Reprint: Tattoos, Adornment, Spirituality -- UPDATED

I'm on hiatus -- at least from substantive blogging -- until August 28.  Until then, I'm reprinting favorite posts from 2004 and 2005.

In response to this post, Ginger asked:

How do you square your tattoos with your religious beliefs? Did you get them before you were very religious? I ask because I got a tattoo a few years ago during a not so spirtual time in my life, and now I really regret having scarred my body. Your thoughts? (I sense that I have inspired a post topic for you.)

Jenell gives a helpful answer:

Ginger, my family believes that tatooing (and cremation, too) is forbidden by scripture because it is a form of witchcraft. I think this comes from an obscure passage in Leviticus or Numbers about the practice of witchcraft. Its relevance is limited to that cultural context, and it is nowhere repeated by Jesus or established for the New Testament church. Tattooing, like cremation, isn't necessarily tied to witchcraft - but it apparently was in that culture.

I think the sacred taboo against tattooing is sort of a Christian 'urban legend' propagated by people who just don't like tattoos.

I agree absolutely with Jenell. And Ginger, you have indeed inspired a post!

I have five tattoos in total; two of which are visible when I wear a t-shirt. I acquired all five between April 1997 and September 2000, a period of intense spiritual growth in my life. (I also acquired three piercings during this period; they have been removed.) For me, tattoos are deeply spiritual. They represent two things to me: the valuing of the body and permanence. When I was younger, I abused my body in a wide variety of ways. (I went to Berkeley, and took into my system many, many unhealthy things.) I also scarred my body physically, usually after having imbibed far more than was advisable. Thus by the time I was 30, my body carried on it physical signs of my earlier lifestyle; the manifestations of late adolescent angst were visible on my flesh.

My five tattoos were all chosen because I thought they were aesthetically pleasing and spiritually symbolic. I had grown up hating my body and mistreating it. By placing beautiful images upon my flesh, I was saying to myself "Hugo, your body is good. It is worthy of love and care and decoration." Where once I had scarred my flesh, now I adorned my flesh -- and trust me, psychologically and spiritually, there is a world of difference! I can't say I always like my body. I will be the first to admit that even at 37, like many women and quite a few men, I have "body image" problems. I don't often like the way I look naked. But some of the things I like most about my body are these five tattoos -- they stand for growth, they stand for love, they stand (dare I say it) that in my mind, my body is beautiful no matter what it weighs and no matter how pale my skin may be. For seven years, since I first got "inked", tattoos have been a source of great comfort for me.

I am also aware that tattoos are major commitments. They are permanent (or almost so; they can be removed at great cost and with considerable discomfort). I grew up a child of divorce in a culture of divorce and separation. If there's one thing my secular friends and I all believed with a grim passion, it was that "nothing lasts forever." As odd as it may seem, getting a tattoo was a way of saying to myself "Now I've done something I can't back out of. Now, I've committed to something for life." Believe it or not, getting tattooed made me more aware of my ability to make and keep promises. These images drilled into my flesh? They are mine. I chose them. They will be with me (I presume) forever. They stand not merely for a great and wonderful period of growth in my life, they stand for my commitment to honor and nurture my body rather than mistreat and scar it. (Parenthetically, let me note that the year I got tattooed for the first time, 1997, was the year I started distance running -- another way of caring for my flesh.)

Look, tattoos are not for everyone. I am not suggesting that they are some sort of spiritual discipline that everyone ought to adopt. There are as many motives for getting tattoos as there are people who get them. I am glad I was 29 before I got inked for the first time -- glad that I made what I still consider to be healthy and aesthetic choices that represented an adult Hugo taking responsibility for his life. I am open to the possibility that in the future I will feel differently, but for now, everytime I undress, I see these external symbols that mark my own journey -- and I am grateful.

