Hello, reader. How are you? I have my second tattoo planned already, before I’ve received my first. It’s the word Jagaddhatri on my left wrist in Sanskrit. I like to draw it there over and over, as I wait for the tattoo.
I went through a whole process with this word. First I wanted to tattoo a phrase on my left wrist, something like, “I will not chase anyone.” The sentence is in reference to some relationship patterns I see myself in, where someone avoidant is appealing to me. It’s a pattern I would like to stop. Chasing people doesn’t serve me, isn’t what I’m on earth to do, and really it’s a waste of energy. Mostly it’s based on some trauma, and I’d like to make a better choice.
I thought of what language I’d like that sentence in, and I tried a few translations. Then I set the idea aside.
Later I felt the same tug, to get that idea on my body, my second tattoo, to read over and over again. But by then I thought one word might be better. I thought of the word complete. Yes, I don’t need to chase anyone because I’m complete. Complete would remove the idea of the chased person, and put the focus on myself as not needing anything additive.
I love completeness. Like the end of Neruda’s poem Ode to the Tomato.
Jagaddhatri
Then I was thinking what language to put complete in, and I thought of Jagaddhatri. She is a goddess who really matters to me, a form of Durga. She holds the universe together. My swami teaches that she is gravity, which is exciting to me.
I love gravity, and I love powerful Mother energy. What could be more complete than gravity? She holds me together, and all things.
So that makes sense to me, to see that word on my left wrist. True I am a goddess and don’t need to chase anyone. The play tattoo markers I bought are not very good. The colors wash off quickly, and the black starts black but part of the ink leaves quickly. So I’m left with faint purple, which is ok too.
An unplanned joy is that writing the word over and over again has helped me learn it. I’d never written Sanskrit before.
But it reminds me a little of Thai–I wrote some Thai when I was a teenager. I was friends with the Thai kids at school, and when the foreign exchange student returned to Thailand, I wrote him letters which I would address in Thai so they had a better chance of reaching him.
snake
Hopefully I’ll get the snake tattoo next month. My dear housemate will return, and after that I can see if I still want Jagaddhatri on my wrist. It’s fun to try new things and make new thrilling choices.
