Body Stung: The Power of Tattoo

this is a Celtic Spiral tattoo on my left shoulder done by the esteemed Pat Fish in Santa Barbara, Cali.

It embodies the movement, and the power of momentum. In the words of Pat herself its "the soul of the cosmos made visible".

I have several tattoos. Got them on different occasions from different individuals (both men and women). Happy to say that some of them are quite well known and for a good reason. I am proud of my tattoos because they are an indivisible part of me - they will go when I do.

Obviously, one can get a tattoo anytime they want - anywhere, the only prerequisite is to pay the fee and sometimes sign the agreement sheet that you are not holding the salon responsible if you don't like the work, but I think there is much more to the tattoo, and putting ink on your body without thinking is like driving drunk and without a license - it endangers you and those around you.

The markings on the body are as old as the Earth herself - there must have been an urgent need in an ancient man or a woman to mark themselves, while maintaining agility and awareness necessary to keep surviving. That is, verses markings that will not allow you for a movement for sometime, such as the Samoan p'ea. Because of its complexity and long time that takes to do it, an initiate will have to wait until the wounds, which are oftentimes dramatic will heal. They are invalid, cannot move and have to be fed by close family and friends.

I am not talking about that, since I have never taken part in a p'ea ceremony. But I thought of it, and after reading some material I wasn't sure anymore whether I really want to go through that ordeal. I am not really afraid of pain that much, but on that scale - well its a different thing and requires different resource both physical and not least financial.

One, my friends, should think hard before getting a tattoo. That is because (and reasons may vary depending on an individual) a tattoo is basically a window into your soul. It is the most intimate thing - to mark your body. And whether you want it or not it will be there forever - I don't believe a laser surgery can remove a tattoo completely - may be visually, but the mental scars will not only remain longer but intensify because of your commitment to be rid of that which caused you to have a tattoo.

A tattoo is an intimate piece, and you can make it up anyway you want depending on how you feel, and how your imagination dictates what you want. It is no wonder that many people get tats during their very tender teenage years, and those tats often times look like scribble, or something out of a horrid dream. This is because it is the imagination, and perhaps peer pressure dictate to the kid what they should be having, and since there are no parameters, and no rules - they come up with whatever they want. If there is a good day - the tattoo will reflect that, say with an image of a cake. If it is bad - a teary face, etc.

But beyond that, there is a kind of a tattoo that has nothing to do with what you feel. Yes, simply that. It is a tribal way, and it has to come to you. Of course one has to be a part of some tribe that has a tattoo in their culture to truly be an initiate, but what I am talking about is becoming a part of universal tribe that simply aims to make this world more beautiful by adding imagery to their bodies.

From what I see in the news media, the Internet, and just outdoors - many do succeed. The astounding beauty of the work completed multiplied by the awesome artistry of the technique and great planning. Or just a circle, a line, and ornament, or a symbol. When I feel that the tattoo clicks with my aesthetic I want to have one too, perhaps not same, but in a similar genre. I particularly like minimalist tattoos that are just simply ancient symbols, or their modern interpretation.

Tattoos, no matter how lovely you find them on other peoples' bodies should not be reproduced and serious salons and artists are very stern about that. Tattoo is a personalized symbol done on the individual's very skin so copying it is a disgrace to the artist. However, there are so called "flash" tattoos that are meaningless repetitions and others perhaps with some meaning in them. Whatever the case may be, please don't go into the salon and say - "I want a flash tattoo", that will just be laughable and show how immature you are to get one. Even if the tattoo that you chose is a generic symbol such as an "anchor" it will be done by a human being on your skin in a place where you will need it to stay forever and ever. Think about it.

The study of tattoo is a study of culture whist it comes. And I can't emphasize to you how important it is to know what the imagery embodied in the tattoo means. The images, coming from certain cultures were intended to mean something, and to empower its wearer - without that they would have no value in the society. And tattoos, such as the ta'moko of the Maori, the tatau, and others around the world have a tremendous value to their wearers. I think that is way different then seeing a famous star "inked". I frankly, feel that these people are often times emotionally unstable - their money and fame hasn't helped their consciousness to mature to the point were they can soberly decide about what they want. Otherwise, why would they mistreat their bodies in that way? In any case, I am not the one who should be judging them, but it is my opinion, and a point of this blog, that one should think hard and for a long time if needed, before they put a tat on their bodies. Study and learn what is it that you really want to say, and whether that will say just that. If success, it is a life time satisfaction - physical and spiritual, and also other that is hard to explain.

