Geometric Tattoos
HOW TO DESIGN GEOMETRIC TATTOOS: A LOOK INTO SACRED GEOMETRY
Geometry is more than just math, it involves the entire universe. Shapes make up everything we know in the tangible world, and more recently, sacred geometry has fused with tattooing to create a style of tattoo that’s quickly rising in popularity. Geometric tattooing isn’t the latest style to hit mainstream tattooing, but it might have the most meaning behind it. We looked into what, exactly, sacred geometry is, how to incorporate it into your tattoo design, and the key elements that make a design a geometric one. Read on to find out more about sacred geometry in tattooing.
WHAT IS SACRED GEOMETRY?
According to Turkish tattoo artist Denizhan Ozkr, “Sacred geometry can be defined as a complex system that includes form, space and time. Geometric designs come out with the connections made with those structures, observations made on them and feelings through them. We don’t always see geometry. We can feel it, find it, get surprised with it and have fun with it”.
There’s quite a rich history behind the geometric style and its patterns. Denizhan explains that geometry has existed even before humans, which can be seen in “The repetition of the sun rising, the orbit of Mercury, the leaves of a flower, the molecules of DNA, they all take geometry into our lives and minds. The base, the simplest, the beginning [all] contains geometry”. The style is also heavily rooted in mathematics, “Maths and systems love to create geometric shapes. We can see the examples in history, such [as] the tree of life symbols in Göbeklitepe, the rectangular shape of Parthenon temple in Athens, etc. The buildings…we live in, the sun, the planets, the photos, they are all in geometric shapes”.
As a tattoo style, sacred geometry gained huge popularity in 2012. Denizhan believes this is no coincidence; that there’s a major spiritual connection to this timing:
It was a year that was believed to start and end a period at the same time. Some spiritual opinions believed it was the end of a time, a calendar. It [was] also [the] beginning [of] the Age of Aquarius. The new generation born into this age had the [mindset] that takes action for [the] whole, not [for] oneself, and this made the world question the system, be aware of the whole, and enlightened us [that we are just] the pieces of a whole. We started to look at the bigger picture, [rather] than focusing on a detail.
This is what geometric tattooing is fundamentally about – taking the smallest details and using those individual elements to create a bigger picture as a whole. There are many different meanings to geometric tattoos, and several ways to utilize these designs to make up a tattoo that’s unique to you.
KEY ELEMENTS OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN
Geometric tattoos are easily identified on first glance no matter what their specific patterns are. As Denizhan explains, “It’s all about…the forms, dimensions, vision and perception”. These designs are usually minimal or simple, and typically include a repeating design. A geometric tattoo will always, obviously, involve a geometric shape of some kind. That’s really all that’s needed for a tattoo design to be considered geometric.
These shapes can be a clear component of the design, can be used as a frame or outline for the main image, or it can be part of a complex series of lines and shapes that form a complicated, ongoing image, like what you see in mandala tattoos. There are no real rules for geometric tattooing, so there’s a lot of room for creativity in coming up with your design.