What do compass tattoos mean? [2022 Information Guide] - Next Luxury (2023)

Symbolizing direction, guidance, and protection, the compass tattoo is a key design in geometric and nautical body art.

A compass tattoo might not look like much on paper, but once you commit to your flesh, you'll wonder how you ever traveled without it. More than just a hiker's gadget, compass ink is a symbol of the inner compass we all carry within us that keeps us on our path no matter what life throws our way.

We all look for our Pole Star in life, that fixed point where we can place our deepest desires and goals. Things don't always go smoothly, but with the right tools, we can stay the course and fulfill our true purpose.

From nuanced symbolism, runic compass and cartography to various styling options, techniques and applications, our guide to compass tattoo meanings gives you some fantastic information to incorporate into your own design.

Symbolism in compass tattoos

1. Compass tattoos signify guidance, protection, and direction.

Through the development of tattoo art, the compass symbol has been inked by those collectors seeking direction, protection, and guidance.

For some, such as sailors and soldiers, they show guidance and protection on sea voyages and signify a longing for a home away from home and a connection to loved ones they have left behind.

For others, the compass provides direction (and balance) to people as they make decisions throughout their lives. Having a permanent reference point to look at as you go or recall it in memory helps keep you grounded and clear-headed.

2. Vegvisir: The Viking Compass

The Viking compass, a Norse spell also known as Vegvísir, derives its name from an ancient Icelandic manuscript.

The runic compass symbol became known as "the signpost," a spell that guides one through treacherous weather and terrain without getting lost.

The Viking compass consists of eight sticks that branch off from a common point, with each stick representing a primary or intermediate direction. Each tip of the staff ends in a unique symbol, believed by Norse scholars to be a protective rune.

The Viking and Celtic compass tattoo can be a powerful symbol to honor one's lineage or to grant oneself guidance and protection. Just as the Vikings were fearless warriors and adventurers, they were also bound by a deep loyalty to their communities and loved ones.

3. North Star/Nautical Star Tattoo Bedeutungen

Also known as North Star tattoos, the nautical compass symbol is commonly used in tattoo art to honor fallen combatants who served in the Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard.

Many people also view the North Star/Nautical Star tattoo as the only proven way to know where they are and choose the symbol to associate its concept with guidance, good luck, and protection.

A nautical star tattoo is popular with tattoo lovers in contemporary ink styles and the simpler old-school compass lines.

Historically, nautical compass tattoo designs have been engraved to celebrate the life of a sailor lost at sea, but also for collectors who feel more connected to the maritime lifestyle.

4. Meanings of the compass and clock tattoo

Compass and clock tattoos are used in combination to provide time (clock) and direction (compass) symbols as a reminder that time is limited in your life so you should explore in every possible direction until this time. has expired.

While clocks are man's attempt to interpret time, the work of geography and cartography is man's effort to understand the physical world, so you will often find maps and geographic instruments as well.

Incorporating these various symbols into a design can create beautiful tattoos that represent the wearer's lifelong pursuit of knowledge and understanding.

4. Compass Rose Tattoo Idea

The rose is an almost universal symbol of love in tattoo design: it has been one of the most enduring and visible motifs in body art for centuries.

Often color variations, stylistic changes, and placement choices create nuanced symbolic meanings or technical interpretations of the classic rose tattoo idea.

The compass rose tattoo symbolizes love and devotion for the motherland. When you are away from shore and your loved ones, the tattoo represents your situation and helps advance your return to your home port and the loved ones you are struggling with.

5. Star Compass Tattoo Meanings

The earliest methods of navigation involved observing landmarks or observing the direction of the sun and stars.

Ancient navigators looked at the constellations to mark their position when they could not hug the shorelines, and from there maps were made by reading the positions of the stars and constellations.

Star compass tattoo designs also signify a longing for home, but also appeal to collectors who are looking for the stars or are interested in horoscopes and zodiac signs.

6. Compass Arrow Tattoo Designs

Many people like simple or small arrow compass tattoo designs meaning north, south, east and west, mainly as simple compasses and arrows inked with black ink.

