AA Alchohol Anonymous Tattoo

I'm looking for ideas for an AA tattoo for myself. I've already thought about a simple circle with triangle. Any other ideas would be appreciated! Thank You Dave

There are some strait edge tattoo designs we just uploaded into our catalog. If anyone knows any good artists in your area you might be able to find someone to draw up a custom tattoo design for you.

how about an angel holding the G-AA symbol.maybe go to a AA club that sells coins,and pins,they might have a design on them that you may like.in san antonio check out http://www.justinmartinez.com/

I am thinking along similar lines to celebrate my first birthday. There are several implementations of the triangle within the circle. I am exploring some on my computer. Best regards, Don

Back in the beginning I had a real hard time staying sober. I thought a constant reminder might be good so I got a tattoo with the AA logo on it. I chose an indian medicine ball with a feather and leather bands. I replaced the ball with the Australian tubular AA logo. I have had many compliments on it from all over. One day at a time my tattoo and I will be celebrating 5 years very soon. If you want to see a pic email me & I'll send you one.

I'm looking to get an AA tat myself. I know I want the AA symbol and would like to have any ideas you may like to share. Any pics would be helpful as well.

There are many ways to interpret the AA logo(or any) visually. Ideally you can vocalize some reasons you want the tattoo and you and the artist can create great visions. Visions of strength will help your resolve, utopia can remind you what you are working towards, some may visualize the horrors of the past as a reminder of what failure will bring in the future. Finding a good custom tattoo artist is definitely your next step.

Hey, happy birthday to the firstie, and happy one-day-at-a-time to the rest! My circle/triangle is on my right forearm.

Hey Guys, this is pretty personal stuff and it's none of my business, but I don't think it's a good idea to have AA tattooed on your body, because in my opinion that symbol will be around for the rest of your life to remind you of the negativity that you came from, and even though the symbol is symbolic of your rise above, It's sort of final reminder that you'll never ever quite be well. I think I would focus on positive stuff like the strength it takes to rise above that. Or the perserverance it takes. I understand the point, but I think I'd rather have something positive and beautiful on my body without the connotation so that just in case there's that one day... that one day when I could be okay, and life gets on track that I don't have to think about it for a day. I understand the other side though.

Good point, up to a point. I keep an AA sign on my skin - and where i can see it - specifically to remind me of where i came from and how easily i could slip back. Part of the AA programme (as i understand it) is not forgetting these things... remembering not in a negative or nostalgic way, but with an optimistic eye on the future. Hey, did i forget to mention that my 5th anniversary was last friday? Yay me!

Hooray for Rasclarke! Congrats man!

I'm on my way in to Steadfast Tattoo this afternoon for my second sobriety tattoo on my left hand. I'm getting the tiangle/ cirlce but in 3D with two banners. One with "Thine" and the other " Own Self." "True" will be across my knuckles. Shoot back and I'll send pictures. Easy Does It

Look forward to seeing that, Bryan!

Hey, I got sober at 16, and when i turned 18 i wanted to get something cool to remind myself. When i got out of rehab i had a girlfriend give me a surfboard that has three chinese symbols on it. The three symbols translated to Never Again. i ended up getting the tattoo on my underside of my forearm. It is nice cause if i dont feel like telling someone why i got it i can say its a statement about genocide but it is there as a reminder. That part that worried me was weather or not it actually meant never again, its hard with cineese symbols. When i was in China a person asked me why i got never again. So i would get something that is passable as not aa related but has a meaning to you

I've read all the possitives and neagatives of getting an AA tattoo. At the end of the day it should be all about you and your deal, you keeping yourself from drinking or drugging, it is you choice as it is mine to stay clean or sober. So if YOU feel like an AA tattoo of your choice is what you need go for it!! I am in the looking for ideas myself, the only suggestion i have is let it have meaning to you and research what you plan on having put on you and who is doing the work. I have 2 soon to be 3 or more if i choose.

Daddy Rose, i kind of disagree with you here. alcoholism isn't something you can just get better from and not need to work on ever again. it is something you struggle with for the rest of your life and just becuase you aren't drinking doesn't mean you have beaten the disease. i think a constant reminder of where you have been, and where you want to go can be a good thing for people. its a reminder of how much better your life can be without booze and how you can achieve that. congrats to all the people working the program and i wish you the best. sorry i don't have any creative ideas, but like Gabe said take your thoughts to a professional artist and they will work with you and get you something sweet.

