Tattoo symbols / The unalome

One of the most famous tattoo designs for Buddhist symbols lovers, the unalome or unaalome looks simple but carries a much deeper meaning.

A plain explanation is that the unalome symbolises the path to enlightenment that every soul has to fulfil. It is an iconography of the trauma and anguish from which we have to pass, the challenges we have to encounter.

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Unalome Origin

In Hindu mythology this symbol is considered to represent Shiva's third eye.

In both Thai and Cambodian traditions the unalome is an element of Sak-Yant tattoos.

Sak-Yant tattoos are traditional tattoos with magical and mystical meanings, blessings, that are inked with the traditional needle (with a bamboo in the old days) into the skin of a disciple from a trained Master. It is used as an affirmation, protection, path or personal goal of the wearer. Sak – meaning “to tap”, and Yant – “Yantra”. Originally derived from the Sanskrit word “Yantra”