Tat like an Egyptian
The dubiously Egyptian symbol for Only God Can Judge Me continues to be elusive is indeed not Egyptian at all. For the full story, look down about five lines for the update. For how other languages say "Only God Can Judge Me," click here for a lively discussion of Cantonese, Hebrew, Latin and other translations. For an instructive guide to key Egyptian religious symbols that could easily be adapted to tattoos, check out this page on Jennifer Emick's Alt-Religion site. And for the connection between this tattoo and Tupac Shakur, read my first story on the tattoo.
Update: SOLVED!
Just got an email from the divine Ms. E on the symbol in question. As I suspected, "long story short, it's not Egyptian." It's actually
Ashanti, from adinkra designs for funeral cloth. It's "Gya nyame," and it means "god alone" or "the presence of God."
You can find the symbol on her site here (third one down), and a stencil (useful for tattoos?) here.
Gotta run--more later--but if you haven't already be sure to check out Jennifer Emick's site. It's an invaluable resource!
