Wednesday 26 July 2023

Recognise something?

While in one of the museum shops lately I saw this colouring-in book, called the World of Rune stones. I flicked through it quickly, and look what I saw! 
Recognise this one motif, already filled in on one of the pages..?


Yup, the same as what's been on my shoulder for the last (I think) 25 years!
It is a triskelion from a rune stone in Smiss on the island of Gotland. It symbolises movement and depicts an eagle, a snake and a bore.


I chose to have this done in a time when most of my peers were getting Chinese signs, tribal patterns or other tattoos that had nothing really to do with their own heritage. I wanted something connected rather to the Scandinavian history, and the idea of 'movement' attracted me as I was venturing out into the world.

Suitable too that the triskelion symbol is a powerful sign of magic; and for the Norse it represented Odin and his tricksy ways. A symbol for poets, historians and people with quick minds.

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