Star tattoos

Nautical Star the most popular and controversial symbol in the tattoo world has its origin from the sailors and pirates. Star tattoos or more precisely the Nautical star tattoos were considered as lucky charms by the men at sea to find back their ways in the sea and realize their ambitions.

Today this symbol has been adopted by many groups with different ideologies or cults each one boasting of its own stories and history about the star tattoos. This has lead to the debate on star tattoos that is getting heated up day after day.

Tracing back the history of the Nautical star tattoos one may find a convincing legacy of the early sailors who used to get tattooed their hand by this popular symbol in an attempt to please the lady luck and to have a smooth sailing not only in the sea but also in life.

The stories of many sailors both famous and infamous carry tales of unending sufferings and turmoil when they were stranded at many coasts. Naturally these explorers tend to be more superstitious and men of fantasies. Their sailings were well guided by the stars at night and slowly the North Star became their lucky symbol, charm and savior.

This may precisely be the reason for them to get their favorite symbol tattooed on their body exhibiting the lasting bondage with this lucky star.

There is no reason to disbelieve this logical and rational argument and the sailors could be considered as the first to tattoo the Nautical Star on their fore arms in the hope of getting back to their homelands and thereby saving their precious lives.

However these tattoo tales of the sailors are not the only legacy of the Nautical Star being talked about. Today the North Star has been tattooed by different sections or groups of people each having different legacies to speak about.

Today it is common for military men to get their hands tattooed with the Nautical Star as a symbol of protection, security, and luck. Recently an American soldier who was engaged in the combat operation in Afghanistan was narrating about the Nautical Star that was tattooed on his hand, as a guide to find his way safe to his land and people, the same reason the early sailors put forward centuries back.

Yet another group that uses this famous symbol for tattooing on their hand is the punk rockers tracing the legacy from the sailor Jerry who himself was a popular tattooist of the olden days. Many a punk band who have normally full sleeve tattoos get the Nautical Star tattooed either on their elbows or elsewhere.

The bondage with the Nautical Star by the lesbian and gay groups was not so obvious in earlier days. As the lesbian or gay culture were not widely accepted or respected, many women in those days had the North star tattooed on their hand at places that could have been hidden by their wrist watch or other veils. In due course of time these were considered as a symbol of their preference and the tattoos were more predominantly exhibited.

The North Stars tattoos are also being referred as a Gay symbol and claimed to be their legacy by these groups.

Irrespective of the source or origin of the legacy of star tattoos, any one who wants the Nautical Star to be tattooed on their body can do so attributing  a convincing reason that suit to one’s philosophy or ideology.

Comments:

I find that the North star is also very popular among frats. No explanation as to why other then they think it looks cool.
October 17, 2006, 11:10 pm, Sarah