Bua
Red Lotus with Five Spires
A lotus with fanned wing shaped leaves in red ink, five unalome spires above and an arc of Khom script below.
✦Meaning & Background
A lotus with fanned wing shaped leaves, five unalome spires above and an arc of Khom script below, entirely in red ink. Red is the colour of the mantra in the Thai tradition; setting a complete design in that colour makes the whole into text and image at once.
✦More about this design
Most Sak Yant designs are set in black, with at most the mantra in red. This design reverses that: the whole lotus is in red ink, from the flower down to the arc of script below. You see the same choice in the tiger with red Khom script. The wing shaped leaves around the flower make the shape wider than the plain lotus. Above the flower sit five unalome spires, the same number as in the Hah Taew, where five lines carry the five katha. Red ink asks for a different approach than black: the lines are set finer and age differently as the tattoo settles. We discuss that up front. Read about all Sak Yant symbols or book an intake.
✦Frequently asked questions
Why is this design entirely red?
Red is the colour of the mantra in the Thai tradition. In most designs only the script is red; here the whole drawing is set in it.
Does red ink fade differently from black?
Yes. Red shifts differently as the tattoo ages and is set finer. Silas discusses this up front so you know what to expect.
What do the five points above mean?
Those are unalome spires, the symbol of the spiritual path. Five is the same number as the five lines of the Hah Taew.
