A scallop shell, a symbol of the Camino de Santiago.
A scallop shell, a symbol of the Camino de Santiago.
Tattoo - A scallop shell, a symbol of the Camino de Santiago.
Thank you to Maddy for sharing her beautiful tattoo story ⚡️
The tattoo, a scallop shell of St James is the most iconic symbol associated with the Camino. It is believed to promote courage, strength and hope, many Pilgrim’s attach one to their backpack at the start of their journey.
Maddy got this beautiful tattoo done in Spain the day after finishing the Camino de Santiago, aka The Way of St James or more specifically the Camino Frances which is the French route on the famous pilgrimage walk. Camino Frances starts in the French Pyrenees and then covers a route of around 500 miles until its end in Santiago in Spain.
The vertical lines represent the various routes pilgrims can take to get to their final destination Santiago, which is represented by the horizontal line.
For Maddy, she got the tattoo as she wanted a daily reminder of what she'd learnt from the trip, always thinking if she ever got a tattoo, it would be on the back of the neck - but got this on her wrist as she wanted a constant visual reminder.
The time doing the Camino gave her time to reflect.
The shell is a metaphor - for Maddy it reminds her there is a plan and she is on a path trying to figure it out which gives her a sense of purpose and that someone is guiding her towards it.
If there is a derailment from it, by making the wrong decision, then she will be guided back on course again and this has been very comforting.
Does this make you want to pack your bag and take on a epic adventure of your own? how do you deal with derailment? and do you believe things will get back on track if you derail?