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WELL WITH SAIOLORS, SUCH AS MYSELF( I AM A MERCHANT MARINER), ITS A SUPERSTITIOUS THING. IT MEANS TO US THAT WE WILL NEVER GET LOST AT SEA AND THAT WE WILL FIND OUR WAY HOME, THE REASON IS BECAUSE IT TAKES TWO STARS TO GET A CELLESTIAL BEARING. NOW THE NAUTICAL STAR BECAME MANY THINGS, LIKE PUNK ROCK FOR INSTANCE. IT JUST TOOK ONE PUNK KID TO GET IT CAUSE HE THOUGHT IT WAS COOL THAN THE TREND STARTED. ANYWAYS THE SAILOR TRADITION IS BY FAR THE OLDEST AND THE ORIGIN OF THE NAUTICAL STAR TATTOS.

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Q: Why is the Nautical Star tattoo so popular?
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What does a nautical star tattoo on the inside of a leg symbolize?

The nautical star is a very old modern tattoo, going back at least a century or more. Back in the days of yore, before modern navigation, sailors would navigate in part by the stars in the night skies, in particular the North Star in the Northern Hemisphere, and various other constellations of stars in the night sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, sailors had to use different stars and the Southern Cross became quite well-known. Sailors would then tattoo nautical stars on them because they relied on the stars to take them home, and being superstitious, they hoped their star tattoos would get them home safely as well. Compass stars are also popular for this reason. The nautical stars were originally used by sailors to help guide their way as they sailed through the night. They relied upon the stars to protect them and bring them home safely. A lot of soldiers get nautical stars for the same reason...protection. It is a symbol of protection and guidance. It was a very popular tattoo among sailors. So a case could be made that the nautical star tattoo, or a tattoo of any star for that matter, would be a symbol of guidance. Now as time has passed the nautical stars represent the direction of one's life, for those of us who are not sailors but still need guidance. Some say that if the nautical star is pointed upwards they have a higher outlook on life and so on. The meaning of the Nautical star is to create your own path, but use the stars as a guide when you are lost or scared.


What does a purple nautical star symbolize?

The nautical star is a very old modern tattoo, going back at least a century or more. Back in the days of yore, before modern navigation, sailors would navigate in part by the stars in the night skies, in particular the North Star in the Northern Hemisphere, and various other constellations of stars in the night sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, sailors had to use different stars and the Southern Cross became quite well-known. Sailors would then tattoo nautical stars on them because they relied on the stars to take them home, and being superstitious, they hoped their star tattoos would get them home safely as well. Compass stars are also popular for this reason. The nautical stars were originally used by sailors to help guide their way as they sailed through the night. They relied upon the stars to protect them and bring them home safely. A lot of soldiers get nautical stars for the same reason...protection. It is a symbol of protection and guidance. It was a very popular tattoo among sailors. So a case could be made that the nautical star tattoo, or a tattoo of any star for that matter, would be a symbol of guidance. Now as time has passed the nautical stars represent the direction of one's life, for those of us who are not sailors but still need guidance. Some say that if the nautical star is pointed upwards they have a higher outlook on life and so on. The meaning of the Nautical star is to create your own path, but use the stars as a guide when you are lost or scared.


What does 2 nautical stars tattoo on the chest mean?

Two nautical stars on a Sailor's chest can mean a multitude of things, they are similar in meaning to the dual swallows tattoo. Usually each one represents an ammount of time spent out to sea, or distance travled. For example, each one is worth so many thousand nautical miles, or months to sea.


What is the meaning of the colors of nautical stars?

PORT side of a ship while you are on it, looking Forward, is the LEFT SIDE. Yes, Red is on the PORT SIDE. Blue is for starboard or (right side). -Sailor, U.S.N. Red and black nautical stars are for port side of a ship (right side). Green and black starts are starboard (right side of ship). As for the other colors, they are probably just a spin-off of an old school tattoo.


What does the nautical star tattoo represent?

