Sep 18, 2020

CUSTOM INK | Perun & Veles

Large Custom Tattoo Design | Full Sleeve | 2020

Final Design

Perun & Veles | Tattoo Design | Punctured Artefact

This complex design feature the struggle between 2 Slavic Gods.

The design features a complex flow of geometry & nature.

It is wrapped to fit. The join is the (bear shape shifting)

The 2 gods are opposites of one another. The design depicts symbolism associated with the 2 gods. The motifs wrap and twist around one another. Symbolising the struggle between 2 opposites, chaos and order. The Unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

The top half of the design features mainly symbols related to Perun, whilst the lower features mainly Veles but both are intertwined. The owl with its wolf tooth, the serpent & a feather.

| Symbolism | The design has many symbolic patterns and motifs

SYMBOLISM | PERUN

• Perun has many names & is also known as the Strongest God, God of All Gods, Thunder God (roaming the sky) God of thunder, storm and rain, Harvest (raining over the crops and securing good harvest), Supreme God, God of agriculture and bulls , Maker of Lightning, Ruler of the living world, sky and earth & War God

• He is associated with lightning, storm & thunder, War, Mountains, Fire & air, Iris, Eagle, Strongest oak tree oak - World Oak tree ( The branches and trunk represented the living world of heavens and mortals, whilst its roots represented the underworld, i.e. the realm of the dead ) & Horses and carts

• His animal personas include a Bull & an Eagle ( sitting on the top of the tallest branch of the tree, from which he kept watch over the entire world) • In his human form he is depicted as bearded warrior ( Red Beard, Silver Hair, Gold moustache) • His weapons include; Bow, Axe or hammer (Axe of Perun) Golden Arrow (Weapons made of stone and later with those of metal) & a Chariot drawn by goats

• He created Thunderbolts & represented the power of good Stories include; • A lightening bolt was Perun throwing his axe across the sky trying to hit Veles. • In the end, Perun managed to kill Veles, or to chase him back down into his watery underworld. The supreme god thus reestablished the order in the world which had been disrupted by his chaotic enemy. He then returned to the top of the World tree and proudly informed his opponent down in the roots: “Well, there is your place, remain there!” • Sun was Perun's wife. When the sun was threatened by storm clouds, Perun smashed them with his thunderbolt, allowing the sun to reappear & life on earth could continue. • People painted thunder marks on their house roofs as protection

Motifs which represent Perun in this design are; || Animal Personas of the bull & eagle, figures of worship ,lightning, thunderbolt, stone & metal, weapons (axe & golden arrow), World Oak tree, leaves & acorn, Air & fire symbols, 2 Perun symbols, storm & rain, storm cloud & sun, patterns developed from the flower of life, life symbol, feathers, iron symbol, sun & Zia symbol Geometric symbol, Harvest & agriculture (Wheat) , Summer & spring , wheel of life, Iris & Phosphorus ||

The design was created with vector line art, with dots applied by hand to an A3 drawing. A3 is smaller than the actual artwork, so you can see here just how small some of the lines and dots were 9looking at the scale of the pen tip) It was created in pens of 0.05 - 0.2

SYMBOLISM | VELES • Veles has many names & is also known as the Shapeshifting God of Land, Water and Underground, Shepard, Forest & Cattle God, The Lord of the Forest, Nature and Waters, Guardian of Nature, Slavic god of fields, pastures, forests or crops, cattle, and animals, Patron of shepherds , God of the Beasts, In some Slavic tribes Veles was seen as the 'Creator of the World’ , A “mischievous” God, Watery God of the underworld & Lord of Forest • He is associated with magic, underworld, death & knowledge • His Shapeshifting animal form is a brown bear. Also a wolf, horned serpent, snake, dragon, Snake coiled around the roots of the sacred oak tree. • In his human form he is depicted as a horned strong young man or old man with grey beard.

• He carries a shepherd’s staff

• It was Veles that protected farmers cows from plague or improved their crops and land fertility. It was believed that during the winter Veles’ power, and thus chaos, strengthens, and before the summer he gets defeated and returned to the underworld.

Stories include; • He continually provoked Perun by stealing his cattle, children, or wife

• Veles fled from Perun by transforming himself into various animals, or hiding behind trees, houses, or people; wherever a lightning bolt struck • He was known as a mischief maker, stealing cattle, kidnapping people Motifs which represent Perun in this design are; || Animal Personas of the brown bear, wolf & horned serpent , snakes, Shepard staff, water & earth , figures of worship, water & waves, forest botanicals & crops, acanthus, autumn & winter , chaos wheel, death, ice crystal, Veles symbol, bear tooth, scales, snake fang & moon ||