Introduction

This chapter opens the volume Exploring Sacred Ink, a rich collection of essays that examine the varied—and often overlooked—ways in which tattooing intersects with sacralization, identity formation, and embodied testimony. It begins by illuminating the concept of ‘spiritual tattooing’ and its multiple dimensions, then outlines the structure of the book, which unfolds as an extensive journey across space and time, starting in the ancient Nile Valley and ancient Israel, moving through ancient Greece and Persia, continuing into precolonial Andean and Mesoamerican worlds, and concluding in contemporary Mexico and Sweden.