While many westerners associate the camel with nomadic desert tribesmen and cigarette mascots, the actual animal carries deep and poignant symbolism. The camel has long been an ancient totem for travelers and those who are about to embark on an epic journey with no immediate destination in sight.
They must rely on the camel to guide them, and subsist on stores of saved up fuel, evident in the camel’s famous humps.
Like all desert creatures the camel is steady and resilient, making the most of the daylight hours and never exhausting itself with unnecessary duress. Hebrew texts referred to the camel as “the ship of the desert,” and treated them with reverence.
A prime example of awe-inspiring conservatism, the camel can survive for long periods at a time without food or water, and many have called on the camel to provide similar sustenance in times of scarcity.
The camel tattoo is a simple and poetic way to express your own long journey ahead. It is the mark of the man who can sustain himself for days, weeks, months, or even years on what may appear to be less than nothing—but he knows better. The camel is a powerful totem for those who are willing to look beneath the simplistic correlations. Inked on the arm, shoulder, or over the heart in Saharan colors, the camel tattoo will guide you onward with steadiness and a sure supply of long-lasting abundance.
