#teleri tattoos

[mothdalf]

Tolkientober day 7- starfish

Any excuse to draw Teleri tattoo designs - can’t remember if I’ve ever talked about them before but I always give Teleri characters blue ink tattoos of sea creatures, birds, waves etc.

The tattoos are given by a specialist artist (there’s usually one in each family) much like Noldor tattoos/henna/ piercings. The blue ink is made by a Maia of Ulmo and then the tattoo is washed in sea water and blessed by either a Maia specially chosen, or even by Ulmo himself.

This ritual gives the tattoo an animated quality- meaning Teleri tattoos move, slide, wave, and shift over the skin.