Skip to content

Symbol · symbol_stability

Stability

The meaning of being anchored, secure or unmoving. Attested for the anchor by a maritime heritage museum (“icon of stability”) and independently by two tattoo trade sources.
Attested
Medium confidenceresearched

1 attested2 sources · T1

Registry entry only

The corpus has no enrichment row for this concept (symbols), so it carries its label, description, aliases and provenance and nothing further. No visual traits or cautions are recorded — not because they failed to load, but because that data does not exist in the corpus.

Provenance

2 resolved

  • Every tattoo makes a statement but what do they mean? (opens in a new tab)

    Tier 1

    The Historic Dockyard Chatham

    Maritime heritage museum article on naval tattoo designs. Verbatim: records show designs that are "marks of love, loss and life events" while others demonstrate "national identities, religious faith, and patriotic pride"; "Each swallow represents 5,000 nautical miles in a sailor's career." One of the few tier 1 sources that speaks about tattoo subject matter as lived human experience rather than as art history.

    museum · retrieved 2026-08-28

  • Old School Tattoo Style (opens in a new tab)

    Tier 2

    iNKPPL Tattoo Magazine

    Tattoo magazine style guide. Names the traditional repertoire verbatim: "Common themes include anchors, swallows, nautical stars, hearts with ribbons, roses, daggers, and images of women." Gives per-symbol readings for the anchor, the swallow, the nautical star, the heart and the rose. Tier 2 trade source: competent on industry repertoire and modern practice, NOT on any cultural or ceremonial claim.

    professional tattoo source · retrieved 2026-08-30

Related concepts

1 link

Can symbolize · 1

  • ← incomingAnchorMotifAttested
    strength 0.75researched

    QUALITY MEANING, and the museum gives its reasoning: “An anchor is also the most secure object on the ship so its image serves as an icon of stability.” Corroborated independently by source_inkppl_old_school, whose wording is quoted on the edges that cite it.