Raven's Nest

Upper Left Arm - Pentacle/Pentagram : The pentagram
first appeared in Egypt (the form Raven has is a
Thebian Pentacle, found in Thebes, Egypt), although it
was never a popular of frequently used sign. The first
pentagram was a pottery marking, a five pointed star in
a circle. William Arnett's The Predynastic Origin of
Egyptian Hieroglyphs (1982) shows the pentagram
existed side by side with the five-line star, which became the standard in Egyptian art. Five pointed stars were found in Gerza and Tarkhan, all Upper of Middle Egyptian protodynastic sites (Set was the ruler of Upper Egypt). One of the Tarkhan pentagrams has a five-pointed star attached to a boat -- considered one of the first signs of the soul's journey through the celestial Tuat.

Maoris served not only as decoration but as the individual's legal identity as well.
Raven's tattoo is a strand of barbed wire done in the tribal style. It symbolizes and commemorates a match Raven had with The Sandman in ECW in 1996, where the ring ropes were removed and replaced with strands of barbed wire wrapped around the ring in their place. The tattoo commemorates the intensely painful experience Raven had in that match and how it is now permanently part of him. It is part of his identity, and in the tradition of the Maori moko tattoos, he inscribed it as part of himself on his skin.

Right Forearm - Sun : The sun symbolizes life and eternity. It's been a symbol of veneration and worship in cultures like Japan, where the emperor was known as the Sun God, and in Egypt, where the early Egyptians worshipped the sun god Ra. The sun is an iconic symbol with various meanings and this freestyle design of it on Raven's tattoo is impressive.

Upper Right Arm - Rust Never Sleeps : This tattoo draws it's inspiration from an album done by one of Raven's favorite musical performers, Neil Young. It's a reference to a corporate slogan once used by the Rustoleum Corporation - "Rust Never Sleeps."

Amen later became joined with the sun god Ra (or Re) as Amen-Ra, king of the gods. As such he attained a position of supremacy in the Egyptian pantheon and came to be thought of as one of the creators of the universe. He was the husband of the goddess Mut and father of the god Khonsu; together they were known as the Triad of Thebes. Though unknown and unseen, Amen was thought to characterize great generosity and universal influence.
In recent times, the ankh has become associated with the gothic subculture. In Neil Gaiman's comic, "The Sandman", the character Death uses the ankh as her attribute as the force that rules life and death. The ankh has also been a status symbol in the modern gothic subculture. Raven is also a Sandman fan, so this could be another explanation for the tattoo.

Left Forearm - Barbed Wire: This tattoo is done in a tribal tattooing style. Tribal tattooing dates back to the tattoos done by the ancient Maori tribes now found in primarily in New Zealand and other assorted islands of Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean.
The Maori were very particular about their tattoos. The Journals of Europeans who settled New Zealand in the 1800s record that the intricate facial tattoos of the native

Left Middle Finger - Ankh : The ankh dates back to the 12th century.
It comes from Egyptian mythology, where it was the symbol of life.
It is usually seen as an attribute of the Egyptian god Amen (also spelled Amun, Amon, Ammon, Aman, or Hammon), a god whose name
means "what is hidden," "what is not seen," or "what cannot be seen." He is god of the breath of life that animates all living creatures as well as the spirit that permeates every inanimate object. Originally
associated with the city of Thebes.

Left Calf - Nevermore: This tattoo is a small banner with the inscription, "Nevermore." On the banner, there is a raven flying overhead. This banner probably refers to the Raven persona and his signature motto, "Quote the Raven, Nevermore." This saying refers to Edgar Allen Poe's classic 1845 poem, "The Raven".

The "Lenore" that Poe keeps referring to in the poem is a reference to his dead child bride Virginia, whom Poe married when she was 13 years old. Another interesting tidbit about their was the fact that they happened to be first cousins. This would be considered dysfunctional in this day and age, along with the idea tha Poe drank himself to death, perhaps this would be one reason why Levy would find this poem interesting enough to base a nihilstic gothic persona like Raven on.

Neck/Upper Back - Dragon : This tattoo is of a Chinese dragon, done in a traditional Chinese style. The historical background on dragons is quite interesting. Before the time of Columbus and the age of discovery sailors refused to venture into unknown seas for fear of encountering dragons and other monsters of the deep. Old maps show the uncharted seas filled with strange creatures having wings, horns, and claws

of such enormous size that they could crush a ship. The dragons of Chinese and Japanese myth and art were reptiles with batlike wings and claws and were supposed to spread disease and death among the people. For ages the dragon was the emblem of the former imperial house of China.

Left Chest: This symbol tattooed on Raven's chest is difficult to see and open to conjecture. At this point, it's believed to be a peace symbol encased in another design, the peace symbol being in the center. The peace sign dates back to Native American cultures, and it was revived as a popular symbol in the 1960's by the "hippie" movement as a symbol of peace in the Vietnam War era.

Back - The Sandman : This design on Raven's back is thought to be a freestyle rendering of the DC Comics character, The Sandman. It is done in the style of original artist and Morpheus (aka The Sandman, Dream) co-creator, Sam Kieth (most famous for his comic book, The Maxx). The Sandman was a 75-issue comic series published by DC Comics under its Mature Readers label, Vertigo. It was one cohesive (yet

abstract) story which centered on the character Morpheus (no not the black guy in the matrix), who was one of seven main characters known as The Endless. The Endless consisted of seven beings that aren't gods. They existed before humanity dreamed of gods and will exist after the last god is dead. This is why they are called The Endless. They are embodiments of (in order of age): Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium. Raven has a deep connection with this character,as he always wears Sandman shirts and talks about the character in many interviews, so this is the origin of this tattoo.

Right Chest - Sword : This design has recently been added to Raven's long list of Tattoo's and was first sported on a October edition of HeAT. It is so far unsure what exactly this signifies in Raven's life yet I was not so surprised when I first viewed this. Since its introduction it has seemed a little faded, with it probably been highlighted for its first appearance.

**Tattoo Images and Tattoo Explanations are Original Source's and Property's of scottlevy.com - The UnOfficial Online Raven Resource**