Nautical StarsSailors have long used nautical stars as symbols of protection and guidance. Here is more information and input:A friend of mine who is a marine told me that a star is a symbol of protection. He has them tattooed on his shoulders.Back in the day when being gay wasnt the thing to do, butch females would get the tattoo on the inside of their wrists so they could cover it up with a watch during the day and at night they could take off the watch and other dykes would know. Just a version of one of the meanings that i have heard.Nautical Star tattoos are very commonly used in the gay world to denote homosexuality. They are often placed in a location that can be easily concealed. For example, one could have the star tattoed on his/her wrist, allowing them to hide it (with a watch or long-sleeved shirt) by day, and reveal it at night at the bar/club.The nautical stars were originally used by sailors to help guide their way as they sailed through the night. They relied upon the stars to protect them and bring them home safely. A lot of soldiers get nautical stars for the same reason: protection.They symbolize protection, guidance, loyalty, and honor. They can also symbolize prestige or a higher rank in the military.There are two meanings of the "STAR" tattoo. First is the protection and guidance meaning and second is being affiliated with the gay community. I know some people don't like the idea that the star can be affiliated with the gay community but that is what the meaning is with-in many gay communities and I know of at least 8 people who have them and got them for that meaning.Back in the day sailors would tattoo nautical stars on them because they relied on the stars to take them home. So in that case the star would be a symbol of guidance. Now as time has passed the nautical stars represent the direction of ones life. If it's pointed upward they have a higher outlook on life and so on.The meaning of the Nautical star is to create your own path, but use the stars as a guide when you are lost or scared.I have a Nautical Star on my wrist. The reason I got mine was to honor my lesbian sisters who used to tatoo their wrist with a "star" as a secret code to all other lesbians that had to hide their gay identity back in the 30's, 40's and 50's and who in the 60's and 70's had the courage to bring us out of the fear of our closets into our happy open lives today. That is why me and a lot of my other lesbian sisters today wear the "star" today. If you want to read more about the origins of the "Nautical Star" in the gay community the pick up the book titled "Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community" by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy. Here's the passage (with some pieces dropped) from "Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community" by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeilne D. Davis copyright 1993 p. 189. talking about the 1940's and 1950's): "...During this same time period, the cultural push to be identified as lesbians- or at least different- all the time was so powerful that it generated a new form of identification among the tough bar lesbians: a star tattoo on the top of the wrist, which was usually covered by a watch. This was the first symbol of community identity that did not rely on butch-fem imagery. We can trace this phenomenon back to an evening of revelry in the late 1950's, when a few butches trooped over to "Dirty Dick's" tattoo parlor on Chippewa Street and had the tiny blue five-pointed star put on their wrists. Later, some of the fems of this group also go the idea one night and did it...The comunity views the tattoo as a definite mark of identification..."the Buffalo police knew [that] the people that had the stars on their wrist were lesbians and they had their names and so forth. That it was an identity thing with the gay community, with the lesbian community". The fact that the star tattoo was created by those who were firmly into roles, in fact by the group that was considered the butchy butches and their fems, suggest that the force to assert lesbian identity was strong enough to break through the existing traditions of boldness based in butch-fem roles. The stars presage the methods of identity created by gay liberation. In fact, the mark has become something of a tradition in local circles and has seen a revival since the 1970s."Many people have different meanings, but I have my nautical star to remind me to always follow my dreams, also to protect me and guide me through out life.I am in the United States Army, an MP who searched towns and villages for Al Quida and insurgents. I was in Iraq for a year. I have a red and black nautical star on my wrist. The reason I got it was because when I was out there, I felt it was a guide to guide me home to my family safely. I got it so that it would remind me that I am going to make it to see my son grow up. I am not gay, it doesn't matter what you believe it represents, it means something different