Filters
Close
RSS

Blog

Semicolon Tattoos and Tattoo Designs

 Project Semicolon began in 2013 as one woman's way to honor the father she lost to suicide. Amy Bleuel, who battled her own struggles against depression and mental illness, and suicidal thoughts saw the period-comma combo as a symbol of hope. Bleuel wanted to honor her father’s memory, and got a tattoo of a semicolon. It soon launched an organization—and a global movement—to support those struggling with the same afflictions.

Project Semicolon

Project Semicolon is a faith-based non-profit that encourages and supports people with depression, addiction, and thoughts of self-injury or suicide. The semicolon is an important piece of punctuation and is a perfect symbol for those who are struggling. As Amy says, “A semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.

Project SemicolonProject SemicolonProject Semicolon

Today, the movement continues to grow and will hopefully continue to raise awareness about these issues.

 

Moon Tattoos

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System. Unlike the moons of other planets, the moon of the Earth has no proper English name other than ''the Moon''. The Moon is the only celestial body to which humans have travelled and upon which humans have landed. The first artificial object to escape Earth's gravity and pass near the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 1, the first artificial object to impact the lunar surface was Luna 2, and the first photographs of the normally occluded far side of the Moon were made by Luna 3, all in 1959. The first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing was Luna 9, and the first unmanned vehicle to orbit the Moon was Luna 10, both in 1966. The United States Apollo program achieved the only manned missions to date, resulting in six landings between 1969 and 1972. Human exploration of the Moon ceased with the conclusion of the Apollo program, although several countries have announced plans to send people or robotic spacecraft to the Moon.

The Moon has figured in many mythologies, often paired or contrasted with the Sun. The monthly cycle of the moon, in contrast to the annual cycle of the sun's path, has been implicitly linked to women's menstrual cycles by many cultures, although rarely explicitly stated. Many of the most well-known mythologies feature female lunar deities, such as the Greek goddesses Selene and Phoebe and their Olympian successor Artemis, their Roman equivalents Luna and Diana, or the Thracian Bendis. These cultures almost invariably featured a male sun god. Male lunar gods are also frequent, such as Nanna or Sin of the Mesopotamians, Mani of the Germanic tribes, Thoth of the Egyptians, theJapanese god Tsukuyomi, Rahko of Finns and Tecciztecatl of the Aztecs. These cultures usually featured female Sun goddesses.

In ancient Egypt, we find the earliest written records of the moon's influence in the lives of humans. Before Sun worship, the Egyptians worshipped the moon. In ceremonies and processions, her headdress was a moon with a pair of cow's horns symbolizing motherhood, since Isis was also the representative of Nature. The ancient Egyptians also portrayed the moon as a cat, not because of any physical resemblance, but because both were lights in the dark the cat could see at night, and the moon shed light in the night sky.

The words ''lunacy'', ''lunatic'', and ''loony'' are derived from Luna because of the folk belief in the moon as a cause of periodic insanity. It is a feature of modern belief that shape shifters such as werewolves drew their power from the moon and would change into their bestial form during the full moon, but this feature is largely absent from older folklore. . A ''Blue Moon'' is the third full moon in a three-month calendar season that has four full moons, or the second of two full moons occurring in the same month. Because this rarely happens, the expression ''once in a Blue Moon'', symbolizes something that doesn't happen very often.

Moon tattoos usually symbolize feminine aspects because of the moon's ties to the woman's menses and traditional female deities. The moon can also be a common element in night themed tattoos or ones that include wolves, owls or death.

SHF-00077APF-00066DBF-01023

Show me more Moon Tattoo Designs

Jolly Roger Tattoos

The Jolly Roger describes a flag flown by a crew of pirates. Usually, the flag contained a skull and crossbones design. This design was primarily used by four pirates: Edward England, John Taylor, Sam Bellamy and John Martel. Historically, the flag was flown to frighten pirates' victims into surrendering without a fight, since it conveyed the message that the attackers were outlaws who would not consider themselves bound by the usual rules of engagement -- and might, therefore, slaughter those they defeated. Pirates did not fly the Jolly Roger at all times. Like other vessels, pirate ships usually stocked a variety of different flags, and would normally fly false colors or no colors until they had their prey within firing range. When the pirates' intended victim was within range, the Jolly Roger would be raised, often simultaneously with a warning shot.

Since the decline of piracy, various military units have used the Jolly Roger, usually in skull-and-crossbones design, as a unit identification insignia or a victory flag to ascribe to themselves the proverbial ferocity and toughness of pirates. It has also unofficially been used to signify Electric Hazard. The background is blood red and the Skull and Bones are black in color.

A Jolly Roger tattoo is closely associated with piracy, death, toughness. It is one of the oldest sailor tattoos and can be found on those who sail for sport or profession. The Jolly Roger tattoo is also associated with military members, especially the United States Navy, the British Royal Navy and the United States Army Air Corps.

KHF-00114C2F-00017AAF-10508

 

Pirate Tattoos

Pirates have long been a popular tattoo design, especially among nautical tattoo enthusiasts. Technically, a pirate is anyone who commits robbery at sea (sometimes on shore) without the commission from a sovereign nation. Pirates have been around as long as people have used the oceans as trade routes. Pop culture paints pirates as rebellious, clever teams who operated outside the restricting bureaucracy of modern life. Pirates were also depicted as always raising their Jolly Roger flag when preparing to hijack a vessel. The Jolly Roger is the traditional name for the flags of European and American pirates, and a symbol for piracy that has been adopted by filmmakers and toy manufacturers.

In reality, many pirates ate poorly, did not become wealthy, and died young. Unlike traditional Western societies of the time, many pirate crews operated as limited democracies. Both the captain and the quartermaster were elected by the crew; they in turn appointed the other ship's officers. The captain of a pirate ship was often a fierce fighter in whom the men could place their trust. However, when not in battle, the quartermaster usually had the real authority. Many groups of pirates shared in whatever they seized; pirates injured in battle might be afforded special compensation similar to medical insurance. Often all of these terms were agreed upon and written down by the pirates, but these articles could also be used as incriminating proof that they were outlaws. Pirates readily accepted outcasts from traditional societies, perhaps easily recognizing kindred spirits,and they were known to welcome them into the pirate fold. Many of the pirate crews were slaves "liberated" from captured slavers. Such practices within a pirate crew were tenuous, and did little to mitigate the brutality of the pirate's way of life.

Even though pirates raided many ships, few if any buried their treasure. Often, the "treasure" that was stolen was food, water, alcohol, weapons, or clothing. Other things they stole were household items like bits of soap and gear like rope and anchors. For this reason, there was no need for the pirates to bury these goods. Pirates almost certainly had a system of hierarchy on board their ships, determining how captured money was distributed.

Famous pirates include Sir Francis Drake, "Blackbeard" Edward Teach, "Black Bart" Bartholomew Roberts and Nathaniel Butler.

 

Black & Gray Pirate Tattoo Designs 

JPF-00423JPF-00374JPF-00406

 

Color Pirate Tattoo Designs

BWF-00262GUF-00571SSF-00351

Pirate Pinup Tattoo Designs

JLF-00050BKF-01165AAF-10751

 

Show me more Pirate Tattoo Designs