Yin yang

Design Story

This half sleeve tattoo was requested by Rick to represent harmony and balance based on some specific elements.

Centrally on the shoulder, a yin yang was designed using a path of Kamehameha representing a difficult path that shapes the yang, with moray eels inside for adversities, "evil"; in the middle of it, the symbol for the couple is positive and protected from adversities by tiki hands surrounding it.

The ying part above contains a double sun, for success and eternity, joy, made of coconut leaves (which also represent the chief, social status) and shark teeth (adaptability) with a warrior on the inside to represent the fighting spirit to defeat the opposite waves for difficulties.
Other elements we included balancing each other are a manta (freedom, voyage) and a Marquesan cross (harmony, balance).

Birds represent watching the world from a higher perspective and fish are for prosperity.

Below the yin yang there are the three tikis which represent, from left to right, don´t see, don´t speak and don´t hear.

Spear heads (courage, the warrior) and braid (unity) protect friends (enata) and family (the symbol for couple and the ani ata on top representing ancestors), also protected by a lizard on the left (good luck) and a hammerhead shark on the right (tenacity and determination, protection).
An all-seeing eye on top completes an ideal triangle that encloses it all.