Tattoos and Secret Societies

Besides the hand shakes and the rituals, these are among the top most interesting aspects of secret societies in my opinion. From Icemen to common day people, cultures have used tattoos as a marking for clans, societies and elite forces.

So, what I would like is all the tattoos you can come up with that signify the marking of a secret society with the correct meaning of the said mark.

I want to be surprised with certain secret societies that I would have never believed used tattoos. I want to know if there are such things as secret societies for sailors. I know getting tattoos was very popular during world war 2. My grandfather has a tattoo as well, although it is fading.

My intial facination with this subject arose when reading the article about the Iceman found in the alps many years ago.

Well, lets see what you got ladies and gentlemen

Many Masons get tatoos as well, all though it is of course not something required or even necessarily sanctioned by our Order. On the other hand, I have to have admiration for those willing to proclaim their love of the Order on their own bodies. I don't have a tattoo myself, but I have friend who got a very extensive Masonic tattoo soon after his initiation. Wow!

Yup, that is the surprise I was looking for. I didn't think Masons would take on tattoos. Do you have any pictures and the significance of the symbolism?

Originally posted by DetectivePerez
Yup, that is the surprise I was looking for. I didn't think Masons would take on tattoos. Do you have any pictures and the significance of the symbolism?

Well, there are lots of people who get Square-and-Compasses. My friend got a picture of a Templar, which is not Masonic per se, but which is connected by tradition as described in "The Murdered Magicians." Let me see if I can find pictures on the web...

Ah-ha! A quick google search of "Masonic Tattoos" yielded this page. Please keep in mind that these tattoos are not regulated by a Grand Lodge, so some people might have a symbol they personally feel is "Masonic," but which is not a regular symbol. I like these tattoos, though, and have a lot of admiration for the guys who got them. Check out the guy who has his Master Mason's certifiate tattooed on his back! Amazing!

Very interesting. The thing that came to my attention like a red flag was this tattoo: Wor. Doug Talbot, P.M. of Valley Lodge #71. Orting, WA.



These are his exact words:

"I love researching history and am fascinated about how the fraternity came into being. The late Bro Robinson hit a powerful chord with me with his book Born in Blood and the thought that masons came out of Templar Knights that were needing a system of identification to get to somewhere that was safe and the entire Templar fleet became missing on Friday, Oct 13, 1307. I had wanted to have a tattoo done with Masonic meanings behind it but was always worried about certain�obligations�so I didn�t want to paint or print anything on my skin that would never be able to be removed (barring the painful tattoo removal process of course).

So with my history ideas in hand, I set to make a tattoo based on the Knight�s Templar cross�the Cross Pattee. And since there is a thought that becoming a mason makes us brothers to pirates and corsairs, I included that over it.

Thanks,
Doug Talbot"

A couple of questions. Where did he get the idea that becoming masons makes a mason brothers to pirates and corsairs?

Thanks for the Tattoo information and pics, keep it coming

[edit on 19-8-2004 by DetectivePerez]

I have the Celtic knot work, known as the Kings cross upon my left shoulder. Had it done almost a decade ago, I'll get pics of it up after I get them scanned in.

Nice Advisor. What does the symbol mean to you? Also included in this thread, I want to hear stories about the day you got it Were you pressured into getting it due to a friend? Lets hear some funny stories about tattoos as well Also, have there been any secret societies who adopted the Kings Cross?

[edit on 19-8-2004 by DetectivePerez]

Your the "Detective", I'll leave it up to you.



Just so you can't say I didn't leave a clue or two. I wasn't pressured, and the meaning of it to me is, that it is a symbolic connection between myself and my ancestors.

Originally posted by DetectivePerez
" And since there is a thought that becoming a mason makes us brothers to pirates and corsairs, I included that over it. "


A couple of questions. Where did he get the idea that becoming masons makes a mason brothers to pirates and corsairs?

Well, I'm going to assume that you are asking this innocently, and are not going to start a tirade about how Freemasons are eeeeeeevil just like pirates. Anyway, in much older versions of the ritual, it's been said that there was a statement that becoming a Mason "made you a brother to Pirates and Corsairs." Some historians have said that this was meant to indicate that people from all walks of life are Masons, and that a Mason had escaped a pirate because they were both Masons. Me, I feel that it was just something said to frighten the candidate a little, and make him realise that he was doing something serious, not just play-acting.

Alright, now I just sit back and await the accusations (not necessarily from you, DP)... "You admitted it! All Freemasons are pirates!" "There's a story saying a pirate spared a Freemason -- if you're only going to spare Freemasons, that means you Freemasons are going to kill all of us non-Masons!!" "Why are you frightening your candidates? Christ never frightened anyone!!" etc.

Well this certainly does open doors to a few questions. Such as, was Christopher Columbus a mason? Or, did Christopher Columbus' knowledge of the new world come from masons etc..IE, he knew where he was going before he embarked on his journey through knowledge learned by masons.

Back to Advisor.

While I am waiting for your uploaded pic, I have searched the Celtic Kings Cross.

my research has found:



Your tattoo will no doubt verify or correct this, but I was wondering since all symbols vary, I want to know what the small little variations mean.

