Glyph tattoo ideas

47 photos and flash · 23% Fine line, 15% Realism · Forearm most common

What will it cost? Try the tattoo cost calculator
Black and grey realistic tattoo of a carved Mayan style stone face within a glyph ring, covering the upper arm.
Mayan carved stone design on upper arm
Black line drawing sheet of moon glyphs labelled with words such as Hope, Earth and Fire, plus eight moon phase symbols, on a cream background.
Moon glyphs and lunar phase symbols
Black ink tattoo on an arm showing a star-topped crown, a feathered arrow over a dotted line, a row of stylised glyphs and small symbols beneath.
Arrow, crown and glyph lettering on an arm
Small solid black tattoo of a stylised glyph with a circle at the top, a curl to the left and a downward arrow, on the inner forearm near the wrist.
Small black glyph on the inner forearm
Black and grey tattoo of a segmented circular ring with a dark angular glyph and a dot above it, sitting on the upper chest near the shoulder.
Stargate-style ring with glyph on upper chest
Two palms turned upward showing black symbol tattoos across each finger and a black and grey wolf head tattooed on each palm.
Symbol fingers and wolf heads on hands
Black and grey realistic tattoo on an upper arm showing a Mayan-style circular glyph ring around a carved face, with two seated figures below.
Mayan stone carving on upper arm
Black ink tattoo of a stylised zodiac glyph resembling the Capricorn symbol on the upper arm, with a grey sleeve visible behind it.
Capricorn-style zodiac glyph on upper arm
Small black fine line symbol tattooed on the side of a finger, with gold nail polish visible on the hand.
Small symbol tattoo on a finger
Black ink tattoo of a stylised eye symbol with a curved hook below it, placed on the inner wrist.
Stylised eye symbol on the inner wrist
Flash sheet of five designs showing a black stylised glyph decorated with pink cherry blossom, some with green leaves and branches, drawn in a botanical style.
Cherry blossom on a stylised glyph flash sheet
Close photo of a forearm held out against a grey concrete wall, with three small black glyph-like symbols in a row tattooed along the inside of the arm in a lettering style.
Three black glyph symbols on a forearm
Black and grey photo of two crossed feet, each with a small fine line symbol tattoo on the ankle.
Small matching symbols on two ankles
Fine line black tattoo on an upper arm of an astrological chart with planet glyphs, dotted orbit lines, a central circle and numerals.
Astrological chart tattoo on upper arm
Black linework tattoo of three stacked circular symbols on the inner forearm, with a solid black swirling infinity-style knot in the middle.
Three stacked circle symbols on a forearm
Black line-art sheet titled Moon Glyphs, showing labelled symbols such as Hope, Fire and Water above a row of moon phase designs from new moon to waning crescent.
Moon glyphs and phase symbols design sheet
Black and grey photograph of a Virgo zodiac symbol tattoo on the back of a neck, with hair pulled over one shoulder.
Virgo zodiac symbol on the back of a neck
Black and white lotus flower with an eye at its centre, set within a circle of radiating lines above a row of small script-like glyphs, shown as a design rather than on skin.
Lotus with eye in a radiating circle
Black lettering tattoo in an invented-looking script running in a curve over the shoulder, ending in an arrow pointing down the upper arm.
Curved script tattoo with arrow on shoulder
Realistic tattoo on an upper arm and shoulder showing a seated figure in a headdress within a circular carved stone frame with glyphs, in brown and grey tones.
Carved stone seated figure on upper arm
Fine line black tattoo of an owl perched on a branch with leaves and flowers, with two small heart outlines, on the inner wrist.
Owl on a branch on the wrist
Black and grey photo of two rows of fine line angular symbols tattooed on the hand and wrist, one above the other.
Two rows of angular glyphs on the hand
Fine line black tattoo of a row of small symbols and circles running along the outer thigh of a seated person.
Row of fine line symbols on a thigh
Black linework circles inside a ring with a blue and purple watercolour wash, tattooed on the inner forearm.
Circle glyph tattoo on forearm
A flash-style chart of black line symbols with small handwritten labels, resembling runic designs, with no tattoo on skin shown.
Chart of runic-style symbols and labels
Close-up photo of a black ink tattoo of two symbols and the numbers 69 running across the inner forearm, with a watch strap visible at the wrist.
Symbols and the number 69 on forearm
Two hands with spread fingers showing small fine line black tattoos of astrological symbols on the fingers, including a sun, a crescent moon and a triangle.
Planetary symbols on fingers
Neo-traditional style tattoo of a winged figure, an orange-irised eye and flames across the inner forearm, shown in three side-by-side views.
Winged eye and flames on a forearm
Sepia photograph of a small dark symbol tattoo on the back of a woman's neck, with her hand raised to her head and hoop earrings visible.
Dark symbol tattoo on the back of the neck
Black and grey tattoo of a feathered serpent head with carved stone styling and glyphs on a block, across a man's shoulder and upper chest.
Feathered serpent on shoulder
Black and grey dotwork moon phases in a row across the abdomen, with a small fine line glyph on the centre of the chest.
Moon phases across the abdomen
Black and white chart of stylised rune symbols, each paired with a handwritten label such as Agility, Heal, Love and Strength.
Chart of labelled rune designs
Black and white photo of a fine line tattoo on the inner wrist showing a crescent moon and three small symbols in a row.
Crescent moon and symbols on a wrist
Black brush-painted Scorpio zodiac symbol on a plain white background, a standalone design with no body part visible.
Brush-stroke Scorpio zodiac symbol
Black ink tattoo of an arrow made of angular script-like symbols running from the top of the shoulder down the upper arm.
Arrow of script symbols across a shoulder
Realistic tattoo of a seated figure within a circular carved stone frame covered in glyphs, on the upper arm near the shoulder.
Seated figure in carved stone relief on upper arm
Three black line designs stacked vertically on a white background: a branching tree with small stars above, an angular script-like glyph with dots, and a symmetrical star pendant motif.
Tree, script glyph and star motif flash
Realistic black and grey tattoo of a carved Mesoamerican-style stone relief, with a seated figure in a circular calendar ring, across the upper arm and shoulder.
Carved stone relief tattoo on upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo on an upper arm showing a carved stone-style ring of glyphs around a central face, with two figures below.
Carved stone-style glyph ring on upper arm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a carved Mayan stone relief with a central face and glyphs, on an upper arm.
Carved Mayan stone relief on upper arm
Black fine line tattoo of a vertical column of stacked abstract symbols running along the inner forearm, with a tabby cat resting its head near the wrist.
Vertical line of stacked symbols on a forearm
Black ink tattoo of a vertical column of planetary and celestial symbols running down the inside of a forearm.
Column of planetary symbols on a forearm
Three photographs of a black vertical column of script-like glyphs tattooed from the shoulder down the back and along the calf and ankle.
Vertical script tattoo down shoulder, back and leg
Fine line black tattoo of a cross and angular symbols on the inner forearm near the wrist.
Cross and angular symbols on a forearm
Black and grey flash sheet of five angular script-style tattoo designs, each with a caption underneath.
Five glyph-style tattoo designs with captions
Small black ink symbol with a loop tattooed on the inner wrist of a hand held up with the fingers curled.
Small black symbol tattoo on the wrist
Character map sheet of black tribal tattoo-style designs, including butterflies, hearts, dragons, suns and scorpions, arranged in a grid of labelled cells.
Tribal tattoo design font specimen sheet