Nautical star tattoos have caused much controversy and heated seminar with regard to the true meaning of the design. Over the years, many groups have attempted to tag the compose with their own unique interpretation. In addition to the maritime connection, this favorite tattoo compose has been connected to the military, punk rockers, the lesbian society and the anti-racism movement in recent years.
But what are the origins of the maritime star tattoo? Where did it come from and what did it originally represent?
Almost everybody, without exception, accepts that sailors were the first group of people to wear maritime star tattoos.
In previous centuries, working at sea was a very perilous and unpredicatable way of life. Sailors had very tiny to guide them at night, apart from the stars. And the one that they relied upon most was Polaris, or the North Star. As this star is positioned close to the north pole, it appears to be stationary at all times, unlike other stars which appear to move as time passes. This in case,granted early sailors with a fixed reference point. And once they know where the North Star was, they could position their ships accordingly and be reasonably sure that they were going in the right direction.
Over time the North Star became a stamp for seeing your way home safely and symbolically seeing your way in life. But beyond that, as many sailors were deeply superstitious with a rich history of lore about life and death at sea, they were always seeing for lucky charms. So many sailors began to place maritime star tattoos on their forearms or hands as a stamp of good luck and a desire to get home safely.
Skip send through the centuries and the meaning of the maritime star tattoo has come to be broader. Not only is it a stamp of the sea, but also a sign of safety and guidance for all sailors and travelers. It has also come to be a sign of following your dreams and achieving success in your life.
However, these is some discrepancy with regard to the compose of the maritime star. Most people accept that the basic compose of the maritime star is a five pointed star. But a minority of people claim that the maritime star represents the customary compose of a ship's compass. This consists of the four cardinal directions, North, South, East, West, and perhaps the intermediate directions of North East, South East, South West and North West. So their idea of the maritime star is a four pointed compose or even an eight pointed star.
Personally, I think that the five pointed star best represents the compose of the maritime star tattoo, especially when you consider that on many maritime maps, north is shown by a compass style five pointed star.
But whatever style of compose is selected, one thing is clear; the maritime star has had a long association with naval tradition and was originally a stamp of seeing your way home safely. And while other groups may attempt to link themselves to the use of the maritime star tattoo, the sailors of bygone centuries will always reserve the discrepancy of representing the customary interpretation of this iconic tattoo design.
