"This Will Be My Last Tattoo..."

I am tattooed. Not like freaky-sideshow tattooed but I have some tats. People keep asking me what (if any) significance my tattoos hold for me. Yes, each tattoo represents something very specific in my life. Back story: I had always wanted to get a tattoo from the time I was 15 or 16 years old, but I didn't actually get my first tattoo until I was 39 years old. Why did I wait so long? There were a couple of reasons. First, when I was in my late teens/early 20s, I was never certain what image I wanted to get. Any design ideas I had seemed trite (flowers, butterflies, etc.) and nothing had any real meaning behind it because I hadn't done...well...anything! As I got older, I thought that perhaps a visible tattoo might hold be back professionally (as an actor) from getting roles - forgetting that tattoos are easily covered with makeup and/or costuming. Finally at 39, I decided it was "now or never." I had expected that I would only want the one... I was so wrong! At the ripe age of 45, I now have six!! That adds up to one a year. Guess it's a good thing I didn't start this process 25 years ago or I might be called "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady."

Here are my tattoos - in the order that I got them, the location on my body and the meaning behind each:

1. Sun and Moon (lower back (aka "tramp stamp")): I had gone to a now defunct tattoo parlor in the East Village in NYC with a very simple sun and moon design. The artist created something so much better and I was thrilled with the outcome. It took approximately two hours to complete and was quite possibly the most painful experience in my life! This photo (----->) was literally taken yesterday. Over six years later and the image still is vibrant and beautiful. I only wish I could actually see it. The sun and moon is significant to me because it represents the concept of yin and yang - it is a reminder for me to remember to always keep balance in my life (something I'm still struggling with 6 years later). Cost: $200

2. Bastet (right outside ankle): Bastet is one of my favorite Egyptian goddesses - (the cat goddess) who was the goddess of fire, of cats (naturally), of the home and of pregnant women. Additionally, she was responsible for joy, music, and dancing, also health and healing. A very cool goddess! I found this design online and "borrowed" it for my own. The woman who posted it requested that no one steal it because it was a one of a kind design. Then perhaps she should not have put it on a public website. This image is in honor of all my cats - particularly those that have passed on to Kitty Heaven, but it is especially in the memory of my favorite cat, Charlie. I had this tat done at a different East Village tattoo parlor (Fun City Tattoo). Cost: $120

3. Luna / Triple Moon goddesses (left wrist): This tattoo was my own creation. It is a combination of two symbols: Luna (the central figure) and the Triple Moon goddess, which is shown below the photo of my tattoo. The Triple Moon goddess represents the three phases of womanhood - the Maiden (waxing moon), the Mother (full moon) and the Crone (waning moon). Not being a mother, I took out the full moon and replaced it with the Luna Goddess. Luna in Roman mythology (Selene in Greek mythology) represents the Moon as a keeper of wisdom and magical power. For me, Luna is a very smart, very strong, warrior-type woman and reminds me that I am just as brilliant and strong as she was and can achieve whatever I truly want. Again, this is something that I don't always remember about myself. Fun City Tattoo did this one as well. Cost: $100

4. Egyptian Ankh (middle upper back): The Ankh is the Egyptian symbol for eternal life. After enduring breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment from late 2007 through early 2008, I wanted something to represent what I had experienced over those 7 months and to reaffirm my life. I found this ankh with tribal design at TattooJohnny.com and thought it was the perfect image! One month after my final radiation treatment, I was on vacation in Key West and went to Paradise Tattoos to have this tattoo done. The artist was Lou and he was by far the best tattoo artist I have ever gone to. I would recommend him every day and twice on Sundays. I would have used him for my next two tattoos, except it wasn't very convenient to fly to Key West just for a tattoo. Cost: $120

5. Tragedy and Comedy masks (top left foot): I decided that I wanted to have a tattoo which represented of all my years as a performer. By the time I got this tattoo, I had been on hiatus from performing for nearly 6 years and really missed the stage. I found this design on a website that had hundreds of different theatre masks. It was fun going through them all and deciding on my favorite. This was the 2nd most painful tattoo. Village Pop Tattoos in the West Village was my tattoo parlor of choice for this tattoo. Cost: $125

6. Infinity Symbol (right wrist): This is my most recent tattoo, which is approximately 2 days old. I went to Jim's Tattoos in Seabrook, NH - a very nice parlor. After deciding to completely change my entire life, relocate to a new town and start anew, I wanted a reminder of this exciting time in my life. I tried to think of what design would best symbolize these changes. I decided on the infinity symbol which is to remind me that life has infinite possibilities and not to get bogged down in the minutiae of minor or even major disappointments. As Alexander Graham Bell once said: "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." Cost: $80

Total of all tattoos: $745 (not including tips).  Probably add an additional $150 for tips.  Grand Total: $895.

Will this be my last tattoo? I have no idea. I always say that it will be and then I change my mind and get another one. I know I would not want to get full sleeve tattoos, full leg tattoos, etc. I think that much ink overwhelms the senses and tends to lose the personal statement made by each tattoo. But that's just me. Others, obviously, do not feel the same way and I respect that. If I get a 7th tattoo, it will be an individual tattoo again in a new location. I did contemplate putting a treble clef with a couple of music notes behind one of my ears and/or the Eye of Horus on my shoulder blade. Hmmmmmmm...

I highly recommend getting a tattoo but be careful, they are addictive. If you decided to get a tattoo, make sure that it is something that is very meaningful to you as you either have to live with it forever or go through very expensive, very painful removal. Also, I would caution you to never, ever tattoo your wife's, husband's, boyfriend's, girlfriend's, etc. name on your body. If (more likely, when...) the relationship broke up, you'd have a permanent reminder of that person. What a horrifying thought!