Spirit and Flesh: The Spiritual Experience of Getting a Tattoo

Last updated on: November 7, 2017 at 11:56 am by Guest Contributor

Spirit and Flesh: The Spiritual Experience of Getting a Tattoo 2017-11-07T11:56:43-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

the author’s ghost tattoo

Aaron greets me at the counter of Carmel Ink: “What can I do for you today?”

“I’m looking for a ghost tattoo.”

Most of my tattoos are religious in nature–not the traditional flash pieces pulled from the wall, praying hands with rosaries, Celtic crosses, or scripted Bible verses with “blessed” in them. No, I carry a Micah 4:6 tattoo, I will gather the outcasts, a bleeding Arabic “N” to memorialize those martyred in the Middle East, and the word Catholic, written in Greek (καθολικός), to remember the day I became Catholic. I have 30 or so others, describing my faith in various ways, little reminders of this strange journey I’m on.

So a ghost tattoo seems fitting. The night before was All Soul’s Day–the day we remember the faithful departed and pray for them to be released from purgatory. I’m a nominal Catholic at best, agnostic-ish, but even in times of darkened or absent faith, how can I forget the memories of my loved ones? St. Thomas got to stick his fingers in the wrists of Jesus’ ghostly re-appearance, proving, to Thomas at least, that he was no mere ghost at all.

In my hazy doubt, I actually went to Mass and offered up my prayers for those gone before me.

Some members of my family were devout Catholics. Like my grandfather. He would drop my grandmother off at the Baptist church and then attend Mass at the adjacent Catholic Church. I attended services at the Baptist church with my family and always wondered why my grandfather was waiting for us when our service was over. “His church is always done first,” I often thought to myself. “I want to go there.” Decades later, I struggle to sit through a 50-minute Mass.
Most of my family were Baptists. They were slave owners, and, I’m sure, heavy drinkers. We can trace our lineage eight generations back. My family moved from the early Virginia colonies to Fayette County, now Lexington, Kentucky, and were the founding members of David’s Fork Baptist Church. If anyone needs prayer to help usher them into the Kingdom, I thought, it’s them.

I also offered up prayers for my wife’s side of the family–all baptized Catholics, from Italy. TRUE Catholics. The most Catholic of Catholics. My wife tells stories of how her father would make the sign of the cross every time they drove past a cemetery. I make the sign of the cross when a song by a dead artist comes on the radio. But lately, these aren’t “classic” artists, they’re the artists of my generation. The older I get, ghosts are more and more a part of my life.

Earlier in the day, at a Sick Pilgrim meet up in Indianapolis, we had a conversation about how when you sleep, you leave a part of yourself behind. Your sweat, your dead skin cells, maybe even a little drool on a borrowed pillow. Kind of disgusting when you think about it, but in a way, it’s spiritual. Your memory remains, along with a bit of your DNA. In a funny way, I felt a ghost tattoo was a good way to honor the dead, but also the fact that I was moving on from my stay in Indiana, but I hope I’ll haunt the minds of the friends I made there.

But I came not only for the ink, but for the ritualistic experience of getting the ink. I mention this to Aaron, and he lights up. It’s obvious that he’s tattooed his share of cliche ink. He’s excited to talk with a patron on a more spiritual level.
“It’s the second oldest profession behind prostitution,” he tells me. “There’s a release of energies when you get tattooed. Your body is being traumatized, and the natural responses of the immune system kick in to bring life and healing to that area.”

Aaron speaks like a cleric, I realize, and with his smile, he knows he’s about to engage in a spiritual exchange with me. I love it. I ritualistically submit to his artistry. The ritual includes properly cleansing and shaving the area, then painstakingly applying the stencil, before the final “Are you ready?” as the buzzing needle nears my eager skin.

“Do it,” I say, and close my eyes as the blood begins to come to the surface, and a ghost becomes a permanent part of my living flesh.

John Robinson is a U.S. Army veteran. He’s an administrator of the Sick Pilgrim Community, a special education teacher, and a heavy metal and tattoo enthusiast.

Previous Post

November 5, 2017

Dark Devotional: The Book of Judith

Next Post

November 9, 2017 Five Lessons I Learned from Dorothy Day

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Approaching Mystery art Book Reviews Catholic Ghost Story Catholicism community Confession Current Events Dark Devotional Deconstruction Deconstruction Fellow Travelers I Want To Believe Interview Laudato Si Lent Mary Matthew's Letters Movie Reviews Music Reviews Our Charism Personal Essay Pilgrims Pope Francis Popular Piety Prayer Publishing Richard Beck Saints Satan Sheed and Ward Sick Pilgrim Charism Sick Pilgrim Chats Sick Pilgrim Events Sick Pilgrim Travelin' Medicine Show Sick Pilgrimage to The West Sick Pilgrims Small Joys Spiritual Autobiography Spooky Files of Ave Maria Magazine Spooky October Spooky Pilgrim Spooky Pilgrimage Strange Journey The Inklings Things Keeping Us Going Trying to Say God TV Reviews Uncategorized women in the Catholic Church Wonder Podcast Write the Vision

Select a Month February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: According to Hebrews, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE