Tattoo Journeys – OCEANiNKTATTOOS

THE TATTOO JOURNEY

Acquiring a permanent tattoo is a commitment and a journey unto itself. It starts from the moment you decide to have one done. The next step is to choose the right tattoo and the right person to design and do it for you. This takes careful consideration and there might be a waiting period for your artwork before you can receive your tattoo. And then finally it’s the day of your appointment – a very liberating, exciting and special occasion indeed, and one that calls for a celebration. Receiving this new permanent mark on your body is like accepting a friend that has moved into your home for life. The healing process involves this integration and takes one to two weeks while you gently tend to your artwork with much love and care until it is healed. And then eventually, as time goes by, your tattoo becomes a part of you. In this case size does matter, as the extent of your tattoo determines the duration of your journey, which could take a few days to several years.

Many factors are at play on the day you receive your tattoo and it is imperative that you are in good health. The energy exchange between the client and the artist depends on both their inner and outer circumstances and their emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. The tattoo itself has a story behind it that holds an emotional charge and the artist must be able to provide a safe and positive space for the client to feel comfortable to express themselves whatever the circumstances may be. Even the weather, the planets and the moon phases can have an effect on your sensitivity levels while receiving your tattoo and during the healing process. It is a highly integrated and intimate experience and your tattoo is a direct reflection of your soul’s journey.

Tattooing is as ancient as humankind itself and continues to be a system to transmit knowledge – a universal visual language of the skin whereby culture is inscribed, experienced and preserved. It has been used for centuries to mark important transitions in one’s life, such as rites of passage and initiations. Administered with conscious intention, tattooing can be used as a powerful transformational tool in energy work to transmute negative energy into positive energy, such as heartache into blissfulness, anger into pleasure, sadness into joy, loss into acceptance, fear into trust, regret into conviction, low self-esteem into self-respect, self-harm into self-love and so forth. By anchoring the energy of your intention into your skin as a permanent visible reminder for yourself and others to see, you can change the perception of yourself on a psychological level and thus change your life and the very code by which the Universe recognises you, therefore transforming you in Totem.

CEREMONIAL TATTOO JOURNEY: ACCESSING YOUR TALISMAN

Are you at an important transitional period in your life?

Would you like to honour and mark this point of time with a tattoo with deep personal meaning, perhaps a symbol to help you overcome an experience? Whether you are celebrating an achievement, seeking luck, protection or good fortune, or feel the need to strip yourself from your current role in order to prepare for a new role, then set your intention and come spend a day with me in nature as an alternative to the conventional tattoo consultation.

Keurbooms is a magical place full of ancestral history and breathtaking beauty, with her wild coastline surrounded by farmland, rolling hills, valleys and mountains. She is the heart of the Garden Route and like a mother, waiting to embrace you in her loving arms. Come meet her on her golden shores with magnificent rock formations, sacred sites and wild playful ocean, and sit with her inside a medicine wheel nestled in forest and gorge. Here we will hold a cacao ceremony in honouring of the land and connect with the wisdom of the medicine wheel.

The medicine wheel is a sacred stone temple and a map of the cosmology of All That Is, both physical and spiritual, seen and unseen, above and below. We move in the wheel by orientating ourselves in time and space, as symbolized by the equal-armed cross of the cardinal directions: East, South, West, North and also Centre, Up and Down. Although the medicine wheel is a human-made structure, it is deeply connected to the Universal powers contained in the entire Cosmos, including Earth, its magnetic field, the elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether), the solar system, as well as our own bodies.

Through our correspondences and associations with the medicine wheel, we acquire a greater knowledge, awareness and insight into the interconnectivity of all things, including nature, and all our relations. It can bring us and our world into a state of wholeness by providing the keys and context to help us decode spiritual messages in our everyday environment as well as dreams, visions and synchronicities. This allows us to better understand and connect with all the parts of ourselves. As we learn more about ourselves, we come to know more about being human. We integrate our whole self and reach the centre of our being.

This will be a day spent with physical exercise, quiet observation, contemplation, meditation and full immersion in nature at her best. Your journey will be unique and your experience will be the result of your intention and your needs. No one’s journey is the same.

The aim is to connect with a state of emptiness, feel physically tired, mentally refreshed and open and willing to step into the Great Mystery so you may experience the supernatural and hear the gentle whisperings of your guides, whether that is your God, your ancestors, your guardian angels, spirit or totem animals, your inner child or higher self. Your conscious intention activates your ability to acknowledge, honour and co-create with Source and you may obtain a message or advice, a blessing, a vision or protection from your guides. Or you may obtain your message from Mother Nature herself, by simply becoming still and mindful and paying great attention to anything that shows up in the physical realm, such as birds, insects, plants and animals, as well as the weather and time of day, which are all messengers.

These observations and supernatural experiences are rich in symbolism that include representations of your life story and your soul’s journey, and lead you to what symbol you would need to assist you and to mark this special day. This is how your own personal Talisman is born.

At the end of the day we will reflect back on your journey and discuss it over some refreshments. You may receive a clear message on the day and know straight away what your symbol is, or it might take a few days of integration to track the spiritual messages and relate it to your life’s story and soul’s journey before your symbol is revealed to you. I will then use this information to design your Talisman tattoo.

I highly recommend that you record your dreams for 2 to 4 weeks, and practice intermittent fasting or conscious healthy eating for 7 to 10 days before embarking on this journey, as well as write down any thoughts, emotions, realisations etc (journalling) for 2 to 4 weeks after your day spent in nature, to fully process the message and to integrate the whole experience into your everyday life.

Contact Estelle for further enquiries