From cave walls to oil paintings, images of the moon have been popping up in artwork since the dawn of mankind. The moon has been, that is, until relatively recently, an object of mystery, speculation, and folklore ever since the first humans laid eyes upon it. Being the brightest object in the night sky, the moon holds the title of the most widely viewed object of any kind in the world. Every person with eyes has seen it and that’s something that can’t be said about any other mountain, vista, or landmark in the world.
On a clear night, the moon’s beauty is undeniable. It’s this undeniable beauty that has in no doubt inspired countless tattoos in various sizes, shapes, and colors. Here are some of the best.
This decorative foot piece.
This magical foot tattoo features a feminine face along with a small amount of ornamental flair. Notice the small sun tattoo on the big toe! (Photo: Gina)
This watercolor crescent moon.
This circular creation.
This cool cosmic reflection.
Reflecting galaxies paint this lunar surface purple and blue. A touch of white ink and a few detailed craters add character to an otherwise barren rock. (Photo: Adrian Bascur)
These phases of the moon.
Here we have an amazing forearm tattoo of the moon in all of it’s various phases. Each phase lasts apx. 8 days before it visibly changes to the next. There are 8 different intermediate and principal phases of the moon. (Photo: Danika Brooke)
This elegant shoulder piece.
This contrasting lunar tattoo looks more like the cookie monster took a bite out of it than a lunar phase. However, it looks so good you can’t really complain. (Photo: Mini)
This dotwork crescent moon.
Tiny crescent moons are one of the more popular lunar tattoo designs and it’s easy to see why. This amazing example was created using a bevy of small blue dots placed strategically together to give it the slightest gradient. (Photo: Dain)
This floral back shoulder work.
While a little tough to read, this floral moon is accompanied by the subjects name in romanized Korean. (Photo: Moonda)
This colorful floral crescent moon tattoo.
Here we have a gorgeous borderless crescent moon made up of colorful flowers along with the initials E and A. (Photo: Cole Knox)
This token moon.
This unique design swaps a coin for a moon which, looks surprisingly similar to that of a US quarter. (Photo: Cody Dillow)
These vertical moon phases.
These freshley inked lunar phases follow the path of the spine from the back of the neck all the way down to the waist. (Photo: Yasin Alıcı)
This smirking crescent moon.
This crescent moon appears to know something that the rest of us don’t. (Photo: Sol Art)
This dangling mandala work.
Here we have a wonderful ribcage work featuring a crescent moon filled with an amazing turquoise mandala pattern. Dangling ornaments seem to be pretty popular decorations when it comes to lunar tats. More to come as the list goes on. (Photo: Danielle Martinez-Hunt)
