Madonna gets matching ‘tree of life’ tattoo with teenage son David
The singer also got a new tattoo in tribute to her late mother
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Madonna has revealed that she and her 16-year-old son David Banda have matching Kabbalah-inspired “tree of life” tattoos on their wrists.
In a series of posts to her Instagram story on Monday 4 April, the “Material Girl” singer gave her followers a behind the scenes look as she visited a tattoo parlour with the teenager.
One picture showed her arm next to David’s, with the matching ink on each of their arms. “#FamilyAffair,” she captioned the post.
Madonna debuted the ink on her forearm in an an earlier post to Instagram in March, but David’s tattoo is new.
In one photograph posted to her story, he sits with his arm outstretched, looking up at the camera.
Madonna began studying Kabbalah shortly after her daughter Lourdes was born in 1996.
Under Kabbalah tradition, the tree illustrates how God expresses his energy throughout the universe through angels. Each of the branches symbolises a particular type of creative force overseen by an archangel.
The mother of six also got a brand new tattoo in tribute to her late mother – the word “maman” written in red gothic script.
Her mother, also named Madonna, died of breast cancer when the singer was five years old.
Madonna documented the process in a video posted to Instagram on Monday. “My turn to bleed for my mother,” she captioned the post.
In the short clip, an artist can be seen working on her arm as she gasps in pain.
“I’m doing this for my mother,” she tells the camera. “Because when you give birth, what do you do? You bleed. It’s all connected.”
At one point, David appears and gives his mother a kiss on the cheek. As he reads out “maman”, Madonna explains: “I can’t put my mum’s name because it’s the same as mine, it would look like I’ve put my own damn name on my arm.
“My mother bled for me so I’m bleeding for her, it’s a family affair,” she added.
Madonna famously got her first tattoo in 2020 in tribute to her six children. She got the letters L R D M S E for each of their initials; Lourdes, Rocco, David, Mercy, and twins Stella and Estere.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments