TATTOO DESIGNS

Death tattoos: angels of death (1)

Angel of Death tattoo

Although Grim Reaper is the most common theme for the so-called death-tattoos, there are many people who choose a different representation of the Death: skeletons, demons, monsters, etc. One of the most popular choices is the "Angel of Death" theme.

The origin of the representations should be sought in the ancient religious texts (the Bible and the rabbinical literature). In these texts, there is no just one Angel of the Death.

Angel of the Death was created by God on the first day. He has twelve wings and is full of eyes. In the hour of death he stands at the head of the departing one with a drawn sword, to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying man sees the angel, he is seized with a convulsion and opens his mouth, whereupon the angel throws the drop into it. ('Ab. Zarah 20b;) The expression "the taste of death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a drop of gall.

The Memitim - a type of angel from biblical lore associated with the mediation over the lives of the dying. The name is derived from the Hebrew word mĕmītǐm and refers to angels that brought about the destruction of those whom the guardian angels no longer protected.

Abaddon (The Destroyer) - in Revelation 9:7-11, Abaddon is described as "The Destroyer", "the Angel of the abyss", and as the king of a plague of locusts resembling horses with crowned human faces, women's hair, lions' teeth, wings, and the tail of a scorpion that torment people for five months. Abaddon is also called Apollyon.

Samael - a controversial figure who is an accuser, a seducer and a destroyer, and has been regarded as both good and evil. Sometimes he is a member of the heavenly host (with often grim and destructive duties), in the New Testament named Satan and the chief of the evil spirits. One of Samael's greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the angel of death. He remains one of the Lord's servants even though he appears to want men to do evil. As a good angel, Samael resides in the seventh heaven, although he is declared to be the chief angel of the fifth heaven.

Satan / Angel of Death tattoo

Sometimes Satan is identified as the Angel of Death. When the Messiah comes all the dead will arise, and there will be an end to death; for the angel of death himself will be destroyed by the Messiah. Satan, as the angel of death, is identified here with Antichrist. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Cor. xv. 26; compare Heb. ii. 14). The same idea seems to be expressed in the Book of Jubilees xxiii. 29: "And they shall fulfil all their days in peace and joy, and shall live on, since there will be no Satan and no evil to destroy them."

St Michael / the archangel Michael tattoo

In the Roman Catholicism, the archangel Michael is viewed as the good Angel of Death (as opposed to Samael, the controversial Angel of Death), carrying the souls of the deceased to Heaven. There, he balances them in his scales (one of his symbols). He is said to give the dying souls the chance to redeem themselves before passing as well.

Other Angels of Death: Gabriel the Angel of Death over the kings; Ḳapẓiel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mashḥit over children; Af and Ḥemah over man and beast.

Sometimes, there is no designated angel of death - death is viewed under form of an angel sent from God, a being deprived of all voluntary power. The "angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (II Kings xix. 35). "The destroyer" ("ha-mashḥit") kills the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex. xii. 23), and the "destroying angel" ("mal'ak ha-mashḥit") rages among the people in Jerusalem (II Sam. xxiv. 15). In I Chron. xxi. 15 the "angel of the Lord" is seen by David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem."

Death tattoos: the main depictions of the Grim Reaper

There are a variety of different ways that the Grim Reaper can be portrayed as a tattoo symbol. Most Grim Reaper tattoo designs portray the Reaper in a long black robe with his famous long scythe. The Grim Reaper can be shown holding his scythe in a variety of different positions, such as the front or over his shoulder. Due to the length of the robe, only certain parts of the Reaper are usually shown. Skeleton hands are usually seen holding the long scythe. Mostly, the legs are not visible and the Grim Reaper is depicted floating at some distance above the ground (occasionally surrounded by some green or blue mist). The face of the Grim Reaper is usually portrayed as a skeleton skull, with an evil grin and burning eyes. However, some Grim Reaper tattoos show the Grim Reaper as "faceless".