for everyone. Out in the desert, I would look up at the stars and think about home. So anyone can think what they want to, that is what it means to me.I have two black and red nautical stars on each elbow. I am in the Navy and I know of quite a few people who have nautical stars. Sailors where some of the first people to bring back the art of tattooing which they picked up from indigenious tribes in the pacific. Also if you ever look at a map you will notice nautical stars somewhere on it. I believe it originated with sailors because they where constantly using the charts and noticed the symbol of the nautical star.I have been in the tattoo and piercing industry for 29+ years and I can tell you this: The Nautical Star is just that "A NAUTICAL STAR!" My hats off to those who know that it is a symbol representing the guidance of a return to safe port!This "gay symbol" is a load of hooey that someone made up VERY recently. The nautical star tattoo has been around nearly as long as tattooing itself. The late Celts (or early Irish, depending on your view of World History) were said to have been the first to have the tattoos, although evidence of it being used on ships in Spain has been found pre-dating the Irish claim. As a Marine, it's a very commonplace symbol amongst us if we have been part of a Boat Raid company, red for port, green for starboard on varying parts of the body. On ship, I saw about a million different variations on the Sailors I was was serving with, obviously harking back to the sailor roots.The five point star, not necessarily the nautical star, was a Pagan symbol. It is the way Venus moves across the night sky. Venus was a Pagan goddess. As a political smear campain, the catholic church pronounced it a pentagram and a symbol of the devil. The same way it changed other pagan gods to devil symbols like Posideons trident to a devils pitchfork.I guess the nautical star or general star could mean whatever concept you could possibly imagine. To me it reminds me of solidarity. I had never heard of the lesbian history but I guess it just reaffirms my idea of my nautical star. Gays have always been a part of the struggle the freedom of expression and action in America.The nautical star is on some of the Mormon temples. On the plaques they have telling the meaning of some of the things on the temple it says the star means holyness.I believe that the Nautical Star derived from the Druze Star. Almost the exact same concept, except they split the star segments down the middle and added color. I'm sure the sailor thing is correct, and truthfully no one should care what past people whom have had these tattoos believe its translated to. If you get a tattoo that feels right, think of in your head what you believe it to be. But anyway back to the Druze Star and the link to that of a nautical star. The Druze Star is in 5 segments with the colors green (top), red (right), yellow (lower right), white (lower left), and blue (left). Green is the mind, the male principle. Red is the soul, or the female principle. Yellow is the word, the mediator between divine and material. White is manifested will or actualization, and Blue is will, the realm of possiblity. I believe this has something to do with the creation of the nautical star, or I could be wrong. Just an assumption. Maybe someone just drew a star one day and decided to put 2 different colors in it who knows for sure?It was used by OLD sailors and the symbol represents North on a map. It is the North Star the sailors would use it as a baring to get home. (As for punk rock, we use it because we can and because Sailor Jerry made the coolest tattoos who started putting them on everyone.)The nautical star is a navigating device used by sailors, and travelers. It has also become a symbol of the sea, and of all forms of navigation.The Nautical Star is an Irish symbol for good health. It was first brought into practice by the Pagans that inhabitaed Iriland in the 1700's. The Nautical star can still be found hanging in any pagan based hospital.I've been told that the nautical star is a symbol for anti-racism.Nautical stars are often called vegan stars cause vegans sometimes get them tattood on their body.TO ME THEIR ARE FIVE POINTS THAT A STAR CONTAINS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM TO LEFT TO RIGHT TO THE LAST POINT MEANS TO ME (1)ONE LOVE (2) ONE LIFE (3)ONE DESTINY(4)ONE HEART(5)ONE SOUL.This was pass on to my family for generations whom all have had the five point star tattoo and this was it's meaning to my family.Stars are one of the first symbols in human history, therefore it is bound to have a thousand meanings to a thousand different cultures. Sailors, Lesbians, Christians, Jews, Mormons, Pagans, punk rock kids, Native Americans, 35 countries have stars on their flags INCLUDING THE USA. With the hammer and sickle it represents communism, with palm leaves it's scientology, with the crescent moon it's Islam, when you were in kindergarden you got a little star on your homework.

