cat n' tat (Summer 1999)

a newer pic, minus the scritch marks ;)

chinese phoenix (June 2002)

both together

design used for dove

design used for phoenix

John got his dragon some time in 2001. I got my phoenix in 2002.
(John's tattoos have their own page).
Both of us have the Chinese zodiac symbols for Tiger (John) and Rabbit (jo-jo).
In Chinese mythology, the phoenix and dragon symbolize the Yin (female) and Yang (male) energies respectively.
Together they represent harmony, balance and success in marriage.
The phoenix itself symbolizes yin and yang.
It is actually 2 birds, the Feng-Huang ("Feng" is the male, "Huang" is the female).
There'a a lot of info at http://www.avians.net/paragon/fenghuang.htm if anyone's interested ;)