The History Behind All Aztech Tattoos

By Adam Craven


Aztec tattoos have religious and spiritual meanings. Tattooing was only carried out as part of a religious ceremony. They honor the gods, identify tribes, and portray the status of an individual. They also tell a individual life story recording births, deaths, crucial life events and accomplishments. All are complex, colorful, and uniquely stylized pictures. The Aztecs believed the gods were involved in daily life and were responsible for achievements in life and success in battle. Daily rituals were needed to safe the favor of the gods. Since their original language is not nicely understood, many popular tattoo pictures have numerous interpretations.

Probably the most essential god, the sun god Huitzilopochtli, was each the patron of life who guarded the heavens, and also the god of war. He was the centerpiece to the Aztec calendar. Sun god tattoos might be depicted with any style face centered within a ray pattern. They are designed in various colors. Right now the sun god usually represents a belief in an afterlife.

The feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl is the most effective god. He represents wisdom and intelligence along with the priesthood. This image could be the whole serpent, or the focus might be on the head. Some feathered serpent tattoos use a human body.

Coatlicue will be the mother of the sun, the stars, along with the moon. She is known as the Mother of Gods and the Goddess of Earth. She controls life, death, and fertility. Her image is simply recognized by the skirt of snakes. A tattoo of Coatlicue can express reverence for life, or memorialize a birth or death.

The crocodile is really a popular tattoo chosen to show fearlessness. He's not really a crocodile. He's a monster like creature that closely resembles a crocodile.

The warrior god as well as the eagle are frequently placed together on the correct shoulder. The warrior god, Tezcatlipoca, is usually pictured with his tongue sticking out and a fierce expression on his face. He signifies the journey of the soul to the afterlife. The eagle was revered for his flying skills, powerful nature, and huge size. He represents energy, strength and courage. The warrior gets his strength from the eagle.

The calendar is an elaborate design displaying facial images of mythological characters surrounding the sun. Every single creature represents a month. Each creature imparts spiritual characteristics to those born in that month. Several of essentially the most common tattoos are based on the mythic creatures of the calendar. Also dates of particular events were and can be recorded with this design.

The Aztecs produced many different physique art employing imagery of the stars, moon, princesses, and animals. The most widespread placement for animal tattoos is the arm. Large designs could be attractively placed on the shoulder, back or stomach. Well-known placement for smaller designs are the wrist, ankle, and back of neck.

Hundreds of supernatural beings exist within the Aztec pantheon. There are lots of stunningly stunning designs to select from. All are elaborate, complex designs characterized by straight lines and typical curves and angles. These of Aztec descent frequently pick Aztec tattoos to honor their heritage. Others are attracted to a particular symbol or creature simply because they identify using the meaning expressed. Creatures from the calendar are frequently chosen for their spiritual characteristics or to mark the date of a particular event.




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