A popular nautical tattoo symbol, a Mermaid is a legendary creature thought to be half human, almost always a woman, and half fish. Sailors usually reported seeing mermaids after having spent many months at sea, and probably after having had one too many tots of rum! Mermaids were often portrayed sitting on a rock, combing their long flowing tresses while gazing into a mirror. Mermaids were symbols of potent female energy and the underlying threat was that a sailor would be lured to his death by drowning if he pursued a mermaid. Sirens were similar, in that they were beautiful women-like creatures who with their songs and their beauty would lure sailors and their ships to wreck upon the rocks. Unions between mermaids and the sailors or men they fall in love with, almost always end tragically.
The long flowing hair of the Mermaid (symbolizing an abundant love potential) can also be seen in the representations of the Goddesses Aphrodite and Venus, and their roles as a potent fertility goddesses. The Mermaid's comb, necessary to keep all that hair in order, carried sexual connotations for the Greeks, as their words for comb, kteis and pecten, also signified the female vulva.
The Japanese have their mermaids known as Ningyo.
Below you will find a gallery of inspirational images that will help you in your quest of creating the perfect Nautical tattoo.
Also Check out: Nautical Tattoo Index, Nautical Tattoo Designs, Marine Life Tattoo Index