grim reaper / skeleton tattoo on the arm

Grim reaper tattoo - the most common representation of the Grim Reaper: a skeleton wearing a flowing black cloak and carrying a scythe; the skeleton has an evil grin on his face

faceless grim reaper tattoo / angel tattoo

faceless Death

floating Grim Reaper carrying a young girl

floating Grim Reaper; the legs are not visible

Sometimes, the Grim Reaper is depicted riding his legendary pale (or sometimes black) horse. This reference is from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as mentioned in the Christian Bible. Each horseman is named after the power he represents. The fourth horseman - the Death - is described as riding a pale horse. Sometimes the Greek word “chloros” translates the horse’s color as “green” or “pale green” which could be a reference to the green skin color of the deathly ill or recently deceased. It is actually the third horseman that rides a black horse; however many grim reaper tattoos feature the Reaper riding this horse possibly due to the traditional interpretation of the color black representing famine, decay and death.

Death / Grim Reaper riding his black horse

Grim Reaper riding his legendary Black Horse

the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Death is riding the pale-green horse

In some tattoos, the Death / Grim Reaper is depicted seated on a throne of skulls or on a throne decorated with human skulls. Sometimes, the Death's throne is in the top of a huge pile of human bones and skulls.

The Death's throne, decorated with human skulls

Other depictions (e.g.: Grim Reaper sitting on the bed of a dying man, sitting on branch of a dead tree, sitting on a cross, etc), although present in some tattoos, are not so popular as the above mentioned depictions: the floating Grim Reaper, Grim Reaper riding his horse, Grim Reaper on his throne.

Death looking for a victim

mother Grim Reaper and a Grim Reaper child

unusual depiction of the Grim reaper with a baby Grim Reaper

Death Tattoos / Grim Reaper Tattoos: themes and meanings

Grim Reaper (also referred to as the Angel of Death) is a figure commonly used to represent death. The Grim Reaper became prominent in folklore during the Middle Ages, displacing earlier conceptions of Death as a benevolent, female figure. In 1479 in Cardiff, Duroc, seemingly a representation of Death who resembled a walking skeleton, appeared.

The Grim Reaper is often depicted as a skeleton or as a solemn-looking man wearing a flowing black cloak and carrying a scythe, who cuts off people's lives as though he were harvesting grain. Legend has it that he appears when one is nearing death to separate the human soul from the physical body using his sharp scythe. The Grim Reaper then chaperones the soul to its final destination (Heaven or Hell) and moves on to his next “appointment.” Although the Reaper is not a ghost, his is invisible and present at the moment of death.

Grim Reaper tattoos meanings:

The Grim Reaper and the Skull were often used as symbols in medieval and renaissance art as a stark reminder of the fact that life is finite and hints powerfully at the afterlife that awaits us. Various aphorisms and reflections (like "Memento mori", which can be translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die") can be included in the design of these tattoos.

Carpe Diem (Seize the day)- the Grim Reaper tattoo can be a symbolic reminder that we are all mortal and to live life to the fullest and to accept your fate with bravery.

Death tattoos are very common among solders. As it represents courage, bravery, and not being afraid of death. You accept life for as it is, and strongly follow your goals.

Someone who has survived a grievous accident or life-threatening illness might get a Grim Reaper tattoo as a symbol of their triumph over death, or to remind themselves that just because they escaped once does not mean their future is certain.

The idea that "Life's a laugh and death's a joke" - usually, these tattoos contain comical or cartoon-like elements.

Below are several pictures with Grim Reaper tatoos:

Grim Reaper tattoo covering the shoulder and the upper arm

Black and white Grim Reaper tattoo

Death tattoo combining various elements: a skull, a clock - symbol of the of the relentless flow of time, a rose - a symbol of the ephemeral and the Latin phrase "Memento mori"

Another failed kanji / hanzi tattoo

Yesterday I found this image on tattooingtattoodesigns dot com.

This tattoo can be found in the section called "asian tattoo design", but, if you ask me, it should be placed in a category called "Failed tattoos" or "misspelled tattoos", or something of this kind.