Poem: Morning Tai Chi

In the following number of blogs I will publish some poems that I have wrote in the past. Some of them seem silly now, but anyways, I think someone might enjoy them just as a momentary outburst if nothing more. Thank you for your attention,

Iggy Spirit.

 

 

 

Morning Tai Chi

Years go by fast
The kids are getting older
But I am still a kid untouched by time
Others ask me, "Why don't you be more responsible? Grow up!"
I just smile and shrug my shoulders - there is nothing else I can answer them.
Well, sometimes I tell them to grow up instead.
I am sad about those past and happy about those present.
There is a deep silence within me.
Little do we know young or old - we are strange creatures and I am strange too
What can the riches of the world do to me? Or fame and glory?
I am just too pessimistic to argue.
Nothing really matters but a cup of tea or wine, and a good company,
I do Tai Chi in the morning every day - could this be a reason for all this chaos?
Yes, or no, whatever the answer may be, that doesn't matter either.
Perhaps time will have some answers - perhaps not.

Invite Eris to your feast.

Greetings, I am Iggy Spirit, and my today's blog post is about a myth, a very educational myth that came down to us from the Ancient Greeks.

As you may recall from Hesiod, the marriage of hero Peleus and Thetis, a sea goddess was a major event that was celebrated by both humans and gods. Reason for that being that Thetis, who was known for her extreme beauty was being wooed by Zeus himself, with only one small problem - he received a prophecy that Thetis's son was going to become greater than his own dad. Zeus, being an autocrat and not willing  to surrender his throne to anyone, even his own son, decided to marry Thetis off to a human hero, one of the Argonauts - Peleus, who was famous for his warrior's prowess and good looks.
    There was everyone invited to the wedding and they all came with their own special gifts: to make life for the newlyweds exceptionally comfortable. But there was one guest that was ignored, Eris - the Goddess of Discord wasn't invited to the table. She was known to start trouble and nobody liked her. Eris became really upset, as she was sensitive and threw in a gift that became a center of attention at the wedding - it was a golden apple with an inscribed sign "to the most beautiful". Gold was especially valuable in those days, and a piece such as this funny object would of course be a very valued edition to anyone's treasure chest - goddess' or not.
     In any case,  three goddesses became enamored with the quest of being titled the most beautiful, Mother of the Gods Hera, the Virgin Goddess of warrior wisdom Athena, and the Goddess of Love and female beauty Aphrodite. The argument escalated to the point where goddesses had to look for a human referees, who became Paris, a young shepherd who was also a long lost son of the Trojan king Priam.
      Well, what is a point of this "apple of discord"? I think it is obvious that if Eris would have been invited to the marriage despite her wicked role on the Olympus, there would probably be no discord at all.   
      All the wedding planner had to think of was to how to keep discord happy and content. Apparently, no one really cared to think that Eris was what she was because she was created that way by all the years of neglect and ignoring by her fellow Gods on the Mount Olympus. So, the lesson is - do not neglect discord, and feel free to invite her to your private party. Why? Oh simply out of compassion, and also deeper vision. Look beyond into the personality of the discord and see that behind the seemingly malicious behavior there's a hurt individual, and who knows may be if you do it a few times Discord will turn into Harmonia.

Take care, and keep drawing great inspiration from the ancient mythology!

Mythological Reality

When I was a kid growing up in Tiraspol (now Transnistria, then part of the Moldavian SSR) I have gotten my hands on many books, probably like many children at the time. There was no Internet and the data streamed through the old and new pages of the bind sheets of paper. I was fascinated by the world of books. My parents even gave me books about the books, such as their history as well as history of the printing press and so on. At that early age I was introduced to the wonders of encyclopedia.

The first true remembering comes to me about the book Myths and Legends of the Ancient Greece, which included the Argonauts and the Heracles' 12 Deeds. The drawings were fascinating black and white pencil drawings, which were very true to live. I was drawn into that world, and traveled extensively with the Argonauts and Heracles on their journeys. I didn't realize how far-reaching the effect of the Greek Myths would be on my life, but indeed they have shaped a lot of my present spiritual believes.

In that tender age I didn't realize that myths are not really myths, they are "religious" writings in the sense that the cultures that gave birth to them were concerned with the transmission of the accumulated knowledge as much as with the entertainment if not more. The singing of these stories wasn't a mindless form of entertainment - it was meant to enlighten, teach, give you a good footing in the labyrinths of life. Besides, the stories introduced the listener to a special reality where the accumulation of power and wisdom was instant as was the communion with the gods. A listener went away empowered, and never forgot that voice of Homer, Bayan, or any of the other in the myriad of now forgotten names of talented story-tellers, and performers.

