Tattoos are a great way of showing off your personality, but sometimes a design can have a deeper meaning than you first up with famous examples like Ariana Grande’s seven rings tattoo which actually meant Japanese barbecue finger and Jennifer Lawrence’s botched h2o tattoo that really put the wat and water but unlike these fails some tattoos have a closely-guarded history that can get you into a world of hurt if you don’t do that proper research when that let’s take a look at why some tattoos can get you into serious trouble before I reveal which tattoos can get you into trouble it’s important to know how and why tattoos have become so popular.
Historical Background:
So let’s start from the beginning the practice of tattooing is so old that no one is really sure when it first began the oldest example known to science is from OTS a fifty-three hundred-year-old mummy thought to have been alive around 3300 BC the corpse at 61 tattoos of vertical and horizontal stripes as you can see here scientists believe these were made by rubbing fire ash into thin incisions and letting the skin heal over them now that is hardcore as we advanced travel designs and ancient piercing techniques were evolved the world over to engrave the skin with ink by hand some of which are still used today but fast-forward several thousand years to 1890 and the perforating pen was invented by none other than Thomas Edison this inspired New Yorker Samuel O’Reilly to make the first ever tattoo gun from then up until the 1930s Western society saw tattoos as a novelty with tattooed men and ladies appearing on the stage and circuses and shows around this time the Russian criminal castes began to use tattoos to define rank and reputation among fellow inmates which eventually transferred over to American prisons as well.
Evolution and Popularization:
But then Western sailors adopted tattooing as a method of storytelling different styles of tattoo indicated different ports and places visited and helped sailors tell stories of their exploits for example swallows indicated they traveled 5,000 nautical miles and a Shellback turtle meant they’d cross the equator nonetheless mainstream society at the time still associated tattoos with the Under underside of the nation would the trend popular amongst people like carnies hobos and criminals after the Second World War tattoos became a more common trend, but it’s still not a mainstream one people living on the fringes of society adapt to tattoos is a symbol of rebellion and empowerment hippies bikers anarchists and other counterculture temps begin to bring out the art in the ink then the 1990s hit and everyone in their mama’ll was getting tattoos a 1995 America had over 10,000 tattoo artists and in 2019 that figure was closer to 45,000 tattooing is now an industry valued at one and a half billion dollars.
Meanings Behind Tattoos:
But just because tattoos are now mainstream doesn’t mean that the history and symbolism behind a lot of their designs has been completely lost around the world some designs can still get you into serious trouble if you don’t know what they mean.
Tattoo Meanings and Dangers:
Tears tattooed tears under the eyes have a variety of meanings but what you need to know is that all of them stem from the US prison system it can signify that the wearer has spent time in prison acknowledged the loss of a loved one or indicate that the person has killed someone hip-hop Trailblazer Lil Wayne is famously sported to tears under his right eye one on his left and one by his mouth supposedly these represent for people close to him who have been killed supposedly rapper Kevin gates who has been in and out of jail since he was 13 also done similar tears with a total of three under his eyes which he says represents him being forever in sorrow, but another slightly darker meaning may put you off getting this tattoo some claim this tattoo proves the wearer has been the victim of sexual abuse while serving time in prison dominant inmates have been known to brand submissive inmates in this way to declare ownership it’s placed on the face as it’s an area which cannot be easily concealed the exact meaning and its origins are unknown for this reason with released inmates sometimes lying to their family and friends about why they have it so for all you wannabe rappers and Jeremy Meeks fans out there remember this tattoo goes further than being skin deep.
Tattoo Symbolism:
Cobwebs used to be specifically linked to sailors on long voyages the elbow and metaphorically meant they had been leaning on the side of a boat for so long that a cobweb had formed as you can see here on tattoo icon Lyle Tuttle, but the meaning has been transformed to also represent long stints in prison it’s commonly seen on the elbow neck or knee, but its placement doesn’t make any difference to the meaning of the tattoo itself though it certainly adds a new layer to the phrase web design.
