When Kitty approached me about developing her new style, where layered, abstracted design meets realism, fantasy, and psychedelia, I knew this was the experience I had always been seeking for a tattoo. I wanted a commemoration to honor my beloved canine that passed away suddenly, 3 years prior but I didn't want it to be what would be expected. I know her spirit surrounds me and I wanted a piece that anchored our union in the spiritworld, and channeled her divine assistance on my path within materiality. Her name was Kyanite, after the beautiful blue micah found in North Carolina. This stone is the primary inspiration for this magical tattoo. In discovering Kitty’s mastery of ritual tattooing as a magical practice, and talking with my mentors, we revealed that I wanted this piece to literally assist in my healing techniques as a Reiki Master and crystal energy worker. Permanently fusing the energy of kyanite into my skin would not only connect me to Kya, it would support my work by connecting me with the daeva of this stone.
One look at the tattoo, and you can tell that I love water. I am a Pisces and lead water blessings and so I knew I wanted the part of the tattoo which represented me to be connected to my passion for water magic. I wanted my representation to be some form of water nymph, meets fish, meets mermaid, meets Naga. Naga's are an early interpretation of the mermaid; a Vedic deity which is half serpent, half woman. Nagas are powerful for aid in cleansing and protection. My next request specified the design would channel energy from aspects of oceans or rivers, and be further harnessed by my love for jewelry and stones. Seeded with an image from my metalsmith instructor Walter David's large silver collar, Kitty created a beautiful digital collage which captured exactly what I sought in the amulet depicted. Kitty’s vision called for a graphic text element in the composition to contrast the fluid mark making and abstract fields. We added the imperial chemical formula of Kyanite, so that this energy would be fused to me, down to the molecular level.
The process of creating this art over the last year has been transformative. As I was being tattooed, Kitty’s spellcraft wove into my skin, I called upon the energies and Daevas of the stones depicted: kyanite, larimar, lepidolite, and malachite. I also asked that my pain be harnessed to transmute the pain of polluted waters and dying aquatic life and corals. After completion, I used ritual and intention to invoke that the tattoo itself would bind to me the powerful healing and cleansing abilities of the sacred waters of our planet, and attendant benevolent water beings. It has been very easy and effective to activate the spiritual technology of the tattoo and it has greatly augmented my Reiki practice. Her beautiful artwork is a powerful artifact, and a blessing to my path. Thank you, Kitty
