This is my take on the #covenkey tattoo. I can't believe I just used a hashtag...I kind of feel dirty now...LOL!
Anyway, as you can see it's a moth sitting atop a skeleton key, with vines wrapped around it, so that it ties into my existing tattoo. I LOVE it!
Moths are big for me. I see them all over the place - literally. They're always flying into me when I'm out for a walk at night, and even on the brightest of days I'll have them flutter past. Butterflies are big for me too, but lately moths have been more prevalent. We even had one in our apartment in the dead of winter after a big snowstorm in February. I have a framed Atlas Moth near my altar (google them - they're huge and so pretty!), and a bunch of framed butterflies around the apartment as well. I'm not quite sure what it is about them that calls to me so strongly, but there's just something about them...or, perhaps there's something about me that draws them in. That particular moth is based on a Spanish Moon Moth, but has the colouring more like a Luna Moth.
Sitting around a kitchen table a few weeks back, the idea was floated around that the members of my coven all get matching tattoos. We were pretty excited about the idea, and chose keys to be the common theme. We would all get skeleton keys, but they would be individualized to suit our personalities. Right away I wanted to get a key that was made out of gnarled tree branches. I thought it would look really cool, and I might be able to tie it into my existing tattoo. Then I thought about getting one that had an abstract shape of a human skull at the top, but I finally settled on a moth, and the rest is history! I won't tell the story of everyone else's key, nor will I share their photos in this post. That is their tale to tell, not mine.
Keys are an interesting symbol. Having a key gives you the power to unlock that which is hidden. It also provides you with a feeling of safety - you can lock up your valuables so no one else has access to them. It can also give you a feeling of exclusivity - not everybody is going to have access to everything that key unlocks. They're also mysterious - what does that key unlock, exactly? It was a combination of this and a few other things that made it a good choice for us.
The only thing about tattoos (for me at least), is that every time I get one, it gives me a thirst for more...
