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The mighty lion is clearly the king of beasts…or is he? For your holiday pleasure, here is a gallery of octopuses wearing crowns. Octopuses have short lives and they do not grow to immense sizes, but they are extremely intelligent. All of the regal tentacles below put me in mind of the Ordovician, a geological age when mollusks (in the form of giant cephalopods) truly were the kings of the animal world.
A Young Lady with an Octopus wearing a Crown
A tattoo of an octopus wearing a crown and bearing a trident
A poster of an octopus wearing a crown by Octopus Wearing Crown by Pop Ink – CSA Images
An tiny tattoo of an octopus wearing a crown (Sidney Collins)
A rhinestone octopus wearing a crown (jewelry pendant)
An Octopus Crown Indicolite Crystal European Bead (whatever that is)
A tattoo of a crowned octopus collecting shells (by Jason Stephan)
A sweater necklace
Retro hand drawn graphics of an octopus wearing a royal crown (from vector graphics)
Decorative art Mixed Media Digital Illustration of an Octopus with golden crown (by Cocodeparis on Etsy)
Because of the incongruity between lunar and solar calendars (and thanks to the whims of the 12 year Chinese horoscope cycle) Valentine’s Day has ended up in the middle of Ferrebeekeeper’s Snake Week. At first I thought that this was a problem–since there were no snake theme valentines anywhere to be found online. I did not want to break out the magic markers and glitter to create my own valentine to serpents because it has been a busy week (and what would I do with a bunch of snake valentines? What if someone saw a grown-up making such things?). Fortunately I found that there is a medium where snakes and hearts frequently intermingle. Even better many of the designs are extremely gothic and spiky and scary.
From tattoosbycarson.com
Like evil leprechaun tattoos, snake/heart body art is very common. In fact I had some trouble finding catfish tattoos and the internet even ran short of evil leprechaun ink but I had no trouble finding snake/heart tattoos! Apparently an immense number of people have snake tattoos of all sorts. I wonder why serpents are so universally appealing as permanent body art? Do people choose snakes for tattoos because the legless reptiles are ancient symbols of knowledge, wisdom, and fertility, or is wearing a snake an announcement of edginess, moral ambiguity, and toughness? The snake inside the heart seems like it has a double meaning: not only is it an obvious metaphor for corrupted or dangerous love but it provides an outright fertility image (especially since the traditional cardioid-shaped valentine heart look less like an actual heart and more like a shapely asp).
Wait, is that even a snake?
Tattoo by Chris Hatch
From “The Dungeon Inc.”
OK, this one seems to be religious and not fertility-themed at all.
Alright, I sneaked in a couple of snake & flower tattoos because I thought they were pretty
Snake and peonies?
Whatever the meaning these snake/heart tattoos are extremely impressive. Thanks to the brave souls who wear them. Also a very happy valentine’s day to all my readers: I could hiss you all…er kiss you all!
Iris pseudacorus--the golden iris
The fleur de lis is an ancient stylized representation of a flower—most likely Iris pseudacorus a golden-yellow species of Iris, native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. The motif can be found as far back as Assyria and ancient Egypt, but it became universally prevalent after it was gradually adopted as a symbol by the Kings of France from the 11th to the 12th centuries AD. Apocryphal mythology from the middle ages maintains that the connection between the fleur de lis and the throne of France dates back much farther–to the very beginning of the French crown when Frankish warriors invaded Roman Gaul during the 5th century AD. According to the legend, Clovis, the first of the Merovingian Kings, who was descended from Merovech (himself descended from a river god), had a divine vision in which an angel ordered him to change the three golden toads on his shield to three golden flowers.
A page from the Bedford Book of Hours illustrating the legend of King Clovis receiving the fleurs-de-lis (c. 1423),
Grand Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of France
The first surviving instance of the flower in heraldic use is a seal showing the future Louis VIII and his shield strewn with fleurs de lis which dates from 1211. Thereafter Bourbon and Capetian kings made extensive heraldic use of fleurs de lis. The standard of many golden fleurs de lis scattered across a sky blue field was changed to three prominent fleurs de lis by Charles V in the mid 14th century.
Arms of the Kingdom of France (Ancien)
The Coat of Arms of Florence
Coat of Arms of Pope Paul VI
The Blason of Gournay en Bray
Over the centuries other principalities, cities, and families took up use of the fleur de lis. The coat of arms of Florence is a large red fleur de Lis—although the shield is a comparatively recent innovation which does not date to Florence’s golden age. The heraldic device of the Medicis, who ruled Florence at its zenith, was a shield with five red balls. Over time Luxemberg, various popes, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have also utilized fleurs de lis in their standards.
World Scout Emblem
Boy Scouts of America Emblem
Since the earliest days of the movement, scouting (known in the US as the “boy scouts” and “girl scouts”) has been symbolized by a fleur de lis. The scouts’ founder, Robert Baden-Powell, a British military officer and aristocrat chose the fleur de lis as a symbol because it was used by the British Army as an armband to identify soldiers who had qualified as “Scouts” (reconnaissance specialists). Baden-Powell asserted that the boy scouts’ fleur de lis also symbolized the compass rose–which always points true north.
Flag of Quebec
The Flag of New Orleans
Who Dat? The Helmet of the New Orleans Saints.
The fleur de lis is used by numerous New World cities and provinces which were once part of the French colonies before they were conquered or purchased. Many parts of French Canada, the Mississippi valley, and the French Caribbean still use the Fleur de lis for flags, seals, and coats of arms. New Orleans and Louisiana make particularly extensive use of the fleur de lis in local standards. The famous New Orleans Saints football team is symbolized by a golden fleur de lis which is an anomaly in a league filled with aggressive animal symbols.
Beyond the statehouse and the gridiron, bon vivants, artists and sybarites have also come to informally identify with the fleur de lis. It is seen in quixotic tattoos, extravagant fabrics, and luxury logos. It seems appropriate that the heraldic flower, once the symbol of warriors, soldiers, and conquerers has now come to be associated with beauty, pleasure, and leisure (which seem more in keeping with the nature of irises).
Fleur de Lys--a comic superhero (not a good power....)
Laissez les bon temps rouler...
Among the Potawatomi nation, one of the most important clans was the fish clan. Fish clan members were thought most likely to be teachers, medicine people, and diplomats. They carefully observed the natural world, interpreted their experiences and passed this information on. The fish clan constituted the intellectuals of Potawatomi society. Two of the most important fish clan families were the Wawaazisiigs and the Maanamegwugs, named after the Bullhead catfish and the channel catfish respectively. Their ideas provided the philosophical underpinnings of the tribes understanding of life. The catfish was a respected spirit guide.
That introduction, however, is a bit of a red herring for today’s post, which features tattoos of catfish. I wonder if the individuals who decided to get permanent images of catfishes etched in their skin with needles were thinking along the same lines as the Potawatomi elders. Did they hope for the deep thinking of the Wawaazisiigs and the Maanamegwugs? Were they just enchanted by the charisma and personality of the Siluriformes? Or were they just intoxicated or hopelessly young? Unfortunately we have no context other than the images.
Whatever the case, here is a gallery of catfish tattoos which I found around the web. Enjoy!
ferrebeekeeper 