Specific Tattoo Meanings and Associations:
Three leaf shamrocks if you have a three leaf shamrock I suggest adding a fourth leaf on ASAP this tattoo is closely associated to the family affiliated Irish mafia they’re an American Irish peckerwood gang with ties to the Aryan Solidarity at a 666 into the center and that doesn’t mean you’re a lucky devil you’re just a walking hate crime Indian warrior whoa culture alone shouldn’t be the only reason you decide against that dreamcatcher tattoo according to the Canada Border Services Agency who have detailed most tattoos in this video, and they’re meeting for training purposes a dreamcatcher tattoo who can represent an Indian warrior a Native American who has served time in prison often worn on the neck or skull with a number of feathers at the bottom indicating how many crimes they have committed against white society so maybe think twice about getting that rip off Etsy dreamcatcher image as a full back tattoo Karen barbed wire historically in Russian prisons a string of barbed wire was tattooed on inmates who have been given a life sentence without parole with nothing left to lose many of them inked this definitive symbol on their forehead do you want to tell bows Malone or shall I cats and scarab beetles there’s nothing fine about these felines a cat tattoo and Russia represents a prisoner’s life as a thief and different variations can tell different stories for example the head of a Tomcat on the chest signifies a dangerous criminal who hates the law a single cat anywhere can mean the criminal worked alone, but multiple cats indicate they’re part of a gang similarly a tattoo of a scarab beetle is considered good luck for thieves pickpockets in particular if you clock anyone with either of these tattoos keep a steady hand on your wallet and lock your doors stars in prison star tattoos aren’t a symbol of hope their symbol of incarceration Russian inmates in particular used the number of points on tattooed stars to represent how many years they’ve been behind bars so the bigger the star the more seasoned the person receiving mental health treatment depending on where these aren’t they can also reveal a lot more about the where found on the knees these tattoos mean the individual will never submit to the police on the shoulders or clavicle these indicate the person receiving mental health treatment is a high-ranking criminal something tells me the seen kids of the early 2000s are regretting their life choices right about now manacles for the real edge lords among us who feel shackled by society maybe think twice before getting any manacle tattoos each tattooed manacle can indicate you’ve served five or more years behind bars so this individual is
showing the world they’ve been incarcerated for at least 10 years with a manacle on the ankle and on the wrists that imprisonment length could mean they’ve committed a severe crime or many crimes all adding up either way it’s not a tattoo to consider unless you’ve served serious time epaulet never.
Conclusion:
Try to pull rank on someone who has epaulets tattooed on their shoulders it isn’t a military fashion fad amongst gangs in prisons these markings denote a high-ranking criminal akin to the rank of a senior official in the Army epaulets can also feature smaller markings such as skulls which tell you if the wearer has murdered someone or not I had March away from that situation if I was you five point crown we’ve all seen the basic brows and basic Becky’s with matching crown tattoos that read King and Queen under them aside from being a crime in and of themselves what they may not know is that the number of points on those grounds could lend them and some seriously had water with one of the biggest criminal networks in America the five points in the crown indicate their affiliation towards the people nation gang which is represented by the number five the Latin Kings gang identify its members by the five point crowns they sport about their body the gangs roots date back to 1954 in Chicago Illinois where this Latino progress movement established itself at the heart of the criminal underworld through drug trafficking weapons trafficking and if you do want a crown tattoo get one without five points instead and might save you from a lot of trouble three dots there seems to have been a spate of Millennials getting simple small basic tattoos emphasis on the basic three small dots and the shape of a triangle may seem harmless enough, but it has a different and universal meaning to those in gang life this symbol stands for met vida loca or the crazy lifestyle that crime syndicates are born from when joining a gang this tattoo will usually be the first an individual gets to show their dedication to this new way of living normally It’s marked around the eyes or hands so that members of this lifestyle can identify each other on sight so for anyone just trying to be cool like zoe kravitz maybe connect the dots and save yourself from this faux pas clowns if you like many other nerds have gotten yourself a joker tattoo in the last few years do not I repeat do not show it off in Brazil it may look cool as you flex off in the bedroom mirror but in Brazil clown masks or clown tattoos symbolize that you have proudly killed a police officer and this is no laughing matter Brazilian police officers have boasted about their tactics for dealing with these individuals like making them scratch their clown tattoos off with sandpaper and knives before being rubbed down with alcohol that’s really putting the ow and clown Hells Angels skull tattoos are pretty common and alternative social scenes, but certain skull design should be steered clear of at all costs in particular the Hells Angels death had skull with long colorful wings you can see why it might be a tempting choice for some but unless you’re a member of this dangerous outlaw biker gang be sure to stay away on more than one occasion bikers and VARs have offered to help out on worthy tattoo barriers by removing them with nothing more than a hot iron, but they don’t stop there the outlaw symbol is protected so heavily by its members that they’ve threatened legal action against anyone using their branding this includes Disney Alexander McQueen sacks and Toys R Us I can imagine those companies got ridden hard do you have any of these tattoos or do you know of anyone maybe you know of some more tattoos with hid meanings let me know in the comments below and thanks for watching.