Shooting Star Tattoos

What is a Shooting Star?

If you’ve never seen a shooting star, it’s worth going out on a clear night to watch for them. A shooting star is actually a meteor, a piece of space rock that’s passing through the Earth’s atmosphere. As the meteor encounters our atmosphere, it begins to heat up and then to glow, leaving a trail of fire across the sky. Most meteors burn up before they reach the surface of our planet.

Two good times to watch for shooting stars are late August and mid-November, when annual meteor showers decorate the sky. Check online for the dates of this year’s Perseid meteor shower (in August) and Leonid meteor shower (in November). On an ordinary night, the best time to look is shortly before dawn.

Meanings and Legends

People often associate shooting stars with good luck and success. To be a "shooting star" is to do really well at something, very quickly. Sometimes the expression is also used to suggest that the person will “burn out” before too long. In some cultures, however, a meteor is thought to bring bad luck, or to reveal that someone has died.

In one Native American legend, a shooting star symbolizes a young girl, far from her native land, trying to get home. In another, it’s a coyote who had climbed up to dance among the stars. Asian legends say that these lights in the sky are serpents, which may bring good luck or bad.

Ideas for Shooting Star Tattoos

A real shooting star looks like a streak of light against the sky. It may be bright white or look yellow, orange, red, or even greenish. You can find some photographs at the American Meteor Society, or try NASA’s web site.

Usually, when people draw shooting stars, they draw a star shape with a tail of flame (resembling a comet) stretching behind. Shooting star tattoos can have a single star or several. The star itself can have a traditional five-pointed shape, look like a Star of David, form a sunburst, or be any other style you choose. The tail can be a few lines to suggest motion, a fully detailed flame, or anything in between. Some designs incorporate smaller stars into the tail.

Planning Your Tattoo

You can find designs for shooting star tattoos on tattoo flash sites, and your local shop probably has a few different images on hand. If you’d like something original, you’ll want to plan the tattoo before you head for the tattoo parlor. That way, you can work with the artist to get exactly what you want.

Color

Pastels give a fantasy feel to your tattoo. Bright colors are bold and cheerful. Reds and oranges convey the feel of heat and flame. Black is simple and classic. If you’re getting more than one star, you can make them all different colors or stick with one shade.

Shape

Does your star have a meaning? If you want to add extra meaning to a shooting star tattoo, you can use the star’s shape to represent your interests.

• Many military organizations use a version of the five-pointed star on medals or insignia.
• A six-pointed star, formed from two triangles, is a symbol of Judaism, appears in Islamic art, and can also be seen in images from other religions, including Buddhism and Hinduism. Placed inside a circle, the six-pointed star is used in occult and Satanist practices.
• An open five pointed star (pentacle) is a pagan symbol and also appears in Catholic designs.

Style

Do you want bold lines or thin ones? Shooting star tattoos can be elegant or exuberant. If you have a favorite tattoo style or have seen work you admire, mention it to your artist.

Photo Galleries

Because shooting star tattoos are popular, you can find a lot of images online. Here are some places to look:

• RankMyTattoos.com has a small gallery of shooting star tattoos and a larger one for star tattoos in general.
• BMEzine, always a good place to look for photos, has a good number of examples in many different styles.

• Celebrity Tattoo Pictures
• Cross Tattoos
• Star Tattoos
• Wrist Tattoos
• Heart Tattoos

• Moon Star Fairy Tattoos
• Unicorn Tattoos
• R.I.P. Tattoos
• Wiccan Tattoos
• Heart Tattoos

• Body Painting Gallery
• Scorpio Tattoo Gallery
• Body Piercing Gallery
• How many tattoos do you have?
• Celebrity Tattoo Quiz