Related questions

What is the meaning of a nortic star tattoo?

I think you may mean nautical star, if so then that is a tattoo tha sailors used to get. It symbolises guidance or good luck on a long journey.


What does a nautical star tattoo on the inside of a leg symbolize?

The nautical star is a very old modern tattoo, going back at least a century or more. Back in the days of yore, before modern navigation, sailors would navigate in part by the stars in the night skies, in particular the North Star in the Northern Hemisphere, and various other constellations of stars in the night sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, sailors had to use different stars and the Southern Cross became quite well-known. Sailors would then tattoo nautical stars on them because they relied on the stars to take them home, and being superstitious, they hoped their star tattoos would get them home safely as well. Compass stars are also popular for this reason. The nautical stars were originally used by sailors to help guide their way as they sailed through the night. They relied upon the stars to protect them and bring them home safely. A lot of soldiers get nautical stars for the same reason...protection. It is a symbol of protection and guidance. It was a very popular tattoo among sailors. So a case could be made that the nautical star tattoo, or a tattoo of any star for that matter, would be a symbol of guidance. Now as time has passed the nautical stars represent the direction of one's life, for those of us who are not sailors but still need guidance. Some say that if the nautical star is pointed upwards they have a higher outlook on life and so on. The meaning of the Nautical star is to create your own path, but use the stars as a guide when you are lost or scared.


What do nautical star tattoos mean?

You need to have two nautical stars tattoo. One is for to find your way in life and the other one is for luck. So they both have to be the same sizes and color.


What does a purple nautical star symbolize?

The nautical star is a very old modern tattoo, going back at least a century or more. Back in the days of yore, before modern navigation, sailors would navigate in part by the stars in the night skies, in particular the North Star in the Northern Hemisphere, and various other constellations of stars in the night sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, sailors had to use different stars and the Southern Cross became quite well-known. Sailors would then tattoo nautical stars on them because they relied on the stars to take them home, and being superstitious, they hoped their star tattoos would get them home safely as well. Compass stars are also popular for this reason. The nautical stars were originally used by sailors to help guide their way as they sailed through the night. They relied upon the stars to protect them and bring them home safely. A lot of soldiers get nautical stars for the same reason...protection. It is a symbol of protection and guidance. It was a very popular tattoo among sailors. So a case could be made that the nautical star tattoo, or a tattoo of any star for that matter, would be a symbol of guidance. Now as time has passed the nautical stars represent the direction of one's life, for those of us who are not sailors but still need guidance. Some say that if the nautical star is pointed upwards they have a higher outlook on life and so on. The meaning of the Nautical star is to create your own path, but use the stars as a guide when you are lost or scared.


What is the significance of the colors on a nautical star?

I have heard that for sailor the colors represent port and starboard, Port is left and starboard is right. So a green star would be starboard and on the right, and a red star would be port and on the left. if you are returning home. I dont know what present colors mean but i know the colors for sailing and that sailors used the nautical star as a tattoo for guidance


What is the meaning of a blue star tattoo?

A red star tattoo represents a nautical symbol of the North Star and a safe return home. wrong i golden star represents the north star, if you mean the red star that rage against the machien uses it is red for the blood of all the people that have died for what they belive in and the red star is used on all socialist flags.


How much does it cost to get a nautical star tattoo?

it depends on the size.. one of my friends just got one done and his was about 3in by 3in tops.. ran him about $80.00. but it depends on the place you go and the artist. there are no exact prices for any tattoo because they are so customizable.


Is there math involved in tattooing?

An tattoo artist must know how to create an mathematically correct pentagram so he can design a perfect nautical star, at least.. If a tattoo artist does not know how to construct objects in a correct way he is not much of an artist..


What does 2 nautical stars tattoo on the chest mean?

Two nautical stars on a Sailor's chest can mean a multitude of things, they are similar in meaning to the dual swallows tattoo. Usually each one represents an ammount of time spent out to sea, or distance travled. For example, each one is worth so many thousand nautical miles, or months to sea.


What has made Star Wars so popular?

so many movies and a popular kid involed


What does a star tattoo on the elbow symbolize?

There's not really a specific meaning for this but it can mean different things to different people. When choosing a tattoo you want to pick something that's meaningful to you or someone you care about. The reason for someones choice for a star could be just that they really like stars, it could be a memorial tattoo, something that has to do with their job or hobbies. There are so many reasons/meanings for a star and it being near the ear more than likely just the place they chose to show it. undefined


What is the meaning of the colors of nautical stars?

PORT side of a ship while you are on it, looking Forward, is the LEFT SIDE. Yes, Red is on the PORT SIDE. Blue is for starboard or (right side). -Sailor, U.S.N. Red and black nautical stars are for port side of a ship (right side). Green and black starts are starboard (right side of ship). As for the other colors, they are probably just a spin-off of an old school tattoo.