Nyx in the House of Night

it at all), a tattoo sets you apart—and that can have very real social consequences. Employers (Starbucks, for instance) may hire someone with ink, but require that it be covered so as not to offend their customers. What is a statement of belonging in one context can be evidence of difference—and an excuse for discrimination—in another.
    Belonging to the vampyre community makes you special; fledglings join a culture with a rich history they can be proud of. Still, a Mark comes with immediate social consequences. After Zoey’s encounter with the Tracker, her best friend, Kayla, reacts to her first Mark with horror and disgust, as if Zoey has suddenly become a different person. In the eyes of the humans, that analogy isn’t far wrong. In a sense the old Zoey is no more; she’s now a creature of the night. And superstitions, like vampyres, are hard to kill.
    Zoey’s new Mark brands her as a symbol of evil in her parents’ eyes. Her stepfather sees it and immediately proclaims her Satan. That isn’t literary license on the part of the authors: some fundamentalist churches believe that tattoos in any form are the mark of hell, that tattoo studios are demonic, and that only the ungodly would wear such things on their skin (though these hard-line views have been countered by other Christians who feel that tattoos are no more inherently evil than other forms of body decoration).
    RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
    Tattooing for a spiritual purpose is as old as religion itself. For early humans, tattoos involved fire, blood, and physical discomfort, all of which invoke strong spiritual and sacrificial themes, potent elements in which to catch the attention of the gods. If the deities were pleased, you would thrive. If not, maybe you needed another tattoo.
    Tattoos could also help you after death, as well. In Sioux culture, it was believed that upon a warrior’s demise he would mount a ghost horse and ride toward the land of “Many Lodges.” During that journey he would encounter an old woman who would bar his way. If he could not show her certain tattoos, the warrior would be returned to this world to wander as a ghost for eternity.
A Tattoo a Day
T attoos weren’t just good for your spiritual health. Some researchers believe the tattoos might have had a therapeutic purpose—that they may have been a primitive version of over-the-counter medications. The mummy of Ötzi the Iceman mentioned earlier had over fifty separate tattoos. Of particular significance is where they were located: along the lumbar spine and knee and ankle joints. This placement perhaps indicates an effort to combat arthritis or other joint ailments. Ojibwa Indians here in North America who suffered from headaches or toothaches would inscribe permanent marks on the cheeks, temples, and forehead to try to counteract their pain.
    Some cultures believed that you could invoke the protection of a particular animal by marking its image into the flesh, an important survival tactic in a world where humans were considered tasty two-legged meals. Tattooing the image of an animal on your skin acted as a talisman of sorts, or might even permit you to take on that animal’s attributes, melding them with your own. A fox tattoo, for instance, would instill that beast’s supposed cunning in the recipient, an owl its wisdom or a lion its strength. According to Cherokee tradition, painting or tattooing an eagle’s eyes around your own would gift you with that raptor’s keen eyesight.
    Even Christianity used to look favorably on tattoos. After completing the arduous journey to the Holy Land, early believers would acquire a tattoo on their hands or face to commemorate their pilgrimage and to actively display their piety to the world. The practice fell out of favor during Emperor Constantine’s reign (a.d. 306-337). No doubt drawing on the injunction against marks as mentioned in Leviticus 19:28, the emperor felt such tattoos disfigured “that made in God’s image.” By a.d. 787, tattoos had been banned in England, and during the Dark and Middle Ages those with marks were viewed as outsiders, and, in some cases, evil incarnate.
    Some of today’s Christians display their faith through marks, and it is not uncommon to find figures of Jesus, Mary, the fish symbol, crosses, angels, and Bible verses tattooed on the observant. Jews display their faith by inscribing verses in Hebrew, the Magen David (Star of David), or scenes from the Old Testament on their flesh