What Does A Nautical Star Tattoo Really Mean?

Sailors, Punk Rockers and Lesbians? If I was to try and pick a combination with less in common, I don’t know if I could. However, there is one thing that joins these groups together, and that is their association with the popular tattoo design, the Nautical Star.

Even though the meaning behind this design is as puzzling as why superman wears his underwear on the outside of his costume, there are some common associations to it. The creation is usually agreed upon to be from sailors (And I thought all they got were pinups and anchors!). The meaning to them is fairly obvious. The nautical star is representative of the North Star. When ships were out on the ocean, they would use this particular star to navigate, because it stays in the same spot. Sailors were known for being superstitious, which came through in their nautical star tattoos that they thought would get them home.

Time travel many years in the future to the 40-50’s. At this time, homosexuality was not common like it is today. The nautical star became a popular way for lesbians to display pride in their lifestyle without being explicit. Most often they would tattoo them on the inside of their wrist. That way, by day they would play an alter ego, wearing a watch to cover up the tattoo. Then at night, they would reveal their true colors and go display their pride out on the town. Kind of like batman in reverse… except that batman is not gay.

The last association that the nautical star has picked up over the years is with the punk music scene. Though the reasoning for this is very unclear, it may have something to do with the “classic” style of the tattoo which was popular with the punk scene. It might have something to do with a tattoo artist, Sailor Jerry, who was popular with punk rockers.

Despite the wide range of associations, I think they all tie together in one meaning. The nautical star is a symbol of hope of finding ones way. Whether it represents something in your life that has guided you along your path, such as a friend or a religion, or just the fact that you follow your heart with your life by going after your dreams, it a tattoo that can have great personal meaning.

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Dylan O'Neil is creator of UniqueFeminineTattoos.com. He designs tattoos and does custom tattoos. If you would like to see his tattoo designs or request a custom tattoo, go visit UniqueFeminineTattoos.com Also, if you are looking for specifically star tattoos, we have our product on our site titled 101 Unique Star Tattoos for Girls you should go check out