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Emergency medical technicians, dispatched to the scenes of medical emergencies, use a symbol that is similar to the CADUCEUS of medical doctors in some respects. Like the caduceus, its central motif is a serpent coiled around a staff. But where the modern caduceus is produced from a confusion of symbols from the staffs of Asclepius and Hermes, the E.M.T. "Star of Life" remains true to form, using a staff with only one serpent that resembles the staff of Asclepius, who was the son of Apollo and a healer. The six-barred cross that appears as a background to the serpent and staff stands for the six-system function of emergency medicine: response, on-scene care, care in transit, transfer to definitive care, dedication, and reporting. E.M.T.s are clearly proud of their profession and the role that they play in saving lives, when they choose this symbol for a tattoo.

The EAGLE that eats a SNAKE while perched on a nopal cactus appears on the national flag of Mexico. It is derived from the Aztec legend that the capital, Mexico City, was founded according to the command of the sun and war god Huitzilopochtli, who was sometimes represented as an eagle. Ac- cording to his command, Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital and antecedent of Mexico City, was founded in C.E. 1325 on a spot where an eagle was seen devouring a snake, ending a long and perilous migration from the Aztec's traditional home of Aztlan to the Valley of Mexico.

The EAGLE grasping a group of arrows is a patriotic variant of eagle iconography used in the Great Seal of the United States, adopted in 1782. The bald eagle clutches an OLIVE BRANCH (with thirteen leaves and thirteen berries), which stands for peace, and also thirteen arrows, which stand for war and readiness. (Thirteen represents the number of original colonies) The RIBBON in its beakcarries the motto e Pluribus unum, which means "out of many, one."

The eagle is quite simply the king of the BIRDS. In symbolism written or pictorial, it is representative of the mightiest rulers, the highest gods, and the greatest heroes. In surviving texts from ancient Babylon, the deceased king is borne to the heavens by an eagle. In many instances, the eagle embodies lofty aspirations and higher spiritual achievement. In other cases, it symbolizes strength and glory and even substitutes for the SUN in Arctic and some Native American mythology. Because they are also birds of prey, eagles have come to be associated with clarity of vision and thus insight as well. Adopted as the national bird of the U.S. in 1782, the American or bald eagle has also become one of the most popular of the patriotic tattoos done in this country. It is impossible to capture the multitude of meanings that eagles have acquired and equally impossible to describe the great range of expression that eagles have inspired in tattoo art.

The double-headed EAGLE in the Coptic pilgrimage tattoo repertoire of Jerusalem is likely Byzantine in origin, where it was used as an imperial symbol. Similarly, it has been adopted for use by the clerical hierarchy of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches. Usually the Haida portrayed the THUNDERBIRD or eagle with only one head. This double-headed version was probably adopted from the imperial Russian czar's double-headed eagle COAT OF ARMS. The Russians had established a presence in the Pacific Northwest by the mid-1700s. The Russians themselves had perhaps adopted the double-headed eagle crest from the Byzantines in 1497.

Tattoos that use images of the earth are not new in the sense that earth symbols have always abounded in all cultures. However, the view of earth from space, with blue OCEANS, tan land masses, and white swirling CLOUDS is a modern icon, and an all-inclusive one. In keeping with other earth images, it can symbolize universality, caretaker of the earth, fruitfulness, and fertility even motherhood.