Question:
I am looking for some
Asatru-related temporary tattoos. I want the Elder Futhark as an arm band,
and also a Viking-style snake around the other arm, and an Eagle. These are
Odinist symbols. I want to have an armband on one arm of the Elder Futhark,
and on the other a wrap-around Snake (like a tattoo'ed arm ring) and a
Nordic-style Eagle. An large Elhaz by itself would be nice, also. Would
anyone know where I might find this type of thing? I don't want permanent
tattoos, just temporary. I'm also interested in the history of tattoo'ing
among the Vikings? I'm part Scottish (Scots), and the Picts were tattoo'ed,
according to the Romans. Was this practice ever common among the Norse?
Answer:
- In 'Risula' (sp?) Ibn Fadlan mentions that all the Rus were heavily
tattoo'ed.
I'm curious, why temporary? Why not permanent?
- Do you mean the Kievan Rus? The ancestors of the Russians? I haven't come
across this document. Is it available in book form? Or on a website?
Am I quoting it correctly - "nothing's forever but this rose tattoo"? Who
said it first, by the way?
- Just a brief nit-pick: there's no such thing as a temporary tattoo. Or,
depending on your point of view, all tattoos are temporary because your
body is temporary.
Are you maybe referring to some method where pigment is applied to the
outside of the skin (body paint, henna, whatever)? They are sometimes
called "henna tattoos", for example, but strictly speaking, they're not
tattoos...
Don't let anybody fool you into getting a "bio tattoo" (or "temptoo", or
whatever they call them in your country); no matter what they claim, these
will not magically disappear after five years. As soon as someone puts
pigment into (as opposed to "onto") your skin, it's as permanent as the
skin itself. Period.
(Sorry if I sound just a teensy bit upset here. I've just heard about
so-called "temporary" or "bio" tattoos a few weeks ago in one of the
bodyart newsgroups, and I'm still outraged at some of the things claimed by
the "professionals" who sell this kind of thing to unsuspecting people in
the face of all evidence.)
Anyway, speaking of the bodyart newsgroups, have you asked the people in
rec.arts.bodyart yet? They will have more information on tattoos and
non-temporary alternatives, and someone there will probably be able to
point you to a good artist in your area... But of course you can start
looking around on your own even before getting a recommendation (or
warning, as the case may be ; AFAIK most tattoo parlors and artists will
let you look through their flash (pattern/motive) books and artists'
portfolios without any obligation to buy anything, and many of the flash
books I've seen contain some Scandinavian/Viking-style motives, maybe even
some of those that you want (or something sufficiently close, that can be
easily modified to suit your wishes).
- If you draw up what you want most tattoo parlors can do it for you, as for
temporary tattoo's of that style good luck. You can always have someone put
the runes on you arm with a eyeliner or magic marker, the eyeliner comes off
easily, the magic marker will simply fade away with wear.
- Drawing designs onto your skin yourself (or, depending on the body part(s)
involved, having a friend draw them onto your skin) is a good way of
"trying on" tattoos... Someone else has already suggested two different
kinds of pen (IIRC); the rec.arts.bodyart Tattoo FAQ (accessible through
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bodyart/tattoo-faq/ or the RAB homepage at
http://www.rabbithole.org/) recommends two kinds of markers (Crayola's
washable markers for REALLY short-lived designs and any non-toxic permanent
marker for longer-lived ones) as well as mehendi (a henna-based
non-permanent skin dye). I can't really comment on this, since I haven't
had much experience with drawing things onto my skin since high school
and the only thing I've managed with mehendi so far was some sort of
brownish blob on my arm (though I know that experts can do miracles with
mehendi).
Tattoo artists use the following method to transfer designs from paper to
skin: First the design, or rather its outline, is drawn on some sort of
flexible paper (with a felt-tip pen, I assume; that's what the things "my"
artist used on me look like, anyway. I'm told that it's also possible to
use carbon paper for this). Then the skin is shaved (I assume this can be
skipped when you just want to "try on" the design and don't want to have it
tattooed in yet) and some sort of adhesive is rubbed on; then the design is
transferred to the skin by pressing the paper on.
(ObDisclaimer: I am not a tattoo artist, I'm just describing what I've seen
"my" artist do to my skin and what I've heard from other tattooed people.
But maybe you can find a tattoo artist who will explain the method in
greater detail, so you can use it for "trying on" your tattoo.)
There's also a company called Temptu (http://www.temptu.com/); they create
"stick-on" paper "tattoo" thingies and also sell different kinds of body
paint. From what I've heard, they not only sell their own "stick-on"
designs, but will also create custom designs according to your drafts.