Originally posted July 8, 2004

UPDATE:  Just this morning, we've got this whopper of a post from Dawn Eden.  It ends thus:

Something tells me that there's a connection between the increase in abortions after Roe vs. Wade and the increase in tattoos. In any case, I believe the devil is always happy when people deface their bodies, because they are defacing the image of God.

I've made some unsupportable assertions in my day, but that's flabbergasting.  I doubt Dawn will read my post, but she needs to. (H/T to "Fat Doug Lover" at Punkass Blog).

Comments

[Rachel]

My friends who've chosen to be inked cite reasons remarkably similar to yours, Hugo.

I'm curious and would enjoy knowing what your tattoos depict, if they are representational and if you're willing to share that information. :-)

[Hugo]

The tats on my back are both Maori designs I found in a book. One, right at the top of my spine, is simply beautiful and abstract. On my center spine is a bird in flight, symbolizing (at least for me) rebirth.

On my arm is a Celtic shield of protection -- it's my favorite, I had it done in Florence by an amazing tattoist named Giulio Tomasselli.

[desi]

Wow, they must be beautiful!

[Hugo]

Desi, no problem. But please post under one name. From the same IP address I have had comments recently from a didi, bobby, Freddy, and Bette.

[FTM]

I too have written about this:
http://fromthemorning.blogspot.com/2005/04/can-christian-get-tattoo.html

The dawn patrol comments are hillarious.

[lilcollegegirl]

I recently got a tattoo on my upper back. The design (a nude angel, bleeding from a wound on her chest, with a star forming in the blood) is rather provacative and so when people see it, they often ask what it means. Which poses a problem, because it means many things to me, several of them directly contradicting each other, and few intensely personal. I don't want to be dishonest and dismiss their question with a simple "because it's pretty" (although it certainly is that) but explaining all these things is a hassle. Any thoughts as to how deal with this? Also, do you find that people ask that question no matter what the tattoo is?

[Hugo]

Folks ask all the time. I usually say "I found this design, and loved it." And I leave it at that -- the WHY I love it needn't be disclosed.

[mythago]

It's a passage in Leviticus (19:28), but as always, Christians who are fine with eating shrimp and bacon have no business citing the rest of Leviticus as binding.

There's an interesting Reform Judaism document about the prohibition on tattoos, and how it doesn't apply to all markings, just those that would be idolatrous; I'll see if I can find it.

Dawn Eden has long passed the mark where "making outrageous crap up" and "wingnut" have ceased to have any meaningful differentiation.

[Ed]

Yeah, I'd like to see the tatoo naysayers to voice their objections to many of the Christian Samoans who sport traditional tattoos, e.g. the "flying fox" design known as pe'a. And these are still done in the traditional way - by hand with a shark (or boar)-tooth comb that's tapped against your skin over a period of three months. A telling sign of identity (and the ability to endure sharp pain).

[BriBri]

Since you often wear tee shirts to teach in, I've seen the tat on the back of your neck and the one on your upper bicep, but not the bird in the middle of your back. You should post some pictures!

I have a small dolphin on my lower back, which I know is probably very typical. It's bright blue, and about three inches across. That did it for me , way more pain than I ever want to voluntarily go through ever again!!

[annamal]

Hugo I really hope you read up on the significance of the Maori tattoos before you got them.

It's not my place to police a culture that isn't mine (in that I'm pakeha)but it's just possible that you might be sending a message that you didn't really intend to send (or hell you might just have a standard koru pattern and I'm getting worried about nothing).

[Mermade]

Good insight on tattoos, Hugo. I've been thinking about getting one on my lower back of (take a wild guess) a mermaid. I don't think I'll do it though - too scared that I'll freak out and regret it afterwards. And although I understand your position as a Christian, I'm still not sure about how I feel about tattooing in relation to my faith. It's fun to think about, though! By the way, Jeremy is Irish and loves your Celtic shield!

[Vibrating Liz]

They do sound beautiful, and I love the whole valuing of your body idea. But "permanence"? Alas, nothing about the body is "permanent."