Today’s card isn’t a card. It’s me showing off some new Tarot art that I picked up this weekend. The artist is Dirk Mellot of Epiphany Tattoos in Aurora, CO. No, I wasn’t in Colorado this weekend. Dirk was one of the invited artist for the Body Art Expo here in Austin. I’ve been friends with his wife for a while now so it was a prime opportunity to see him. And I decided to get a tattoo while he was here.
Dirk asked me to name two to three cards so I went with my birth cards. You can learn more about yours reading Bonnie Cehovet’s excellent book Tarot, Birth Cards, and You: Keys to Empowering Yourself (Schiffer, 2011) [aff}. Mine are the one triad. Interestingly, my best friend shares the same birth card combination.
Sitting for this was not easy. It is a large piece and the largest I have. I would love to say that I tranced out going on a beautiful metaphysical journey.
That would be a big fat lie.
It hurt. Not as bad as others because Dirk really does have a light hand, but by the end of the three hour session, I was ready to bounce off the table. 😀 I did laugh like a loon for parts of it–endorphin rush. And had to catch a pedi-cab to find where I parked my car. 🙂 Seriously.
Then when I got home, I ate, walked the dogs and crashed for about twelve hours. But I’m so glad I did this. It’s on my outer calf (right side) so anyone who sees it will know Tarot is important to me. I love that the cards are Dirk’s interpretations. The Magician is captured beautifully for me. I forgot to ask him if he meant to represent the Heiros Gamos that way.
Tattoos are one of those decisions you can’t go back on. Once the first line is laid down, you kind of have to let the artist finish. I had a serious OH SHIT moment walking the dogs this morning because this really is a large piece. I guess you could say it is a signature tattoo. It’s mine and there won’t be another like it ever. I had to wrap my mind around the fact that I just put a large “I’m different” stamp on my body where everyone could see it.
What about you? Ever make a decision that couldn’t be revoked? How did you handle that? Did you have any “oh shit what have I done” moments? How did you work through those?
In this life we are given, there will always be those “oh shit what have I done” times. The key is understanding that what’s done is done. Now you move forward.
Luckily for me, I get to move forward with a really impressive tattoo representing me and my love for the art of Tarot. No more oh shit. Just a lot of leg gazing. 😀
Birth Cards Tattoo by Dirk Mellot of Epiphany Tattoo (Auroro, CO), July 27, 2013, photo by J. Mellot
Ha, I’ve had several of those “Oh Shit” moments. Most that I can bring to mind now were to do with getting pregnant. That changes your life forever, too 😀 Back to your tat, and I think it looks amazing! The roses around the outside are an inspired touch, too 🙂