The ideas for tattoos are many, but what they have in common is the same subtext. A tattoo can designate a group’s identity—mariners or pirates, veterans, inmates, gang members, motorcyclists, and other such groups. It can memorialize a personage or an incident and as a virtual archive of snapshots of tattoos exhibiting names and faces of deceased loved ones. Sometimes getting inked is a whole new story. They happen by rough peer pressure, a set of 20-year-olds on Friday night getting drunk, not knowing what to do until an uncanny idea pops up and one of them blurts, “Let’s go get inked!” Tattoos don’t need a reason. They just exist.

Reason or no reason, what seems to be trending these days is the zodiac tattoos. With the world turning more towards the hippie culture, the bend towards spirituality and astrology has sharpened. And that’s exactly why some like to get it engraved on themselves as a token of their dedication.

MEANING

Cancerians are born between June 21 and July 22 and belong to the Water element of the zodiac, in addition to Pisces and Scorpio. Water signs are not only passionate and intense, but they are also extremely instinctive and sympathetic.

Cancer is managed by the moon, the astronomical figure that serves comfort, self-care, and parental energies. They are known to be incredibly sensitive and just like the crab, they can have incurred some very thick shield to help them deal with the constant commotion in the world. The innermost feelings of cancer can be quite profound and mysterious, their outer appearances hiding the depth of their feelings. They don’t like too much revelation and are rather obscure in their communication. There are many apt reasons for the crab to epitomize a true Cancerian. Just like a crab, they hold on tight to what they love and often have trouble letting things go.