The Next Tattoo

I'm planning at least one more tattoo...maybe more.

Above is a picture of my favorite cross that I wear. I got it the day of VHL-stock. I was thinking it might make a great tat for the other arm.

I’m also considering something like this:

The serpent entwined around a staff is known as “the rod of Asclepius,” an ancient Greek symbol associated with the healing arts, or medicine. You may have seen it at a hospital or your doctor’s office, depicted as something like this:

There are several theories as to how the symbol came to be.

In Greek mythology, Asclepius was the son of Apollo and practitioner of medicine. The image combines a staff—a symbol of his authority—with a snake which, in shedding its skin, symbolizes rebirth.

But there’s also a biblical connection here, and I’m more interested in that.

When the Israelites were making their exodus, wandering across the vast barren desert, they complained to Mose and to God about their desperate situation: "Why have you brought us...to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water..." (Numbers 21:5).

In anger, God sent fiery serpents to attack the Israelites, and many died. (God’s a pretty irritable dude in the Old Testament, isn’t he?) The Israelites came back to Moses with an appeal to God, repenting for their sin and asking forgiveness. God then told Moses to make a bronze serpent set on a pole, and commanded that anyone bitten by the fiery snakes should look upon the bronze serpent so he or she would be immediately healed.

Any ways, I was thinking about this image for a tattoo as a tribute to my brother Gary.