Nautical star
The nautical star is a symbolic star representing the North Star, associated with the sea services of the United States armed forces and with tattoo culture. It is usually rendered as a five-pointed star in dark and light shades counterchanged in a style similar to a compass rose.
In Unicode, this symbol is in the dingbats block as U+272F ✯ PINWHEEL STAR, referencing a pinwheel toy.
Nautical charts
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Modern nautical charts use the star to indicate true north on the outer of the two compass circles of a compass rose, symbolizing the North Star.[1][2] The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey started using this symbol in its double-circle compass roses around 1900.[3]
Use as a symbol
[edit]Sea services
[edit]The nautical star is an informal signifier indicating membership in the United States Coast Guard, United States Navy, or United States Marine Corps. The symbol recalls both the five-pointed star of the US national flag and the color pattern of the compass rose found on many nautical charts.
Insignia including nautical stars:
Ships
[edit]The Endurance, in which Ernest Shackleton and crew sailed on the 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, was originally named after the pole star and retained a large badge in the shape of a five-pointed star on her stern.[4]
Other
[edit]The nautical star is common in insignia, flags, and logos. Examples:
- Sixpoint Brewery in Red Hook, Brooklyn, uses a six-pointed version of the star in its logo to reflect the neighborhood's maritime history.[5]
- Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps
The California flag includes a red five-pointed star, which is sometimes stylized like a nautical star:
- Called the NorCal Star, it is sometimes used to represent Northern California on clothing and tattoos.[6]
- Sacramento Republic FC, a Sacramento, California soccer team, uses a red nautical star in its crest.[7]
Tattoo culture
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This symbol is part of the tradition of sailor tattoos. A nautical star represented the North Star, with the idea that this symbol would help a sailor navigate or stay on course, including finding their way back to port or back home.[8][9] A nautical star tattoo can also indicate that a person has crossed the North Sea.[10]
Since the 1990s, nautical star tattoos have become popular in the United States in general.[11] A nautical star may symbolize protection, guidance, and good luck,[9] or metaphorically represent finding one's way home when lost in life or travel.[11]
In the 1950s, some lesbians in Buffalo, New York wore a blue five-pointed star tattoo on the wrist, a location that could be covered by a watch.[12] People getting tattoos to reflect this history may choose a nautical-style star.[13]
References
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- ^ "NOAA Chart User's Manual, Chapter 2: General Information" (PDF). p. 2-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2007. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ Greenhood, David (1964-02-15). Mapping. University of Chicago Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-226-30697-1.
- ^ McConnel, Jonathon L. (June 2007). U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Nautical Charts: A Cartographic History (PDF) (MA). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2017.
- ^ Fountain, Henry (2022-03-09). "At the Bottom of an Icy Sea, One of History's Great Wrecks Is Found". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ Doyle, Felicity (2016-05-12). "Downtown Dialogues: Beer Is Culture with Sixpoint Brewery". thirsty. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ Guzman, Brianna (2015-04-20). "Alum Pat Fish Talks Tattoos". The Daily Nexus. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ "New MLS Team From 2022 - Sacramento Republic FC - Colors, Logo, Kits & Stadium". Footy Headlines. October 24, 2019. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ "Sailors' Tattoos: A Basic Primer". Naval History and Heritage Command. March 29, 2019. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ a b "Every tattoo makes a statement but what do they mean?". Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
- ^ Lozano, Tenley (2017-04-19). "Sailing the Atlantic Ocean – 2005". The War Horse. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ a b Malnar, Gregory (2016-04-27). "Nautical Star: Everyone's Got One, What Does It Mean?". Tattoo.com. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ Kennedy, Elizabeth Lapovsky; Davis, Madeline D. (1993). Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community. Psychology Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-415-90293-9.
- ^ Keena (2012-06-21). "I Saw The Sign: LGBT Symbols Then And Now". Autostraddle. no further sources cited. Retrieved 2022-06-01.