The Myths were the first and major form of entertainment for me personally, because they were so interesting, so enticing, and the drawings so well-done. I fell in love with the characters and their courage divided by each one personally, without realizing that these heroes weren't human but super-human - they possessed special talents in either sports or arts, and were a force to be reckoned with on their own. Jason was a powerful prince-leader. Heracles a strong man like no other. Castor and Pollux were god-like bowman and boxer, Orpheus a musician of such genius that even the gods would request his audience, and so on. I also didn't realize that each one of these had a cult of their own, and was worshipped in the Greek world. However, this aspect wasn't important to me then, but what became important is that these heroes were on the journey through the unknown lands and fought monsters, showing their prowess, finally returning to their destination - their home stronger and wiser, and sometimes not, sometimes not returning at all.

Other times they, like Jason himself became infatuated with power, and forgot those who gave it to them, Medea, the sorceress lover/wife, without whom he wouldn't know how to steal the Golden Fleece. As a result of his arrogance and ignorance Jason loses his children when Medea kills them in a fit of rage after which she kills herself. He then is doomed to spend his life lamenting, with his years ending tragically - he goes up on his Argo, the ship that took him on his journey, he scorns at the gods and his life. At the dramatic moment the floor under him cracks and he falls to his death.

The idol that made Argo invulnerable was a specially carved statuette a "paladi" of Athena Pallatha, the Wise Virgin Goddess. Only with her approval were the heroes willing to venture forth. In fact no self-respecting hero would ever go anywhere far and dangerous without her blessing, the incarnation of Wisdom. This makes you sort of think about wisdom in more practical terms.

There are many metaphors and such in the story of Argonauts, and the ones that I mentioned are only a cap of the iceberg. The Argonauts were a team, and drew their power from the understanding of their goals and their mission. Not unlike modern Navy they took great risks with the jolly and light heart, trusting their power and their patron deities. These are some of the adult lessons that I am able to learn later in life, and I am grateful to that little book that my Mom brought me from the library one evening. I will continue discussion about the myths in subsequent posts.

Embrace It.

I was compelled to write this blog post after reading a post on a similar topic by the esteemed Galina Krasskova in her lovely blog called the "Ganglieri's Grove" under the title "Loving Savage Gods" which can be found in the following link.

https://krasskova.wordpress.com/?s=loving+savage


If you have accepted the long list in a never-ending series of the multitude of forms of that which I call simply That-Which-Is-Out-There, or just the Great Out There for the fact that it is outside of our Selves, you  have probably also accepted the fact that among the other things one of the major ruling forces in the adept's lives becomes one that rules truly by an iron hand and which on the bodily level is interpreted as the tremble, a shake one gets when the intensity of perception is drastically raised. It is definitely a higher state of consciousness if you haven't wasted it on freaking out.

These special awe-inspiring states where artificially induced with the help of the musical instruments and body movements, incantations, power plants and power objects and where considered sacred by the adepts and shamans of old. These are the workings of the Great Out There, the force that is capable of disintegrating the personal self to which we have long been clinging, and even kill....Unless we except and deal with it through an intense process of learning, which is what the whole process is for!

During this special, sacred time one is truly checked for their wits and guts, their stamina and their patience, and indeed sees the "face of terror". While sounding somewhat cryptic and even archaic this may have been the point underlying many "shamanic" initiations as without this special awe-inspiring sense they would be just tasteless, like a good meal without its salt. It is that image and aspect of the Deity that is not nice, not pleasant, and does not play favorites. It equalizes the rich and poor under the same umbrella of fearsomeness and ruthlessness, which is also strangely enough -  love.

Indeed, if one is addicted to the sweetness of whatever it is, as Galina rightfully points out we are venerating only a part of a god, our own idea which is limited, not the God who is limitless. In order for a devotion to be true one has to embrace the sweet and the bitter, and the whatever else life may bring - it is all part of it! The underlying reality of worship is what is sometimes being referred to as "the mind and the eyes of god"  - it is a full merging of a personal and god consciousnesses. Of course that is easier said then done, but it is not impossible! We simply have to forget all that we learned, go to our roots, listen to our ancestors, take care of our personal history, do a little bit of daily practice or worship,
and so it happens.

That said, it is easy to fall into an extreme of thinking that whatever your mood, or personal inclination is at the moment - that is just it, that is the face of god. It is, and you may be right, but it is impermanent, it is transitional, and there is no need to be stuck on any one mood. Time passes, the night becomes young again, and the great Goddess of the Dawn will shine at your face as if saying, "Don't you worry kid - the world IS ruled by love".