Egyptian Tattoos

Egyptian tattoos are some of the most popular and universal tattoo images done in the world today and borrow from mystical symbols that have been used in Ancient Egypt for the last 7000 years.

Egyptian tattoos actually represent the oldest known example of body art anywhere in the world. Clay figurines from about 4000 BC show that early tattoos involved elaborate dashes and dots that surrounded the body and acted as protection and were used for fertility rites. (Most of these early Egyptian tats were reserved for females only.)

Ironically it is the jewelry of this period and not their body art that informs Egyptian tattoos today. Egyptian culture saved its most precious symbols for its amulets---jewelry that worked on many spiritual levels. This can certainly be seen with the ankh, a powerful symbol for the key to spirituality and symbol for the afterlife, and one of the most popular Egyptian tat designs.

Other popular Egyptian tattoos include the Eye of Horus, Pyramids, and Hieroglyphics. The Eye of Horus is an interesting design as it is not only visually arresting, but tells the story of the Egyptian God Horus who lost his eye in battle and later reclaimed the power of magical sight. It should be no surprise that pyramids are common Egyptian tattoos that seem to illustrate the power of ancient wisdom and an almost new age connection to the stars. (Pyramids are believed to be ancient star gazing instruments.) And perhaps the most fascinating are images from the Book of the Dead, which used the highly visual hieroglyphic written language to illustrate power over death.

Egyptian tattoos are common but they can be difficult to do. If you’re thinking of getting one it’s important to look at the portfolio of your tattoo artist to see if they’ve done tats in the genre. It’s also good to see what these tattoos mean, and find out if that’s the symbolism you want on your body.

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