Meaningful Henna

This design was done on a grieving mother after the sudden death of her son. The symbol represents his presence as a sun-like beacon in his community, with leadership skills like a compass that directed so many. Within the circle you can see representations of his children and other family members gathered together to honor him and the web of connection he created in his life. His signature was incorporated into the design as well. Several people at the memorial service received this same design.

Other Memorial henna designs have honored the lives of lost pets and historical figures.

This design was done for someone about to undergo surgery for a hiatal hernia. The heart represents the stomach, feeling healthy and healed from the help the procedure was about to provide. The esophagus extends above and the small intestine below. The patient herself received this design as a blessing before surgery as well as several other supportive family members. Many people find that sharing the same design across a group enhances their sense of connection during trying times.

Other Healing henna designs have been done on cancer patients' heads after losing their hair, mastectomy scarring after breast removal, patients undergoing gender confirmation procedures, and many others.

Pregnancy henna very naturally falls into this group, though sometimes it can also be used for memorializing a pregnancy loss, working on healing from past birth trauma, or include elements of aspiring for a birth process vision. And frequently it falls into the pure decoration category, too (which is totally fine!).

In the design above we included representations of the two parents curled up and awaiting their unfurling into their new role. The mother wisely noted that her husband was lagging behind a little in embracing his new role, so he is behind her and unfurling more slowly. The baby is down at the bottom, head-down and ready to unfurl once they grow to a healthy size. This mother wanted to include that element as an aspiration for a non-breech positioning and a non-premature delivery.

Other types of Celebrating henna designs can be for weddings, divorces, birthdays, graduations, and more.

This back design was created for a woman who wanted to mark an unknown transition she felt she was on the precipice of. She didn't know what it was but she believed it would be the biggest adventure she had yet faced. We did a Phoenix rising to represent that for her, with special meaning for the three spirals. There was just enough henna left after 5 hours of applying this design that small spirals could be extended onto her shoulders. We joked that now she had her own wings, too. Within a few days of receiving this design, she suddenly died with no prior illness. At her memorial people shared stories of how much she loved her henna and showed it to everyone she knew. During her cremation it was still clearly visible.

Aspiring henna design can take on many forms, including envisioning a healthy relationship in your future, a wanted pregnancy, a dream job, or really anything.