Well, I have finally saved up enough hard earned cash to get a tattoo. I am going to get a Aum (approx. 1 1/2 in in diameter) on the small of my back.
I have a question, though. I have gotten all the major ones answered, but everyone seems to stear clear of the big one. How much is this going to hurt? I have accepted that it will hurt, but are we talking mild sunburn, or searing cattle prod, pain.
Tell me about your tattoo experiances 
Oh, and don’t forget to say what your tattoo is of.
Mine didn’t hurt a bit, but I gather the small of the back is more sensitive than the upper-arm. [that’s where mine is]
it’s a witches’ cat.
good luck and have fun.
I got mine on the small of my back, and it didn’t hurt much at all. Congrats in advance!
Mine is on my lower right calf, just above my ankle. It didn’t really hurt - it was sorta like an irritating scratch. Good luck!
The closest approximation I can give is that it feels to me like being scratched by something semi-sharp (think a cat’s claw, or a thumbtack). It’s not what I’d call comfortable, but it’s nowhere near excruciating.
I have a butterfly on my left shoulder, a stylized yin-yang with a sun and moon as the “eyes” on my right shoulderblade, and a large red sun with the chinese characters “Tao” (The Way) and “Chun” (unbound) above a lotus blossom on my calf. I got that last one done way too large, and it took 3 sessions ranging from 4-8 hours each to get all the color in. That’s the only time that it really started hurting.
Enjoy! I’ve actually found tatooing really fun, and somewhat addictive.
JonTheTattooedGuy
P.S. Please excuse my ignorance, but, what is an Aum? I did an internet search, and all that came up was stuff about a terrorist group.
I have no idea what an Aum is either.
However, can I make a general tattoo observation?
I don’t have a tattoo. Husband wants one but hasn’t gotten around to it. Best friend and her husband have 3 and 2, respectively.
Anyhow, in high school and college I saw people go out and get one just to have one, ya know? Like there was a girl I knew who got a Grateful Dead bear – never mind that she probably wouldn’t have known the GD if they had bit her on the butt.
I have no problem with tattoos but I think that if someone gets one, it should mean something to them. I mean, shouldn’t it be something very important to them if they’re going to put it on their body forever?
That’s why when I see women with, say, butterflies on their ankles or something dippy like that I end up rolling my eyes. What’s the point, ya know?
If I may presume to answer: make with the clicky here. See the character over to the right? Aum. Or Om. But not Ohm.
My first tattoo is a Pegasus against a rising sun. It’s small and on the back of my left shoulder. It may have been painful but I was very, very stoned, I had it done 21 years ago and I only distinctly recall a band of small, fluffy kittens rollicking about the place.
My second tattoo is on my left thigh and is a turtle stepping into water. There’s a lotus floating in the water and flowers on the bank. It’s very pretty, rather large (~8x8"), and was definitely painful.
Thanks for illustrating an Aum (or Om) for me, Lux Fiat.
For further explanation, it is a Sanscrit letter, often used in the Hindu religion to represent spirituality. My religion is HIndu based, so I felt that it was appropriate.
Wow, now that I am hearing how little it actually hurts, I am REALLY looking forward to this. 
Too bad you’re putting it where nobody will be able to see it, herald. It’s kinda pretty and it would be a great conversation starter 
One of Dh’s professions has been tattoo artist/piercer. He describes the feel of getting a tatto as a bad cat scratch. I couldn’t tell you all of the tattoos he has – they number somewhere around 30 and he is getting another one soon to commemorate the birth of our son (as soon as he decides what he wants).
However, he has told me stories of people who seemed to feel nothing at all (one girl held a conversation with her boyfriend the whole time and never even flinched – her first tattoo, too) and people who hurt a whole lot. One thing he has told me, don’t ask for breaks. When you come back, it will just hurt more.
heraldgwena great timing
I’ve also just decided to get a tatt, and am currently researching, looking for just the right design. I’m really looking forward to it too, and am happy to see no posts speaking of unbearable pain
I’ve heard that tattoos on bony places really hurt … ankles and the like.
Wouldn’t know for sure, though.
That’s what I’ve heard as well. Over the spine is generally pretty bony, so the small of the back is not at all going to be the least painful place.
As for me, I’ve got the design I want sitting on a disk, ready to get printed out and taken to a shop, and I’ve got cards for two shops I can get to easily, and one of these days soon I’ll run out of excuses, and things will actually work out right, and I’ll be able to get my first. And after that, there’ll probably be more.
I’ve two pro done tattoos. To me it felt like I had a rug burn and pushed a toothbrush into it. Not pain where you wanted to shout, no like a broken bone. Mostly warm pain with a couple of pokes.
Not bad at all.
Well, I did it. I went and got it this morning. It hurt, not too bad, but it did. Especially when the artist was working on the middle of my back right over the spine.
One bit of advice I can give it this: Eat before you go. I forgot too, and I almost passed out. The guy said that that happens all the time, especially if you haven’t eaten first. Anyway, it was tons of fun, but right over the bone hurt.