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The jack-in-the-box is a musical box toy with a handle crank on the side. As the crank is wound, music is played, and tension increases in the handle. The crank becomes more difficult to turn until the clown or jack springs out of the top of the box from beneath the lid. In tattoo artwork, the jack-in-the-box is shown sprung. But what comes out of the box is anybody's guess rarely is the little emerging puppet a simple clown in tattoo imagery. Sometimes it is a SKULL or any other numerous types of heads. A common head to pop out might be the evil CLOWN with wacky hair, makeup, and bulbous nose, but also a sneer and wicked look about the face. This is not far from the actual purpose of the toy, which is to give a bit of a start or scare as the jack pops out, and these more malevolent versions capitalize on the scary and surprising aspect of this play thing a bit of an unexpected and bad surprise, even if you're familiar with the toy.

The jack-o-lantern, or the pumpkin carved with a face and lit from within by a candle, is a symbol of HALLOWEEN. Many of the customs of Halloween are shrouded in the history of ancient Britain, including the origin of the jack-o-lantern. Some legends attribute it to a night watchman and others to a scoundrel who managed to trick the DEVIL and needed a lamp to navigate from hell back to EARTH. Originally, though, in either version, a CANDLE was placed in a turnip. When the legend was transplanted to the United States, the turnip was replaced by the native pumpkin.

The jackal is a beast of ill omen and death in areas of the world that it occupies namely parts of Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Southeast Asia because it feeds on corpses and frequents graveyards. ANUBIS, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, was portrayed with the head of a jackal, with a distinctive long muzzle and large pointed ears. In some Hindu iconography, this relatively small animal (15-25 pounds) is associated with violent feelings and emotions.

Jacob's Ladder comes from a story in the Judeo-Christian tradition (Genesis 28:12) where Jacob dreams he sees a ladder on which ANGELS go up and down, between heaven and EARTH. Ladders in general are a symbol of ascension and the ladder that connects the heavenly and mortal realms is one of connection as well as ascension. It is a bridge and an expression of communication between God and humanity.

The jaguar, the largest of all cat species in the Western hemisphere, plays a decidedly Underworld role in the cultures of Central and South America, where the animal is found. The Maya regarded the jaguar as an incarnation of the internal powers of the EARTH, sometimes escorting souls after death. Depictions of evening sometimes showed the jaws of a jaguar (the earth) swallowing the SUN. Glyphs that use the jaguar or its skin are associated with dreaming, spirits, and shamanic activity. Tattoo imagery uses the jaguar in similar ways, sometimes depicting it in a naturalistic state with its leopardlike two-tone spots. Other images use Mayan glyphs, typically the head with a canine tooth showing in profile.

Janus was one of the most ancient of the Roman gods, with roots in an Indo-European deity. The god with two faces, one on each side of the head, was originally the creator, but over time he became the god of change and transition, the god of the gate. His two faces meant that he watched entrances as well as exits, saw the internal and the external worlds, looked left and right, above and below, could see before and after, and be for and against. Janus (for whom the month January is named) was the god of beginnings and the protector of portals.