In the interests of research and as an ongoing barometer of popular culture we have decided to provide you with a weekly update of the Top Ten Weekly Tattoo Designs Search.

You can access the archived weekly lists on this page.

The Top 10 Tattoo Designs, based on site searches ending 3/2/06.

1. Star/Stars - After a week of dealing with tattoo artists who think that they're rock stars and God's gift to the art world I'm beginning to wonder about the popularity of stars as tattoo designs. Stars as guidance is one thing. Stars as symbols of inclusion in a group is another. But please people, you are not freaking rock stars, movie stars or probably even stars in your own little drama called life. Get over yourselves already! Stop staring in the mirror you little narcissists and go out do something useful like picking up litter by the side of the freeway. Donate your loose change to a good charity. Be nice to someone. Get real!

2. Angel/Angels - Can't gripe much about angels. What would Jesus do, if Jesus decided to get a tattoo? Now that interests me. Fish? Loaves? The burning bush? Why are people getting angel tattoos? Guidance? Does having an angel tattoo actually make you behave better? I might need one...

3. Tribal - A perennial favorite. And never out of the Top Ten Tattoo Design List. But why? Tattoo artists keep telling me that the tribal tattoo design trend is dead, but the public can't get enough of them. How much of the interest in tribal tattoos results in people exploring the original designs of indigenous peoples around the world? Are we searching for our own rites of passage in life, or simply appropriating others?

3. Dragon - The dragon tattoo design is flying high as usual. Thousands of way to be drawn and tattooed and expressed, it is truly gender neutral, crossing dozens of cultures, the dragon is powerfully expressive.

4. Butterfly - The butterfly continues to flutter about the in our Top Ten tattoo designs. Symbolic of metamorphosis, delicate and feminine, it is a true classic tattoo design. I can't imagine it ever going out of style.

4. Phoenix - Like the butterfly, deeply symbolic. The pre-eminent choice in many cultures to signify resurrection and rebirth, it speaks profoundly of the nature of life and the endless cycle of life and death.

There are stories and fables that touch on the Phoenix myth in the ancient Middle East, India, China and the Greek and Roman Empires. The Phoenix was originally a symbol of the cycle of the rising and setting of the sun but over time evolved to become a symbol of human resurrection.

5. Angel wings - Call me a romantic fool but it is my fervent wish that the ongoing popularity of angel wing tattoo designs speaks to the profound human hope for guidance in a world filled with turmoil and difficult moral choices. I hope it is an echo of faith and not some prepubescent, misguided adolescent notion that by having angels wings tattooed on you that you're to be mistaken for a little angle yourself. It really is true that irony is utterly wasted on most people. Christ! And failing that, I hope they're there to remember someone worth remembering.

6. Cross/crosses - Faith. The belief in that which can not be seen nor proven. My own very first tattoo was an ancient version of a cross, sketched and drawn out by tattoo artist Thomas Lockhart. It was based on a combination of a Norse Thor's Hammer amulet and an early Celtic cross that was found in Iceland and thought to be forged by a Silversmith in approximately 1,000 AD. I had Thomas tattoo over the scar from my back surgery. We could all use a little more faith in our lives and in ourselves these days, I think.

7. Flowers - Thank you for beauty. In nature, in life, in the walk of a pretty girl, in poetry, music and song. Thank you for beauty in body art and tattoos. I sometimes see enough skulls and demons to last a lifetime.

8. Fairy/Fairies - I am going to assume for the sake of my sanity that this ongoing love-affair with the fairy tattoo design speaks to the whimisical and magical nymph in girls everywhere. To a child-like longing for the simpler times when the only thing a girl had to worry about was what Barbi was going to wear and not whether or not the boy you were dating could be trusted after two beers...

8. Panther - The cool black cat. Classic. Stylish. Old School, New School, a bit like having a pack of Marlboros rolled up under a t-shirt sleeve School. Go kitty.

8. Maori - You would like a Maori inspired tattoo design? So would I. I hope you take the time to do some research about what an amazing culture the Maori people have, and what an extraordinary renaissance it has undergone in recent decades. I wish I was on a Marae in New Zealand. Te huihuinga ki waho. Te wero. Te karanga. Te powhiri. Te whakaekenga. Te marae-atea. Nga mihi, nga whai korero. Waiata. Whai Korero. Te tutakitanga. Te whakanoa. Te whare tipuna. Te whare kai. Karakia. Te take. Poroporoaki. It would make my heart glad.

9. Wings - Still in the Top Ten. Wings as a tattoo design can often have inspirational or spiritual symbolism. In many myths, wings often have to be earned by their wearer. Have you really earned your wings? Wings associated with angels are spiritual, symbolizing enlightenment, guidance and protection - to be taken under the wing - and inspirational. Wings associated with birds represent speed, elevation, freedom and aspiration. Wings associated with butterflies, dragonflies, fairies, mythological winged creatures like dragons, griffins, and the winged-horse Pegasus, have an element of the magical about them. As in alchemy and magic, wings can be transformational, allowing an individual access to a previously unattainable state. The presence of wings allows the combination of different elements, earth and sky, wind and fire.

10. Om - Wow! The mantra tattoo design. In Tibetan Buddhism the most common prayer, found everywhere, is Om Mani Padma Hum, the mantra of Chenrezi, the Buddha of compassion. The Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum
The Mani mantra is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras, and open to anyone who feels inspired to practice it -- it does not require prior initiation by a lama (meditation master). The six syllables of the mantra, as it is often pronounced by Tibetans -- Om Mani Padme Hum --

Om (ohm) - Ma (mah) - Ni (nee) - Pad (pahd) - Me (may) - Hum (hum)

It is said that all the teachings of the Buddha are contained in this mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum can not really be translated into a simple phrase or sentence.
Viewing the written form of the mantra is said to have the same effect as speaking, and it is often carved into stones. Having a tattoo would have the same symbolic effect.

For great tattoo design ideas, check out our good friends at TattooJohnny.com

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