Scroll with Quote

• Design a tattoo showing a scroll framing a quote that you find meaningful. The quote could be drawn from a religious text, such as the Koran, the Bible or the Upanishads, from a favorite novel or nonfiction book, from a poem, or from a person you admire. Arrange the quote to be tattooed in a font that fits the scroll style. For example, if you decide to go with a metallic, futuristic-looking scroll, a square-edged computer-style font would match. Alternately, for a parchment-style scroll, find a flowery Shakespearean cursive font.
  
  

Dead Sea Scrolls

• The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a Middle Eastern cave.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Commission a tattoo that pays homage to the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th century in a cave near the Dead Sea. Since the bulk of the cache of ancient scrolls comprised fragments of scrolls, make your tattoo depict a scrap of goatskin scroll inscribed with Aramaic or Hebrew. Such a tattoo would be cryptic and suitable for someone who wants a small scroll tattoo. Alternately, if you prefer a large tattoo, design a scroll that will stretch the length and breadth of your back and have a substantial portion of the text of one of the Dead Sea Scrolls tattooed within it.
  
  

Blank Scroll

• Direct the tattoo artist to give you a tattoo of an unfurled blank scroll if you like the look of an empty scroll or if you wish your tattoo to function as a symbol of life as a blank slate (or blank scroll, in this case) upon which you may write your own story. You could also get a blank scroll tattoo and plan to fill in the "content" of the scroll later.
  
  

Treasure Map Scroll

• Add appropriate accessories, like gold doubloons, to the treasure map tattoo.Jupiterimages/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Commission a tattoo showing a partially unrolled treasure map scroll if you have held onto your childhood affinity for pirates and tales of lost treasures or if you wish to visually evoke the idea that you are searching for something. A treasure map scroll tattoo would be enhanced by traditional pirate accouterments like a treasure chest, a pile of gold doubloons, a cheeky parrot or a cutlass.