Cyber sigilism tattoo style is rather recent, probably starting in the second decade of the 21st century.
It is the current trendy tattoo style, emerging as a modern take on tribal tattoos in the wake of the resurgence of the 1990s and Y2K trends.
If we wanted to trace it back to an artist, we can point to @aingelblood, who refers himself as the trans ritual artist and has an extensive cyber sigilism tattoo portfolio, dating back years ago.
Cyber sigilism refers to a tattoo style that has a strong emphasis on the futuristic, dark and mechanical yet organic shapes.
Cyber refers to the ‘digital age’ we live in, and sigilism refers to the symbols used in magic, further adding to the ritualistic symbolism these tattoo designs hold.
The avant-garde patterns are futuristic and mystical, and give off a very distinct dark aesthetic.
The meaning of every cyber sigilism tattoo is personal and unique to the wearer, and it doesn’t necessarily have connection to a strict historical meaning of the shapes used.
When including elements of nature, art references, special objects, and characters from anime or videos games, the cyber sigilism elements are added for stylistic purposes.
Are Cyber Sigilism Tattoos The Same As Tribal Tattoos?
Tribal tattoos have a long history, sometimes dating back hundreds of years, or longer (in the case of the Celtic tattoos).
The shapes and elements used in them refer strongly to natural elements such as animals, trees and religious insignia, which is definitely not the case with cyber sigilism.
That said, cyber sigilism tattoos aren’t tribal tattoos in the traditional meaning of the concept.
Even though they consist of some tribal-inspired and geometric elements (like spikes, sharp lines and heavy shading), there was not a specific culture this style has emerged from.
Cyber sigilism tattoos should be understood as a modern interpretation of the ancient tribal body modification traditions, mirroring it against the modern day digital technology.
