What's Tat?! Expert Reveals Secret Meaning Behind Angelina's New Ink
Angelina Jolie is known for her many tattoos. However, she recently shocked fans when she debuted her most radical one yet, spanning across her back! RadarOnline.com spoke to an expert who has decoded the symbols. Find out her new ink means in 10 clicks!
Earlier this week, Australian magazine Woman's Day reported that the couple visited Thai artist Ajarn Noo Kanpai to do their tattoos while Jolie was in Cambodia directing her film, First They Killed My Father.
According Justin McDaniel, a renowned religious studies professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the actresses newest ink is a supposed to be a form of protection.
"I think this is an 'araham" yantra' or 'araham sak yan' ... a protective ritual graphic representation of powerful and protective Pali incantations that come out of the Hindu-Buddhist traditions of Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand," McDaniel, who specializes in Southeast Asian Buddhism, told RadarOnline.com.
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Such properties may be of special interest to the mother-of-six in light of her recent health issues. As RadarOnline.com reported, she had both her breasts and ovaries removed after learning that she carries genes that leave her predisposed to cancer. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died from breast cancer at age 56.
Still, Jolie's new tattoos hold a very high spiritual significance as well, according to the expert.
"This seems to be an adaptation of a common yantra used to magically connect the body of the Buddha (actually five previous Buddhas) to the parts of the human body, the 5 major sounds of the mouth (dental, labial, nasal, palatal, etc.), and other aspects of physical reality," McDaniel explained.
"The point of these protective diagrams is to connect the microcosm of the human body to the macrocosm of the universe," he said. "The person is both grounded in the body, but in touch with the powers of the universe more broadly."