Nautical Star Tattoo Designs and Their Meanings

The nautical star tattoo design is easily one of the most popular styles of star tattoos. Long used as an image for protection and guidance through life, nautical star tattoos are today assigned many different meanings by their wearers:
Military meaningsGay and lesbian symbolismPunk rock groupsPersonal interpretations

The design itself is a five-pointed star with each point divided into two symmetric sections, of which each of these sections are colored with alternating light and dark colors.

Military and/or Navy Symbolism

Nautical star tattoos are said to be one of the earliest tattoo images in "modern" times. The design, well over a century old was worn by sailors to signify navigation by following the North Star, known as Polaris. Of all of the stars in the night sky used for navigation, it is the North Star that is relied upon most to return sailors home. Because it seems to be relatively stationary over the North Pole with the other stars moving around it, its fixed position in the sky is an essential reference point for navigation. In today's nautical charts, the direction North (zero degrees) on a compass is marked with a five-pointed star.

While other maritime tattoo symbols, such as the anchor and sparrow, find their inspiration in different ports of call or are used to commemorate the voyage and its perils, the nautical star is a much more hopeful symbol of being able to find one's way. By extension, it has also been used specifically as a symbol of the return home and sometimes the luck that is needed to reach that destination.

Other branches of the military have since adopted the belief that the nautical star keeps them pointed in the right direction and aids in their safe return home to their family and friends.

Gay and Lesbian Symbolism

In the middle part of the 20th century, particularly in the '40s and '50s, when it was still taboo for women to be lesbians, there were symbols that were used to indicate sexual orientation in women. The most popular of these was the nautical star tattoo inked somewhere easily hidden and also easily unhidden. The most common spot for this tattoo was on the wrist that could be easily hidden by a watch, clothing and other accessories. During the day the watch was on but at night when you there was a more likelihood of meeting like-minded people, the watch was removed so others could see it. Instead of taking a guess at a stranger's orientation and possibly embarrassment, homosexuals would look for symbols like the nautical and know that their secret was safe and was talking to a like-minded individual.

More recently, MANY lesbian women wear a silver ring around their middle to finger to symbolize their sexual disposition.

Punk Rockers

The punk movement adorns the nautical star tattoo design "because we can." The movement traces its origins back to Sailor Jerry, who inked thousands of sailors with "cool" designs. Historically, Sailor Jerry was one the most iconic and famous tattoo artists who ever lived. The thing that remains constant here is that this group also believes the nautical star provides guidance in their lives, pointing them on their own exclusive path.

Personal Interpretations

The nautical star tattoo design clearly shows that when the same powerful symbol is used again and again over decades of time it has taken on very different meanings for different groups. So all of those that you see sporting a nautical star tattoo might not all have the same interpretation of its symbolism.
Whatever that interpretation is, the fact is we all have our own ideas about what things symbolize to our own unique lives.

While the nautical star is regarded as a symbol of finding one's own path in life and finding ones way home safely, it obviously is a much revered and popular tattoo design in today's society. Now that you have a more broad based knowledge of this symbol, look around you and see if you now notice that more people than you would have realized are inked with nautical star tattoo designs.

Have a great day and shoot for the stars in your own endeavors.

Chris Orr

Selecting a tattoo design should be a very thoughtful and thought out process. My blog, Tattoo Designs Forever at http://tattooforever.blogspot.com/, reminds us that whatever tattoo design we select should be one that we plan on having, cherishing, and admiring forever.

Prison Tattoos and Their Meaning

Prison tattooing is the practice of creating and displaying tattoos in a prison environment. They are often used to portray gang membership, prison status, family bonds, spiritual beliefs and are often used as a form of code and have hidden meanings. Tattooing is forbidden in most prisons and therefore is done in secret, with makeshift tattoo equipment. Within the expanding prison system, tattoos are taken seriously by the inmates and their guards alike. Tattoos obtained while locked up in prison have special significance both to the prisoners themselves as well as back on the streets.

Methods of Tattooing in Prison

There are two standard type of prison tattoo pistols, the spinner and the relay. The relay pistol is much better than the spinner rig-up and is now more widely used. An inmate breaks down his most prized possession, a radio, and removes the transistor. The thin copper wire is then removed which is wrapped around a screw which provides an automatic relay when powered up. The inmate must then somehow acquire bristles from a wire brush from maintenance, and sharpen them to provide the needle. The cylinder is made from a quality mechanical pencil and the armature bar is made with a piece of flexible pallet band and dime size magnet. The tattoo gun is then powered by the transistor of another radio. So owning one of these tattoo "pistols" is quite costly and in prison, "money" can be hard to come by.

