Astrology is the age-old method of understanding the way human beings interact with the universe-out-there. Many major world religions are said to have based many of their precepts and speculations about the way the universe operates upon the Zodiac system. Since the dawn of humanity there has been an intense fascination with this which has resulted in a major interest in astrological tattoos that have become well-loved by men and women hailing from all kinds of cultures. These designs can be large or minute, basic or highly complex and can be adapted to suit every personality or attitude.

Astrology comprises 12 ‘zodiacs’ which are symbolized by various characters human and animal in appearance. The Latin meaning of zodiac is ‘circle of animals’. While American Indians use totem tattoos to identify certain personality traits and preferences in humans, astrological tattoos may help define the specific facets of an individual’s emotional, intellectual and physical constitution. These are then related to a certain astrological sign all of which are mentioned below in terms of their names and their representational symbols:

Aquarius: Water Bearer
Pisces: Fish
Aries: Ram
Taurus: Bull
Gemini: Twins
Cancer: Crab
Leo: Lion
Virgo: Virgin
Libra: Scales
Scorpio: Scorpion
Sagittarius: Archer
Capricorn: Goat

Astrological tattoos can utilize glyphs which are the written symbol referring to a sign of the star system zodiac. The symbol is usually expressed in the Greek or Cyrillic alphabet. The virtue of such tattoos may lie in their popularity due to their ease of identification, simplicity and smallness. There is also an imagistic resemblance to certain classifications of tribal tattoos that are becoming increasingly popular in the body art community. Most glyph star sign tattoos are mostly black in design but can be augmented with brilliantly-colored waves, vases, flowers and the relevant human/animal symbol that is included in a given star sign. There is such an essential relationship to the history and beginnings of human culture that the zodiac has, it is no wonder that people want this represented on such an intimate place as their bodies so as to connect not only to a truly universal system of knowledge appreciated by almost all cultures but to reach back through the mists of time and reconnect with their ancestors in deep and transcendent ways.