Compass Tattoos to Remind You of the Direction You're Going

It was surprising to find the large number and variety of compass tattoo designs when searching about. The popularity of them was somewhat shocking to me, but when thinking about the why of it, I think I discovered the answer: People need to know they're going in a certain direction, or need to be reminded they are.

That's not to say the design of a compass isn't cool, and isn't desirable, but it appears it is more than that for those getting them inked on their bodies.

Another unspoken part of the compass tattoo is the nautical theme. Some will include water and blue color to signify that, as you will see below, but most of them hint of it by the designs themselves.

A compass works on many parts of the body, and can be worn as small or large and they both work well.

The first compass tattoo shown below, as far as design or style goes, is called a "rose" compass tattoo, and is by far the most popular of all compass tattoos. I'm talking the design now, not the color.

This was a little different type of compass tattoo, that I didn't really get. The skull or bones along with the swords, while interesting, didn't make sense to me with the "Love" message underneath. Maybe it's something personal to the wearer. I don't know. Interesting though.

Not a great fan of color in tattoos, I did add this for those of you who may be. It is unique in its theme, and the water seemingly about to engulf the compass is pretty cool.

Here's another colorful compass tattoo with similar blue color as the one above. Surprisingly, I thought the orange color actually added a little to the overall image. Very loud colors that will grab attention, if nothing else. Not bad looking either.

This is one of the larger compass tattoos I found, which includes the smaller rose design at the top left corner.

Here's a somewhat bold and/or risque compass tattoo. Thankfully she has only the North direction included, as a South would have got her more attention than she probably would have wanted.

As far as design, uniqueness and quality goes, this was my favorite compass tattoo. It was really done well, and the blending of it in the flowers and ivy was great. Like the shadow and dark lines.

Concerning tattoo designs, I like it when I'm surprised, and with compass tattoos I can say I really was. It was amazing the popularity of the theme and design, and how the girls and guys both liked them; as most tattoo designs don't appeal to both sexes.