Comments on: Balance tattoo?

Question: Balance tattoo?

greta simone — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:09:49 -0800

I'm looking for a symbol/representation for possible use as a tattoo.

I've always wanted a tattoo that represents balance or harmony. I can't seem to find anything that isn't seriously lame or overused. It doesn't have to be an actual symbol (as in icon), just some kind of interesting representation.

These are my ideal criteria:
-No asian or arabic language/celtic/etc symbols.
-No libra, yin yang, scales of justice symbols.
-Something that would translate well to a small tattoo (no bigger than two inches across).
-Pretty minimalist (one or two colors [ideally just black], not a lot of heavy detail)
-Ideally something that has a source that I can learn about (done by a specific artist or from the cover of a specific book/album, etc). I don't want just some stock picture found on google image.
-Classy.

I am open to look at creative interpretations of the 'balance/harmony" theme.

Does anyone have any ideas?

By: nelleish

nelleish — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:22:49 -0800

Symbols.com - really an amazing compendium on symbols from many sources. Maybe you'll find some inspiration there?

Here's one result for harmony.

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:23:00 -0800

Perhaps some bars of musical notation denoting harmony?

Otherwise, how about hexagram 11 of the I Ching?
"T'AI : spread and reach everywhere, permeate, diffuse; communicate; great, extensive, abundant, prosperous; smooth, slippery; extreme, extravagant, prodigal. Mount T'AI in eastern China was a sacred mountain connecting heaven and earth. The emperor made offerings there to establish harmony between humans and the great spirits. The ideogram: person in water, connected to the universal medium."

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:23:23 -0800

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:26:11 -0800

Balance.

By: lampoil

lampoil — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:31:53 -0800

My idea would be to approach a tattoo artist or other artist whose stuff you like, present them this exact question, and ask them to design something original for you. Maybe show them some tattoos you like that fit your definition of "classy" but don't quite fit your concept, and even talk a bit about what specifically inspires you to use balance/harmony as a starting point. Together you might be able to come up with something totally original and suited to you that we, not knowing you, wouldn't.

However, I must say that I like the hexachord idea and also the seesaw one (though that might be a little too tongue-in-cheek for your tastes).

By: dendrite

dendrite — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:33:43 -0800

What the Wingdings font, and then just mashing the keyboard until you see something you like? :)

By: dendrite

dendrite — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:34:35 -0800

What about ^

By: Biblio

Biblio — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:36:39 -0800

How about a balanced equation? I hated chemistry class, but I always had such a deep sense of satisfaction after balancing an equation. You could pick numbers that were important to you.

By: ferociouskitty

ferociouskitty — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:44:35 -0800

I have a tattoo on the inside of my wrist that I designed for a similar meaning. There's a discussion of it here. (Of course, I deleted the image. Curses!) I still have the image of what I went with, if you'd like to see it - my email's in my profile.

By: IndigoRain

IndigoRain — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:49:00 -0800

If you choose to use a foreign word as a symbol, ask a native speaker of the language if it really means what you think it means. And make sure you don't have the symbol upside down!

BMEZine - Does your kanji tattoo mean what you think it does?

By: pica

pica — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:49:08 -0800

A circle?

By: SBMike

SBMike — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:54:29 -0800

ΣFi x Ri = 0

By: Alt F4

Alt F4 — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:55:22 -0800

Maybe a quatrefoil?

By: estronaut

estronaut — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:03:36 -0800

this is an odd idea but what feet on a tight rope or if you were going bigger the whole tight rope walker with a stick for balance or I've heard of people using fans for balance in asian countries, in my head I'm thinking sort of like an old fashioned newspaper style illustration with the walker in period appropriate attire (to match the illustration style)

not really a symbol but an idea

By: Pallas Athena

Pallas Athena — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:05:35 -0800

a = a

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:14:07 -0800

You could look into the teachings of Pythagoras. He had a lot of goofy mystical views, which might not please you, but he believed the fundamental principle of the universe was harmony (literally musical harmony; all things in the universe resonating together) and had various symbols associated with his group. Eg the tetrad or the tetractys. That page has links to pictures of other Pythagorean symbols. He was also famously a vegetarian; I don't know if that's a positive or negative for you, but there it is.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:24:20 -0800

A related philosophical concept from ancient Greece: the golden mean.

By: hexatron

hexatron — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:25:26 -0800

How about a patch of unadorned skin, devoid of any distracting marks?

Of course, you might have to tattoo the rest of your body to make it stand out.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:30:32 -0800

))<>((

By: phrontist

phrontist — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:45:07 -0800

Look through the elements.

