Question by ed f: Is piercing or tattooing a pagan ritual?
It is a blood covenant.
Best answer:
Answer by VCat
Significantly, the Mosaic Law forbade God’s people to tattoo themselves. Said Leviticus 19:28: “You must not make cuts in your flesh for a deceased soul, and you must not put tattoo marking upon yourselves.”
Pagan worshipers, such as the Egyptians, tattooed the names or symbols of their deities on their breast or arms. By complying with God’s ban on tattoo markings, the Israelites would stand out as different from other nations.—Deuteronomy 14:1, 2.
While Christians today are not under the Law of Moses, the prohibition it laid on tattooing is sobering. (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14, 15) If you are a Christian, you would certainly not want to make markings on your body—even temporarily—that smack of paganism or false worship.—2 Corinthians 6:15-18.
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No. All Paganism is is not being of an Abrahamic Faith.
Tattooing and piercing have been around for a long time and in cultures not dominated by religious significance. Some pagan cultures used one or the other in rituals but it was not a defining mark for the faithful. Many other religions used ink as part of their rituals and piercings as a social status. The two are still used today in similar fashion throughout the world.
We do know for sure remote tribes of Africa use these for attracting the opposite sex.
It is a definite pagan ritual.
A blood covenant has nothing to do with tattoo or piercing.
Read your bible in the old testament to discover what a blood covenant is.
It involves sacrifice of animals, and promises between man and God.
The blood covenant of the new testament fulfilled all, when Jesus became
the perfect sacrifice for all promises made to mankind.
Please read Leviticus 19:28 It can not be more clearer can it?
Also, consider this.
Certain actions, such as tattooing the flesh, making cuttings upon the flesh, imposing baldness on the forehead, cutting the sidelocks, and destroying the extremity of the beard, were prohibited by the Law, possibly, at least in part, because of being linked with prevailing idolatrous practices of neighboring peoples.—Le 19:26-28; De 14:1.
Take care
Some minority of modern Pagans may consider it so, but the bulk of tattoos done in the English speaking world are not of religious significance and aren’t given in religious ritual.
No, not on it’s own.
Piercing and tattooing have had a place in social customs and religious customs since they were invented. A tattoo might have been intended to show a young man’s coming of age and ability to marry or display his feats at battle or a womans fertility or indicate which family or tribe she belonged to etc.
While piercings and tattoos can be and have been used by some people as part of various pagan ceremonies or to perform magick or reach a certain trance state for communication with spirits, the act itself is merely a tool to be used by the individual in whatever way seems appropriate. I know many many people who get piercings or tattoos for purely cosmetic reasons and have no intention of forming any kind of covenant with anything. I know many people who get tattoos to honor the memories of people in their lives who have died and meant very much to them. Others get tattoos to indicate belonging to a certain social group or religious group.
While piercings and tattoos can be used in pagan ritual, they are not inherently a pagan ritual on their own. Just like a sword may be used in pagan ritual, a sword is not inherently a religious tool.
If you want to know why someone you know has gotten a piercing or tattoo, ask them. People usually have very interesting personal reasons for getting these procedures done.
-Scarlet
I really don’t know the origins of these sometimes quite unsightly additions to the body.
In the bank the other day their was a man with completely tattooed arms, head and neck. Thankfully we could not see the rest of him as it was covered. People don’t seem to realise that they might change their minds about these things later and you couldn’t get all of that sorted out.
Someone who came to our church when he was in his fifties is now rather embarrassed about his Geisha girl on one arm and Jesus on the cross on the other, especially as he likes short-sleeved shirts. But it just reminds one of the folly of youth.
As for piercings, it really turns my stomach just looking at the young people with multiple piercings, especially with those on their tongues. But if they want to look that way it must be their choice and they have to live with any consequences.
It has long been part of some rituals.
However, not everyone who gets pierced or tattooed is doing it for ritual reasons, or in a religious context.
For example, eating and drinking have long been part of rituals by many cultures; however not everyone sitting down at McDonalds to chow down a Big Mac is Pagan.
Rarely is it anything to do with a blood covenant, though. More often it is a symbol of faith, or of having undergone a certain rite of passage– like a wedding ring is symbol of marriage. It is a badge of honor.