I've thought of a tattoo for myself about over comming alchoholism and I might draw up a well disciplined samurai slaying a tough-looking "drunken master" all Japanese style. I don't care if someone uses this idea; my drawing will be originAL.

I just got a sobriety tat around a month ago. I celebrated 15 years clean and sober in January and I figured this was a great time to get a tat. It's a version of the Celtic Tree of Life...but with 3 main branches. In the middle of the 3 branches is the inscribed triangle in the circle at the root of the trees. In other words, I look at my recovery as the root of all of my growth. Plus, I've been wanting a Celtic tat for a long time to celebrate my Irish heritage. If anyone is interested in seeing my tat, I'd be happy to email a pic.

Where are all the AA members from? im from the wilkes-barre, pa area. My friend who i was in rehab with asked my to design him a tattoo that had to do with recovery. i designed 2 for him....1 was a compass rose (the start to a new beginning) with some stuff added around it. and the other was the virtue symbol with the AA symbol in the center of it. i personally like the compass rose because it doesnt exactly state AA , its the start of a new and sober life.

Not an AA memeber but GA member getting One day at a Time tattoo in a banner dont have to mention AA but still get message across

Remember about the anon part. Get a SECRET sobriety tat. Its in the traditions for a reason.

I know this post was started a hella while back but I am coming up on two years clean and I know the program quite well. The day I got outta rehab I decided to get a little something for enocouragement, a four leaf clover with "good luck" in script underneath. Its something simple that to me makes me think of the future and what I can make of it rather than a symbol that will bring up your past regrets as I know aa/na does. You don't have to be literal when it comes to personal meaning.

Looking for an artist that would be willing to do partrait of St. Michael spearing an Absolute bottle.

What up all you? Haven't been here in awhile - what an exciting year/month/week! Good to hear/read that folk are still recovering, and still marking it in ink! Good on you all! Hi gabe!

For the people that dont think a tattoo is a good idea. You can't succeed unless you fail. A reminder of that fall will help you rise again. I am too, wanting to get a tattoo.

I am recently clean - kicked an 11 year perscription habit. I am looking for an idea for a new tat. I love the water and know that there is a nautical symbol for "Change of Direction". This tattoo will mean something to me and like others have written, I don't have to explain my history when someone asks about it. Any other ideas???

Hey all- For three years I got the Chinese symbol for SERENITY on my left foot- sort of like a "with every (other) step I take I'll have Serenity"...I have had several other tattoos inked in my life but that one definitely means the most to me. Working on one for my right foot too, not sure what it will be yet. Whatever it takes to keep you going, to stay sober, and IF that includes getting inked as an internal reminder of how far you've come in your time of sobriety, I say GO FOR IT!!!

This is so exciting to find this blog. I am currently searching for a crafty version of the AA circle/triangle logo. Has anyone found anything good?

I got the barcode off the back of the dust cover of the Big Book tattooed on the back of my neck. Had it enlarged a bit to be seen

In January i got the AA symbol tattooed on my sholder and abouve the symbol i got SURRENDER tattooed. Inside the symbol is James 1:2-6. On my inner arm i have "God could and would if He were sought." tattooed. Whoever thinks that the symbol tattooed on your body has a negative meaning is full of it. Obviously they have no clue what it means to be a recovered Alcoholic. AA has given me a new life that i dont deserve. The symbol is a reminder of not only where i am today but also God's Grace. YOU TOOL!

hi, i'm not an alcoholic but both my parents are and i truly believe that AA saved my mom's life and has made her into an amazing person--so i wanted to get an AA tattoo because i'm proud of what she has done and admire her strengh---i was thinking of getting the circle with an inscribed triangle and then a lotus kind of growing around it to mean rebirth--but if anyone one has any suggestion i would love to hear them i just want to say congrats to you all and i really admire your strengh

Hey did you come up with one? I am about to get Serenity on the bottom of one of my sleeves. I am celebrating 6 months in a couple days and I was looking for a tattoo artist that is in recovery in san antonio that is good. Thanks man, Josh

I'll be 2 years 6 months on Dec 2nd. CONGRATS to everyone who has the willingness to stay clean no matter what! It took me 18 years around meetings to get this 2 & 1/2 Were all fucking miracles, even if you don't like my inks, look how far Skincandy has come in the last 2 years, IT'S ONLY because I'm sober. August Worchell owner Skincandy Tattoo Inks

Hey all, I've been searching for months for the perfect tattoo which is going to represent anti-addiction and the strength to overcome tragedies and addictions. Recently my aunt and brother both passed due to their addictions and my younger brother was an addict for years, and I believe I have a part in changing his life for the better. Also my father and older brother have been alcoholics for years and are still battling it. Basically this all runs in my family and has effected me ALOT. im looking for a non-traditional tattoo, i don't want anything cheesy, something unique and original. Not really looking to get the AA symbol either. Any suggestions would be great, thanks guys!!!

