Today is my birthday
In my waking life, I have been considering getting a tattoo for some time now. I want to do a bilateral set, dextral and sinistrodextral. On the right arm, I have long figured on getting my family's Scottish Clan Badge. I lucked out and we have a cool one, a very iconic looking mountain with three fires on it, and the motto "Stand Fast." The symbolism of the badge 's imagery is that these are the signal fires that the Clan leadership would light upon Craig Elachie to rally the fighting men. Good stuff.
I've always figured on the right arm being symbolic of my genetics and family history - hardware and lineage. I wanted the left arm to be personal, more reflective of my interior world - software, the Igloo OS.
Waking on my birthday morning, my unconscious mind was gracious enough to finally settle this problem for me by delivering a fully rendered vision. In the dream, I could see the tattoo on my arm, vibrant, supersaturated with color.
Laid out along the length of my upper arm was a Great Blue Heron. Its plumed head and long dagger-like beak pointed to the viewer's right, or the bird's left. Its head was wreathed in the Sun, surrounding it like a halo, glowing with a powerful yellows and oranges. The artwork was iconic, and the halo looked like something that might crown a Byzantine saint. The heron's wings were fully extended and pointed upwards, wrapping around my bicep and tricep. His feet extended downward, where they were submerged in a clear blue pool. In the pool was a rainbow trout, swimming with his head also pointed to the left. He was beautiful, a dappled male that was iridescent with color. In the dream, I knew that the tattoo was on MY left arm, and that I needed to make arrangements to have it done.
I woke up feeling really great. I've been thinking about this for 2 years now. I guess that settles it, and now I'll have something to say when people ask what it means.