The meaning of nautical star tattoos has been the subject of many debates since different groups have taken this old symbol as an icon of their movement. This actually led to different way of interpretation according to the person who used it and depending on the context. Historically speaking nautical star tattoos were a characteristic of sailors, who had their superstitions and fears about being lost at sea or seeing their end away from the land. Thus the north star became the home symbol and the silent promise that they’ll find their way or path in life. Such nautical star tattoos clearly represent good fortune and the chance to get home in the best of conditions.

Nautical Star Tattoos

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 significance to the symbol. For the military, the nautical star tattoos mean pretty much the same thing as for sailors; the military look forward to their return home. Freedom to choose, this is the message given by lesbians to the nautical star tattoos. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, non-heterosexual orientations were not regarded as freely as they are today and, lesbians would tattoo the nautical star on the inside part of the wrist where a watch could camouflage it very well, but in the evening when they went out, the tattoo could be seen and identified by people with similar orientations.

Punk groups express their standing apart from the group by using the nautical star tattoos. With the same hints to the North star, these tattoos point to personal efforts to find one’s path in life even if that means being different. With punk groups nautical star tattoos are often identified in the hand sleeve area or in combination with other designs. 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.

Nautical Star Tattoos

Rejections of possible interpretations for the meaning of nautical star tattoos are also very common; thus, the military often debunk and deny all the possible associations with gay or lesbian groups. Yet, other people wear such tattoos in total ignorance of the symbolic charge. 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.