Nautical Star Tattoos
Posted by Contributor on Jan 7, 2009 in Tattoo Designs • No commentsLots of debates focus on the meaning associated with nautical star tattoos, and the interpretation often varies with the user. This actually led to different way of interpretation according to the user and taking context into account as well. Sailors were the ones to set the tradition of nautical star tattoos as they had their superstitions and fears losing their way at sea or seeing their end away from the land. Thus the north star was seen as the home symbol and the silent promise that the person will stay on the right path in life. Such nautical star tattoos clearly represent good luck and return home in perfect conditions.
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Punk rockers, military groups, gays and lesbians are the ones to use the nautical star tattoos as symbols or logos, but taken separately they all attribute distinct meanings to the symbol. For the military, the nautical star tattoos mean pretty much the same thing as for sailors; the military are also looking or waiting for their return home. Freedom to choose, this is the message given by lesbians to the nautical star tattoos. In the 40s and 50s, when people didn’t have that much liberty to show their alternative orientations, lesbians would tattoo the nautical star on the inside part of the wrist where it could be easily camouflaged by a watch, but in the evening as the type of clothes worn in bars were different, the tattoo could be seen and identified by people with similar orientations.
As for punk groups, nautical star tattoos represent a symbolic way of expressing their differences. With the same hints to the North star, these tattoos show individual attempts to find one’s path in life even if that means being different. Many full sleeve tattoos that are so common among punk rockers also include a nautical star, the elbow area is otherwise preferred for the decoration. Yet, the choice of a nautical star doesn’t have to be connected with pertaining to one group or another, as it can simply be a matter of liking or disliking a design. The preference for one tattoo or another is definitely subjective and it should remain that way.
One interesting aspect remains the denial of the symbolic charges of the nautical star tattoos; thus, the military often have a very strong rejection and debunking reaction towards the possible associations with gay or lesbian groups. Yet, other people wear such tattoos without even giving them a meaning other than their personal liking for the design. The thing that stays valid is the presence of nautical star tattoos in different moments in the history of mankind, which no one can deny.
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