Hello freinds, My band's name 12 Pack of doom came when I was drunk, not thinking of foreshadowing my life at all. Now it has a whole new meaning. I'm going to get my birthday inked on me. 1-13-09. Just for shits and giggles I turned the #'s into letters (i.e. 1=a) and they came out A.M.I. as in the first step, asking yourself and admitting that you are an alchoholic. Am I ? Hell yeah I am ! The neumerology, if that's what it's called, in relation to the coresponding letters is proof of my higher power. This date was not picked by me intentionaly. Whoa... I have W.O.R.L.D. on my right toes so when I need to step outside myself I can look down at the world to get a better perspective. I also have a to-do list on my left forearm which has #'s and a blank line after them. They can be filled in with a marker but I don't which helps me when I'm feeling kinda manic. I look at my empty to-do list and that helps me relax. Thanks to everybody out there for sharing and I hope what I've written here is of some help to even one person. Feel free to e-mail me, Love, Kevin.

OOOPS, My e-mail is [email removed] Kevin.

Hey, So I saw your post. I would say include something that drives you. For ex. My dad died a yr and a half ago. He was a big AAer but he also loved the out doors and flowers, so I am getting a AA symbol with a snap dragon (flower) growing from it. That is my in put. Have fun with it. Good luck.

On my one year anniversary, I plan on getting a naked tree with one leaf. I hope to add a leaf for each year being clean and sober. The tree is a reminder of the roots that have been nurtured and entrenched by the fellowship. I'll hopefully be able to watch my tree grow through the years. The tree is also a big reminder for me on the daily temptations we all face. A good friend of mine gave me Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening poem early in sobriety. That last stanza became a source of daily meditation for me. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises yet to keep And miles to go before i sleep And miles to go before i sleep. Congrats on today, and keep coming back.

I like the tree idea. shows growth through the years. Has no meaning to the outside other than "tree with few(or many) leaves" Follows the medallion principles where you get tokens for anniversaries. and gives you yet another reason to stay sober 1 more year. And If you relapse you would have to cut the tat off with a blunt knife! ( just my twisted grasp of things) Stay true my friends and good luck!

I am two years sobor. Following the two years of random drug screening, I felt it was an appropriate thing for me to have a daily and constant reminder of my disease. I chose to place the symbol on the inside of my right bicep. It is the first place I wash every day when I get up. While some people in and out of AA dont understand this, I am happy to be a recovering alcoholic, and proud to feel I will wear that sybol for the rest of my life. Being on the inside of my arm it is not easily noticed. While I am proud to have it, it is only for my continued recovery. I do show it to fellow AA's however, as it is a symbol of my commitment to 12 step work.

their are not many out there that i've seen, other than a circle or the prayer.and since this is a very special and speritual thing, or it was to me, it had to be grand. so i understand sum frustration. i set out to just get ideas and design my own, but the ideas were none, so i had to find my own idea and design. this was for my 5th anaversary and wond up getting done at 6th little late but what the hell. so being a biker i know have a 1/2 sleave with a biker crashing down the gates of hell and winding down the road to recovery, the sun is the AA symbol that he is driving tword. the best thing is that it sybolises so much in my life, with little touches to it i wont mension here, because the second best thing is that it is one of a kind, and will remain that way. sorry no pics here. but i hope my words have helped in sum way. and god bless you bunch of fuck'n ex-drunks....lol

I've been thinking along the lines of our symbol with a tribal built around it.

I went for my sobriety date. Just a simple sobriety date. I had it done where a work shirt will cover it. It's personal for me. I know I will work one day at a time to keep that sobriety date.

I was thinking of something to do with breaking free from chains to resemble relief from bondage of self. I haven't quite got the picture of how I want it ! I just celebrated four years!