors in public places, as an obvious declaration of victory and grim reminder of the losses of the vanquished. It was also worn as a trophy and even drunk out of by conquering kings. Centuries ago, heads were stuck on pikes at Traitor's Gate in London, and left to rot -- a dire warning to all who walked by. The skull, or Totenkopf was the Nazi SS insignia in WW2, a symbol to be feared, but when tattooed on the arm of a biker outlaw, it is a death-defying symbol believed to cheat death. In New Guinea, skulls were placed in the rafters of the medicine house as a reminder of death always present in life. Ancient Pompeii came up with the image of the skull crowned with the spirit level, the carpenter's favorite tool, suggesting Death as the great leveller.

The skull could also get fancy. There are plenty of scenes of talking skulls in folk history, all carrying a message or reminder of death and bad behaviour. In Mexico you can see grinning skulls dressed up in feathers and hats, such as found in Mexican art. On the Day of the Dead, you might even be eating a skull made of sugar and chocolate. But skulls on gravestones are not as popular today as they were in Victorian times. Death was big business for sculptors and masons, and the skull in various combinations with crosses, roses, and wings were not only a reminder of mortality but also of the flight of the soul, resurrection and eternity.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, skulls can be seen in their religious art. The Buddhist Lord of the Dead, Yama, has five skulls around his head, signifying the conquest of anger, greed, pride, envy and ignorance. Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Death wears a necklace of skulls.

Skull Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!Today, the skull is as popular as it ever was. In movies, games, literature, comics, and of course, tattoos, the skull continues to gather different symbolic implications as the creative imagination of the artist lets loose. Some designs are humorous, some macabre and threatening, but always Death is part of the picture.
Source: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_skulls.htm

Dice Tattoos cool

Dice Tattoos - Dice or a pair of dies, are the familiar numbered cubes that we all used to use to play Yahtzee as children, or any other games of chance in which the random tumbling of the dies determines the games outcome. Games of chance and gambling using dice or similar objects is common in many cultures around the world.
   

Dice games, by their very nature, tend to rely much more on luck than skill. As tattoo designs, dice are a metaphor for life. As players we can no more determine or predict the numbers that will turn up on a pair of dice than we can predict the future in a capricious universe. Sometimes in life, as in games of chance, it is more important to be lucky than to be talented.

Although sometimes referred to as a "lucky" symbol, or one of good fortune, dice are often featured in tattoo designs that highlight the perils of gambling, such as in "Man's Ruin". Dice are often featured with other vices, including playing cards, drugs and alcohol, guns, race horses and women of easy virtue.

Dice Inspiration Gallery - Click here to get inspired!The expression, "To roll the dice", implies taking a risk in which the outcome is unknown and beyond the control of the individual. It implies that the results of the die being cast is left entirely to fate and chance. Similarly, the expression, "The die are cast", means that once the dice have been set in motion and rolled, the outcome is indeterminable.

Source:  http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_designs_symbols_dice.htm