So far I have found everything from a symbol of faith to a merger of old beliefs with new modern christian beliefs.

[edit on 19-8-2004 by DetectivePerez]

I have three tattoos:

A Chinese writing which symbolises strength and power, (inside of my arm just below the right hand)

Tweedy with a double barrel rifle, (left shoulder)

And The Tasmanian devil with a rebel flag giving the FU finger, (right upper leg pointing out)

But I don�t belong to any secret society so I don�t know if this count!

My next tattoo will be a rite I have written and I want it on my bag roasted in runes.

Bilbo

Originally posted by DetectivePerez
Well this certainly does open doors to a few questions. Such as, was Christopher Columbus a mason? Or, did Christopher Columbus' knowledge of the new world come from masons etc..

No doubt it does. John Robinson addressed exactly those questions in "Born in Blood." I personally think the evidence is extremely lacking. There is evidence of lots of pre-Columbian interaction between Europe and North America, but there's no evidence it had anything to do with Freemasons (or Knights Templar).

I read somewhere that there was a link between the De Medici family, Nostradamus and Christopher Columbus. I don't remember if the statement was that they were both employed by the De Medicis or not. The pirate thing just brought back some memories. Thanks for the information. I don't mean this in a harsh way, but the pirate thing could be why people link Skull and Bones to Freemasonry.

Lets see some more tattoos and discuss any tangent they bring up!

Edit: Here i found it.

This bloodline also connects to the de Medici family which supported Christopher Columbus and produced Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France who died in 1589. Her doctor was Nostradamus: It includes Rene d'Anjou, Duke of Lorraine, and the House of Lorraine which employed Nostradamus and Christopher Columbus. The bloodline relatives of the de Medicis and the House of Lorraine, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Spain, were also sponsors of Columbus when he "discovered" the Americas.

www.geocities.com...

[edit on 19-8-2004 by DetectivePerez]

Originally posted by DetectivePerez
I don't mean this in a harsh way, but the pirate thing could be why people link Skull and Bones to Freemasonry.

Not to worry. I've heard actual harsh statements about Freemasonry... simple innocent speculation doesn't bug me

Anyway, yes, I agree, that may well be a reason. The Skull and Bones definitely has a bit of a pirate theme! Of course, young people like me have an admiration for movie pirates (the lively, bon vivant ones, like from "Pirates of the Carribean."), but of course historical pirates were often evil jerks.

When I was in college in the late 80's it became very popular to have your fraternity letters tattooed on your ankle (of all places...) We only have two Greek letters "K.A." (Kappa Alpha for non-Greek speakers) so it was about 2/3 as painful for Greek-Letter Societies with 3 letters.

One Brother decided to have our Greek Motto tattooed in a circle around his letters...and he did....sort of. They misspelled the first word. Instead of "Fraters Usque Ad Aram Fideles" (Brothers Faithful Unto Death) it said "Fatres" I told him to go back to the tattoo artist and have him put an arrow pointing up and the letter "r" above it... He didn't find it nearly as amusing as I did, but then again, I'm not carrying around a misspelled tattoo with me for the rest of my life.

I'm going to be a sophmore in college in 4 days. I haven't joined a Fraternity yet, although I don't think I would get letters tattooed anywhere If i joined one. Speaking of Fraternities, does anyone know if Skull and Bones members have tattoos? I have heard of pins but never skull and bones tattoos.

Originally posted by DetectivePerez
Speaking of Fraternities, does anyone know if Skull and Bones members have tattoos? I have heard of pins but never skull and bones tattoos.

It's a good idea, when talking about these kinds of things, to make a distinction between "are there members of Skull-and-Bones that have tattoos related to that fraternity?" and "Is it a requirement of Skull-and-Bones that its members get tattoos?"

Just by way of saying, this leads to a lot of misunderstanding about Masonry... someone might say, "Are Freemasons Muslims?" If the question is "are there some Freemasons who are Muslims?" the answer is yes. If the question is "Are Freemasons required to be Muslims, or is there any Muslim doctrine inherent in Freemasonry?" then the answer is no.

"are there members of Skull-and-Bones that have tattoos related to that fraternity?" = "...skull and bones tattoos."

Originally posted by DetectivePerez
"are there members of Skull-and-Bones that have tattoos related to that fraternity?" = "...skull and bones tattoos."

Right on for clarity. You receive three Alex Kennedy Thumbs-Up !

As for the answer, I did a little internet search -- couldn't find anything. I wouldn't be surprised if some members of S&B got tattoos -- they are University students when they are tapped, after all. But I don't know for sure.

Originally posted by NeonHelmet
A Chinese writing which symbolises strength and power, (inside of my arm just below the right hand)

Are you sure? There was an news article recently about some of these. They really said "stupid ugly boy". Better check. (no, not kidding...true news)

Tweedy with a double barrel rifle, (left shoulder)

And The Tasmanian devil with a rebel flag giving the FU finger, (right upper leg pointing out)

Hmmm, are you really Scandinavian or from the rebel south USA? Those are like classic.