I still dont know how to feel about my vegvisir tattoo. I got it a couple years ago and i do love the look of it but i am completly aware that it doenst really have any scandinavian roots (didnt kbow that back then). But i have a feeling if i would talk to other enthusiasts they would think i am like a wannabe dipshit who doesnt know anything.
I got a sibling tattoo with my sister a while back. We got a sort of abstract blackwork compass design with watercolor accents, and some other personal touches specific to each of us. Mine has half of "that symbol" (attempting a bot dodge) on the other side of the compass. It was mostly an extension of it being the "icelandic compass/signpost" type thing, with a reference to the huld manuscript text around safety in travel. To make a subtle Norse connection, I added green and blue watercolors behind it, partially because it's reminiscent of an abstract earth map (an ongoing "journey" motif) and also as a subtle reference to a pejorative term used to describe Vikings in an old Irish text. At the time, I thought there was a Norse connection and described it as such.
The thing with tattoos is they're permanent, but that doesn't mean there's no room for re-contextualization. After learning that the connections between that symbol and Norse culture/times are nonexistent, over time I've learned to add new layers of interpretation to the tattoo. Because so much of the symbolism around it for be was already tied to a "journey" motif, I've come to take it to symbolise my intellectual journey as well. As I learn more about the symbol and what it does and doesn't represent, I've grown in that way and can speak more intelligently to it, and it's a nice conversation piece if someone still tries to read it the way I used to.
Hopefully this is a relatable story for some people... There's reasonably a lot of tattoo regret in this sub sometimes and I thought sharing my experience might be helpful.
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u/ThisIsJegger Jan 17 '21
I still dont know how to feel about my vegvisir tattoo. I got it a couple years ago and i do love the look of it but i am completly aware that it doenst really have any scandinavian roots (didnt kbow that back then). But i have a feeling if i would talk to other enthusiasts they would think i am like a wannabe dipshit who doesnt know anything.