Euler's identity is beautiful aesthetically, and if you understand it, has quite a bit to do with balance.

By: rob511

rob511 — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:55:06 -0800

As Biblio suggests above, you might consider inking an equation such as in this discussion on historic carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere:

[In the phrase "carbon neutral," t]he term neutral has no chronicity. It refers to the net of an equation, and that equation ... dictates that there is no net gain or loss of carbon in the system (mother earth) in the given reaction.

The equation: CH₄ + 2O₂ → CO₂ + 2H₂O
(IANAC/IANAB)

By: The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew

The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:05:39 -0800

Fun fact, directed at Lobster Mitten:
Vegetarians, up until the Mid-1800's when the first vegetarian society was founded, and the term was coined, were called "Pythagoreans," because of the meatless reputation of Pythagoras and his followers.

By: spark

spark — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:25:38 -0800

Seconding phronist, this was one of the first things I thought of when I saw this question.

By: platinum

platinum — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:28:46 -0800

What about an ambigram if the word "balance"? Here's one and here's another. Or perhaps you could commission an original for yourself?

By: BigSky

BigSky — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:32:18 -0800

How about a tree?

I can't point you to an image, but I'm thinking of a slightly abstracted depiction, no bark or any other detail, done in black and white. You can put in a horizon line, or not, but I would avoid adding anything else, no background figures or birds etc. Instead of any kind of naturalistic version of a root ball it could subtly mirror the shape of the branches. Have the roots drawn so they take up close to the same space as the branches spread, maybe a bit less. It would probably work better if you show the branches without leaves.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:39:37 -0800

Along the lines LobsterMitten is suggesting, how about a golden spiral in the form of a Chambered Nautilus?

By: bobobox

bobobox — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:48:31 -0800

Whatever you choose, people will ask you what it means. Even if it is an obvious symbol for harmony and balance, you will probably have to explain it to people. Therefore, the symbol does not have to actually, literally, mean either of those things. Pick a design that speaks "harmony" to you and just tell people that that is what it means.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:49:55 -0800

I think the infinity symbol is very harmonious and calming. It is balanced.

I can't post the HTML entity, unfortunately. But you probably know the one.

By: The Deej

The Deej — Thu, 17 May 2007 15:56:30 -0800

Not about balance, but I wanted a reminder to not try and figure everything out in life, because some things make no sense. So I got this.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:44:55 -0800

∞

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:45:01 -0800

"))<>(("

That looks very much like the elaborate middle school naughty story drawing about the pool and the robbers. You may wish to avoid this.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:01:57 -0800

∑ or Ω are pretty cool too. Although omega probably is going to be assumed to have Christian religious significance. Anything with hexagons, triangles or circles could be good, but I'd strongly consider jamjam's suggestion of a golden spiral, or a Fibonacci spiral, see this divine proportion wikipedia entry.

By: devilsbrigade

devilsbrigade — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:24:53 -0800

How about a benzene ring representation? Something like this without the text? Very stable, at the least.

Or a chair conformation of a cyclohexane ring... also stable, & possibly more opportunities to make it look cool. Example.

Chem on the mind... agh.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:31:54 -0800

I don't know from no middle school story. My symbol embodies a certain type of balance and harmony colored by co~~nstip~~operation, commonality and commitment, and comes from a fine and timeless film. It it therefore, per the requirements of the question, rich in history and class.

By: JujuB

JujuB — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:58:03 -0800

What about a Fleur de lis

By: The Deej

The Deej — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:58:05 -0800

naughty story drawing about the pool and the robbers. You may wish to avoid this.
posted by klangklangston

Heyyyy, I knew that looked familiar. Is that the one where they hide by the pool and shoot out the lights?

Yeah, I'd avoid that as well.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:36:58 -0800

devilsbrigade, benzene is cool, but that symbol looks like a nut or bolt.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Thu, 17 May 2007 19:17:59 -0800

Not sure about the US but in Canada the fleur de lis has a pretty specific political connotation.

BrotherCaine: "∞"

Weird -- it didn't work in preview for me.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 17 May 2007 19:26:10 -0800

loiseau, there is a delay before it works in preview, also you have to use the ∞ code, not the hexvalue; code.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 17 May 2007 19:27:00 -0800

oops, *&hexvalue;*

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Fri, 18 May 2007 00:40:40 -0800

How about the word "Harmony"? Or, the word "Balance"?

By: churl

churl — Fri, 18 May 2007 01:09:47 -0800

))<>((

That looks very much like the elaborate middle school naughty story drawing about the pool and the robbers. You may wish to avoid this.

Oh, it's even better than you think.