Wolf Totem Tattoo

Where the word comes from

Totem is not a generic mystical term. It entered English from Ojibwe, from doodem, and it means clan.

Your doodem was the kinship group you were born into, and it had an animal. You did not choose it and it did not describe your personality. It told you who your relatives were and, importantly, who you were not allowed to marry.

The modern sense, an animal you feel a personal affinity with, is a different idea that borrowed the word. That affinity is a perfectly real thing to feel. It just is not what a totem was.

What actually shortens its life

Water is the usual suspect and it is only half right. Brief contact does very little; a shower will not remove it.

The killers are friction and soap. Rubbing with a flannel, scrubbing while washing, or a towel dragged across it will lift the edges every time.

Let water run over it, do not rub, and pat dry rather than wiping. That single habit is the difference between two days and five.

The tattoo

9.8 x 6 cm, a compact design suiting a forearm, shoulder or ankle.

Our article on what the wolf totem means goes further. See the wolf temporary tattoo range.

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