Tattoo Designs | Tattoo Ideas

Hot Metal and Skulls 'n' Bones
When most people think of bikers they think of gang members with menacing biker tattoos. The reality is that biker gangs only represent 1% of actual bikers. We have all heard of The Nomads and Gypsy Jokers who represent the outlaw side of bikers. The ones you see whizzing past you on the freeway most likely are biker enthusiasts. Having said that the sound of fifty Harley Davidson bikes in your rear view mirror can be daunting!

Bikers have long since being misaligned in the public eye and are constantly on the receiving end of bad press. The ones you hear about are the One Percenters as they are known by biker enthusiasts. Their world is one of turf wars, conflict with police and criminal activity including the manufacturing of speed and ice.

People join bikers gangs such as the outlaw motorcycle club for many different reasons. One of the main things was the brotherhood or comradeship. It's similar to the army or anything like that, with discipline and codes of honour. The main reason seems to be freedom - the freedom of the biker lifestyle, and most of all, the freedom of the open road. All bikers crave the same thing - the pure adrenaline rush of two wheels at high speed.

The image is of freedom but the reality is of harsh discipline from the club to enforce its rules. Arthur Veno has spent 20 years studying and associating with the clubs. According to his research, new recruits are from lower-working-class or underclass backgrounds, looking for stability.

Those rules are things like you're not to touch another member's wife or partner, no backing out on fights, if you see one person fighting, it's got to be everybody in. No use of heroin in particular seems to be the rule. No missing 'church', which is their equivalent of their meeting, which occurs every week.

Club rules vary, but most have been adapted from those of the Hell's Angels in the US. The clubs themselves are generally not involved with criminal activities as such. There is, however, no doubt that individual members within the clubs are involved in criminal activities.

Everyone has their own perception or biker gangs whether or not that it is the right perception. A lot of people have the wrong perceptions of bikers not helped by the generally scary imagery favored by bikers as tattoos. Generally the perception of bikers as being violent thugs is one of misperception.

Biker tattoos usually depict the biker gang the biker belongs to. Skull and dice tattoos are can often be seen on bikers along with fantasy style and Norse tattoos depicting mythical creatures. As mentioned earlier it is hard to tell the difference between bikers who belong in gangs and those who are weekend enthusiasts who are retired or work in the corporate world. Just be careful when chatting to that burly dude at the bar next time...

By Tao

The Dove is a symbol of the Holy Ghost in some Christian denominations and is often used in representations of the Baptism of Jesus Christ, and the Pentecost. Most will be familiar with the Bible story of the Great Flood, and of God commanding Noah to build an Ark capable of carrying two of every animal and bird.

 According to the Bible, God then released torrential rains that caused the whole world to flood, and only Noah and his family and the creatures aboard the Ark survived. After many weeks at sea, Noah released first a Raven, then a Dove, to search for land. The Dove returned with an olive branch, and Noah and his family rejoiced in the knowledge that the floodwaters were retreating. The Dove became a powerful symbol as a harbinger of hope.

Others believe that the flight of a released dove also symbolizes the release of the soul in death.

Choose your own dove tattoo design by the world's top tattoo artists at tattoo Johnny and buy the perfect dove tattoo design for you.

By Vanishing

The caduceus derives from the Greek 'karykeion', meaning 'staff of the herald'. It was the symbol of the power to harm or to heal. It appears in images of the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth, as a magic rod with twin snakes. Other variations show a staff entwined with twin serpents, topped with a pair of wings, or a winged sun and no snakes. Originally, those twin snakes may have been ribbons attached to the wings, eventually evolving into serpents.

Greek legend tells of a seer who, coming upon a pair of copulating serpents, tried to separate them by thrusting his staff between them. For his efforts he was transformed into a woman. Two snakes and a staff -- or wand -- became a symbol of transformative power.

Determining where those wings come from takes us into even deeper mythology. Wings, of course, are synonymous with Hermes, the Greek god who jetted about in his winged sandals at the behest of the gods, and conducted the dead on their way to Hades. (The Romans called him Mercury.) Hermes' magic wand turns out to be this very same caduceus. His association with the healing arts stems from the time (around 700 AD) when alchemists were referred to as 'the sons of Hermes'.

Today, the caduceus is seen as an emblem of commercial and military organizations - the US army Medical Department made it their official insignia. In some parts of the world it is used by pharmaceutical companies. In the United States, many hospitals and medical associations have the caduceus as their emblem. The true and original symbol of medicine and healing, however, was the 'rod of Asclepius', with one serpent coiled around the staff, not two.

In yoga, the caduceus represents the serpent energy of the Kundalini, the dual serpents suggesting both positive and negative energy. The staff is the spine, the serpent the energy, and the wings signifying the mind. Kundalini energy moves through the 'chakras' along the spine until it reaches the head, the temple of the mind. Many disciplines, schools of mystery, esotericism and magic have adopted the Hermetic caduceus because of its association with the intellect, mind communication, and its magical powers.

Today there are many more variations on the theme of the Caduceus, sometimes with the staff being replaced by a sword, a cross or a rocket, but always with one or two serpents in the picture. Video games, comic books, science fiction and animation have been inspired by the symbolism of this ancient emblem.

The Caduceus has long been a popular tattoo design with individuals who work in the medical profession.

Get inspired by some really great images and photos in our Caduceus Inspiration Gallery

By Vanishing