Obviously without this equipment, the ole pick and poke method with some type of pin works too.

Prison tattoo ink recipe

Get a metal container, a cut in half soda can is best, and put baby oil and cotton into the can. You then will need a flat piece of metal that can be put over the opening of the can, without covering it. Burn the baby oil and cotton allowing the smoke to hit the metal sheet and blacken it as darkly as possible. You will then scrape all of the black powder off, and repeat. You want to use a credit card or something similar to do this, as razors and other metal scrapers might leave shards in the powder. Put your tattoo powder in a small container, a toothpaste cap is what I recommend, and fill the cap about halfway. Then add a couple drops of clear, scentless, shampoo. Stir thoroughly. Your completed ink should have a pen's inks consistency, or maybe slightly thicker. To thin your ink, add shampoo, and to thicken it up, add more powder.

Some inmates will simply use the ink out of a pen. There are various methods of concocting an ink recipe and they have all probably been used at one time or another.

Due to the lack of proper equipment and sterile environments in prison, the tattooing in prison poses health risks, such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. However, prisoners are ominously aware of this and take as many precautions as are possible given the conditions under which they are operating.

Many inmates in prison who do tattooing are very talented artists. Having quality tattooing skills is prison is a very lucrative skill to possess. Seasoned tattoo artists in prison stand a far better chance of making "money" than say the inmate who is trying to sling drugs behind the scenes. They also gain the admirable respect of other prisoners as well as the correctional officers themselves. Unlike other mind bending activities such as gossip or gang related stimuli the tattoo artist occupies his mind with skin and art.

Some Prison Tattoo Meanings in North America

Three dots arranged as a triangle - this design is most commonly found between the prisoner's forefinger and thumb. The design stands for "mi vida loca," which means "my crazy life."

Teardrop tattoo - this design is worn by the eye. It indicates the wearer has killed someone or that the person had a friend killed in prison.

Shamrock - this design is worn anywhere on the body and is often found on those belonging to the Aryan Brotherhood. In this case, the shamrock often also includes the number 12, with the 1 standing for "A" and the 2 standing for "B."

Ace of spades - Worn anywhere on the body, this design is mostly worn by those belonging to either the Aco Town or Asian Boyz gang. The A, which is often placed in the middle of the spade, is meant to symbolize Asian while the spade symbolizes thievery.

The number 13 - this tattoo indicates membership with the Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang.

The number 14 - this tattoo indicates membership with the Nuestra Familia, which is a prison gang. This gang is affiliated with the Nortenos, a street gang.

Area codes - many gang members use the area code to their neighborhood as a tattoo, though this can become outdated as area codes are changed.

Clock with no hands - most commonly placed on the upper arm, this tattoo symbolizes "doing time."

Spider web - generally found on the elbow, this tattoo is used by white supremacists to demonstrate that they have severely injured or killed one of their "opponents." The design is also commonly found on people that have been in prison.

Clock faces without hands - doing time

Tombstones with numbers - the years they were inside

Tombstones with numbers and RIP - mourning the death of a friend

Face of female crying - has someone on the outside waiting

SWP - supreme white power

100 % pure - pure white or anglo

Cell window with sun or bird showing - waiting to get out

Other countries such as Russia, Australia, France, UK, China and others all have prisons with inmates who bear tattoos with significant meanings. As a matter of fact, Russia and it's former republics have a very elaborate array of tattoo meanings.

One very major point inmates consider while getting tattooed is getting caught. If an inmate gets caught getting a tattoo they are subject to a penalty of 15 days of solitary confinement. Being suspected of getting a tattoo as perhaps is indicated by the reddening of the skin where a fresh tattoo has been inked can still bring repercussions, such as being charged. But hey, if your doing life without the possibility of parole does this really concern you a whole lot?

The concept of prison tattoos is hardly a modern one. There is evidence to suggest that prisoners were tattooed as early as Egyptian times. As with many of the tattoos worn by prisoners today, these tattoos also had significant meaning. For example king or pyramid tattoos were worn by those that were very dangerous, such as assassins, head bosses, and masterminds.