My niece and nephew would like to know the story behind each of my tattoos. It has caused me to give it some thought. My tattoos are not born out of a long-held tradition. They are at best, my spirit reaching through the dark obscurity of white patriarchy to re-forge a connection with a magick that has been suppressed in our psyche for eons. They are a riddle I am writing for myself. An emergence of wisdom that has gone unrecorded in my own known genetic history. When I read these words by the tattooist in Sia Figiel’s book They Who Do Not Grieve, (scroll to read) I felt another part of myself had been recognised, despite this tradition not being one I have been brought up to. I don’t believe we are separate. I believe we are one. This is why relationship in all its forms is so important. You, who may appear so different to me, have the power to remind me who I also am. I may be blessed to do the same for you. God does not fit in a box. It is time to weed out, from the truth of divine love, all the ways in which freedom has been crushed and undermined. ALL of us have been subjected to this tyranny. If we do not recognise it in ourselves, we will continue to propagate control and division into future generations. This is an era of great remembering. What is ‘different’ about an ‘other’ is not the hard line we think it is. That unknown is in fact, something we have not yet remembered. We need it to become whole again. Most of we western white people are like orphans. We are so disconnected from any indigenous roots that we float on a history as shallow as industrialism. If we look back, we will largely see the horror our ancestors inflicted on those who were still connected to their roots. If we are not doing this work, we cannot claim to be doing shadow work. This is the biggest shadow of all. But if we can face it, integrate it, then we can both move forwards and see farther back to a time when we remembered who we really were. We can feel it again. #shashaspiritledlife #tattoostories #womenwithink #tattootradition #siafigiel #samoatattoo #samoanwriters #amplifymelanatedvoices #whitepatriarchy #indigenous #weareone #reintegration #healing https://www.instagram.com/p/CNaEXfAjtkk/?igshid=c75f49xu9z46
