Unlucky for some, but not for others - Friday the 13th Tattoos

21 July 2018 - 2350 days ago

The month of July welcomed the second of the two Friday 13tbs in 2018. Friday the 13th is an important day for many tattoo artists; a day that is engrained into the culture of the tattoo community. Traditionally, tattoo artists offer £13 tattoo flash on Friday the 13th. The flash often consists of typically lucky symbols such as cats, horseshoes and covers etc, accompanied by the number 13.

Although 13 is unlucky for some, in the tattoo world it’s often portrayed as quite the opposite; a symbol of luck. Although it’s unclear why this is, it’s asserted that this is because the tattoo community consider themselves as separate others in society, so the norm of unlucky 13 does not apply.

Some Friday the 13th tattoo flash

Why is the number 13 deemed unlucky by the majority of people? A widely held reason for the number 13 being depicted as an unlucky number stems from biblical history. 12 disciples joined Jesus for the Last Supper, and Judas, the last and 13th member betrayed Jesus which lead to his crucifixion and his death which was on a Friday. 13 has other religious connotations, and in some ancient European religions, there were 12 good gods and one evil god; the evil god was called the 13th god. Another reason 13 is deemed to be unlucky is becausd it is commonly associated with witchcraft. A ‘Sabbath’; a meeting of witches requires at least 13 witches to be present. A group of witches (a coven) consists of 12 witches, and during ceremonies, the devil would appear as the thirteenth attendee.

A coven of 13 witches

Although the number 13 is commonly associated with bad luck in many cultures, other cultures see it as a symbol of life, fertility and prosperity. Take Punjabi culture for example. The word 13 is pronounced tera, which also means “yours,” which is a ‘devotional pronouncement to God’. There are many other non-western cultures that actually celebrate the number 13, so although it’s generally seen as unlucky, look a little further and it’s actually a revered number.

So, it’s not surprising that with so many negative connotations the number 13 gets a bad rep, but luckily for the tattoo world, it seems to have the reverse meaning, which is great for those wanting a little ‘lucky 13' tattoo!, and a nice way to show community spirit. It’s great for those who just want a small tattoo, and perfect if you’re wanting a gap filler!

If you’ve recently made some Friday the 13th tattoos that you’d like to share with us then why not leave us a comment below. Don’t forget, you can buy Panthera XXX Tribal Black Tattoo Ink online at our store for all of your black ink needs.

Love Toni

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/secretinktattoo.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/so-why-is-the-number-13-lucky-for-tattooists/amp/

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/thetab.com/us/2017/01/13/friday-13th-ideal-day-get-tattoo-58083/amp

http://foreverconscious.com/spiritual-significance-friday-13th