Crysti Couture

I got my first tattoo yesterday thanks to Sic Studio / The House of Color.

This tattoo carries a lot of meaning for me. It is the Sigil of Babalon and the Babalon is a figure that is central to my practice and is revered in many ways.

The pain was somewhat minimal. This tattoo was implemented between my shoulder blades, so the gun strokes on the right and left sides hurt more than the strokes on the spine.

The piece took about 2 and a half hours to complete. It measures about 3 to 4 inches in diameter and I gave artistic freedom to David Ibarra, the tattoo artist, to modify the image as he saw fit.

He decided to shade the star in going from red to black and also added the swirled embellishments on the outsides of the circle.

The concept of Babalon is an archetype that is steeped in historical significance across a multitude of faiths, not just Thelema. The Babalon is known by many names: The Victorious Queen, The Scarlet Woman, the hidden name of Nuit, The Great Mother, The Mother of Abominations  and  The Gateway to the City of Pyramids. Babalon is also associated with the Goddess Ishtar.

One of her main purposes is the celebration of the sexual energy that emanates from every which one of us. From her all life derives. I compare Babalon with the Catholic diety known as ‘The Virgin Mary‘ although it would be obvious that in this case, virginity and piety would be the major exclusions.

A few quotes that can help illustrate our viewpoint of Sex:

“When you have proved that God is merely a name for the sex instinct, it appears to me not far to the perception that the sex instinct is God.”

” The sex-instinct is one of the most deeply-seated expressions of the will; and it must not be restricted, either negatively by preventing its free function, or positively by insisting on its false function.”

“Every one should discover, by experience of every kind, the extent and intention of his own sexual Universe.”

For those Thelemites who would enjoy reading a little more into the lore and purpose of Our Lady, you can refer to the following resources to gain more familiarity to her:

1. Liber CLVI (also known as Liber Cheth vel Vallum Abigni) : “It instructs the aspirant how to dissolve his personality in the Universal Life.”
2. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (Chapter 66)
3. Liber Al Vel Legis 
4. Wikipedia’s entry for Babalon

I hope to get another set of tattoos next month. Stay tuned!