In this design, the arrow and compass symbol implies traveling in a new direction (physical, mental or spiritual) and can refer to anything from a new chapter in life and traveling in the right direction to a new relationship or a new career path.

A simple compass arrow tattoo can also signify longing for home while you are away and a means of staying connected to what you may have left behind.

Compass arrow body art can also refer to time travel or to past, present and future ideals of the self, as well as the limitations under which humans have previously operated.

Application-related and technical approaches

7. Little Compass Tattoo Meanings

A small compass tattoo is a perfect way to remember how powerfully and clearly your own navigational needle works. Some collectors prefer large renderings paired with bold afterimages, others prefer to keep their compass art small and simple.

You may not always make your presence obvious, but you will always know that you are there as a symbol of leadership.

Often inked in an inconspicuous location (tattoos on the wrist, ankle, or inner forearm are the most popular placements) and applied in a minimalist style, the small compass tattoo is a popular choice for a piece meant only for to your eyes

8. Geometric Compass Tattoos

While compass tattoos are an attractive vintage tattoo style, the modernized geometric compass design, with its bold lines and intricate angles, can be a great talking point or an opportunity for your artist to put some mustard on your concept. of direction.

While many of these designs are in black ink or shades of gray to evoke a printed map, you can also have your geometric compass in bright colors.

Due to the somewhat linear shape of many geometric compass tattoos, these tattoos are commonly seen on the forearms.

While a geometric compass design can make anyone stand out aesthetically, this is also a tattoo with a message; They believe it will help you navigate rough seas and know which way to move as it is also popular to use in 3D prismatic compass tattoo art and mandala tattoos.

9. Watercolor Compass Tattoo Designs

Compass angles and lines, whether simply etched or highly detailed, provide a great center for creating a watercolor tattoo design.

While the shading is a bit lighter than a traditional tattoo, a nautical watercolor tattoo is just as bold in concept. Watercolor tattoo designs are striking for their simulated use of brush strokes, paint splatters, and the like to disrupt the rigidity of a compass, map, or grid.

The most notable feature of a colorful compass tattoo is the lack of a defined overall outline or hard black ink, with imagery inspired by the free-form impressionist style and color scheme.

However, don't be fooled by the lack of limitation; The watercolor tattoos are incredibly calculated and meticulously executed by a tattoo artist with great technical skill.

10. American Traditional Compass Tattoo Meanings

Since the original traditional tattoos were often done by sailors, it is not surprising that a compass is one of the most common options in the traditional American tattoo style.

This instrument was used by sailors and adventurers to find their way across desolate lands and is most commonly associated with hopes for luck and a safe journey home.

Compass tattoos often have the meaning of protection, guidance, and hope, but can sometimes be used to show more of a sense of adventure or wanderlust.

There are many different possible designs for compasses. Some traditional tattoos feature a retro compass encased in a metal circle, while others just feature the eight-pointed star as a simple compass tattoo.

Adding a compass rose or other flowers is often a romantic symbol, showing that a person is being guided home by undying love. Swallows are also a common combination with a compass design because sailors saw swallows when near land.

11. 3D-Compass-tattoo

A popular contemporary option is a 3D compass tattoo, which allows you to further develop your design symbol by adding more layers of meaning.

My favorites are the realistic glass and metal renderings of navigational compasses that look ready to hold and use.

Many tattoo artists create an intricate pole star or prismatic compass pattern that seems to add an extra layer of texture to your skin, while others have used it as an embedded effect for text, a mandala tattoo, or other imagery.

Whatever the meaning of the compass you want to map, there is a 3D option that can complement your idea.

Diploma

Compass tattoo meanings are an intricate and eclectic part of the tattoo art landscape. They can operate from an everyday location, such as representing direction and guidance, or creating a symbolic connection to protection.

The compass tattoo design is also heavily influenced by the range of stylistic applications and techniques that can give you an old school marine aesthetic or create a totally contemporary and realistic concept that connects with your own sense of identity.