First, the translation of the ideograms is completely wrong: it's not "I am a goddess" (as the person who posted the photo thinks), it's just the word "goddess" awfully written.

The word 女神 (pronunciations: nǚshén in Chinese, joshin or megami in Japanese) is composed by these two ideograms:

the chinese / japanese ideogram for woman

This ideogram means "woman", "female"

the chinese / japanese ideogram for gods

This ideogram means "gods", "soul" or "mind". The ideogram is composed by two parts which MUST always be written together, not split in two, as the tattooer did in this case.

In the pictures below you can see the correct writing of this word:

goddess written in chinese / japanese - vertical writing

the word "goddess" written with Chinese / Japanese ideograms - (vertical writing)

goddess written in chinese / japanese - horizontal writing

the word "goddess" written with Chinese / Japanese ideograms - (horizontal writing)

The tattoo so proudly displayed on that girl's neck is just an embarrassing misspelled tattoo, but fortunately, due to its small size and its simplicity, it can be easily covered with another tattoo.

Failed tattoos : misspelled tattoos 2

The first part of this post can be read here: Failed tattoos - misspelled tattoos 1. And now, let's see another series of failed tattoos:

You're right, dude, the pain is temporary (or tempary, like you've said), but your tattoo is not

Failed tattoo - tough guy with a misspelled tattoo on the forearm

"To young to die / to fast to live". How about this one: "too illiterate to get a tattoo" - how does it sound?

"Dance like noone is watching" - yeah, sure, dance like "noone" is watching and write like no one will ever read it

Failed tattoo - a girl with a misspelled tattoo on the foot

Who need a "guardian angel", anyway? A "gaurdian angel" is far more better than the old-fashioned "guardian angel"

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo: gaurdian angel

"a coment?" I'll leave a comment right here: "comment" is written with two “m” 's, not one

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo on the head

Failed tattoos : misspelled tattoos 1

Unless you're getting a temporary tattoo, it's important to double check - even triple check - things like spelling and translations. These guys, apparently, didn't know this rule :)
Now, let's start the show:

This dude things he's "too cool for scool". Well, let's say he's too stupid for school:

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo on the arm

This tough young fellow seems to know what he wants from life. Ok, dude, you've made your point: we'll let God to "Juge you" and we'll just laugh at you.

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo on the back

It's summser timme. It's timme to have somme fun... or maybe it's time to learn how to spell "summer": s-u-m-m-e-r - as you can see, it's not a difficult word.

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo on the upper arm

This year, forget about Puerto Rico. Let's visit "Puerto Rirco", the new attraction of South America:

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo: Puerto Rirco

"Swet pee?" I can't argue with her, I've never tasted pee :)

Failed tattoo - misspelled tattoo on the lower back

A cool guy... or a bad woman?

Recently I found this image on freetattoos.net (the image's url is: http://www.freetattoos.net/designs/8890)

First, let's take a look at the picture:

kanji fails: the kanji for 'bad woman' tattooed on a man's shoulder

Well, I don't know what this dude thinks about his tattoo and why is he so proud of it because the meaning of the tattoo (悪女; reading: akujo) is "bad woman" or "wicked woman" which, let's face it, isn't exactly an appropriate tattoo for a man. But who knows, maybe he is trying to get in touch with his feminine side :)

Now, let's see what the person who uploaded the picture thinks about it:
title="Tattoo of Chinese Letters Kanji on the Back" (the description of the image is included in the Html code to share on Myspace, Blogs and other Social Networks:)

As if it weren't bad enough that the tattoo itself is pretty weird, the description is even worse:
1. The Chinese ideograms are called Hanzi and the Japanese ideograms are called Kanji. The "Chinese Letters Kanji" is a nonsense.
2. Both the Hanzi and the Kanji are ideograms, not letters (is a big difference between the two concepts)
3. The ideograms of the tattoo are Kanji, not Hanzi, because the ideogram 悪 is not used in Chinese; in Chinese we have those ideograms instead: 惡 (in the traditional Chinese) and 恶 (in the modern / simplified Chinese)