What Does Teardrop Tattoo Near Eye Mean

Tattoos have a long and fascinating history on their own, representing a complex world that may be hidden to some. Many designs non merely communicate a singled-out identity but besides declare remarkable behavior. But jail tattoos take it up a notch: despite the hard setting that these tattoos come from, many of them carry rich symbolism, often blending the esoteric with the practical, the shocking with the plain.

Jailhouse tattoos aren't just for ornamentation, nevertheless, each tattoo carries a hidden meaning, whether it'due south to show allegiance to a particular gang, an identifier as a follower of a specific (often racist) credo, or to prove off your criminal history.

Many of these jailhouse tattoos have crossed over to mainstream culture, although some people might be unaware of their origins. Here are some jailhouse tattoos and their subconscious meanings:

Table of Contents

Teardrop
3 Dots
MS 13
Five-point crown
Cobweb
Nazi Symbols
Russian Mob Symbols

Teardrop

What does a teardrop tattoo mean? Easily one of the most popular prison tattoos in popular culture, the teardrop tattoo actually has a less innocent meaning behind information technology. The meaning of teardrop tattoos can vary depending on the geography, just they all accept the same premise: it symbolizes murder.

A teardrop tattoo on the face up ways that the person has committed murder. A teardrop outline represents attempted murder, but it could as well mean that the person has a friend who was murdered and that they are now currently seeking vengeance.

A filled in teardrop means a expiry has been avenged. If someone's initials have been placed in the tear, it could exist the name of that person who died.

Other sources also indicate that a tear tattoo could mean remorse; i teardrop under the eye serves as a reminder to the person of a mistake. Some other, less pop symbolism for this prison house tattoo is solidarity or support.

An instance could exist the late Amy Winehouse's ink, which the singer got soon after her husband Blake Fielder-Ceremonious was sent to jail for perverting the grade of justice.

In some prisons, the meaning of teardrop tattoos differs depending on which side it is on. A teardrop tattoo on the left center ways that the person murdered someone in jail, and a teardrop tattoo on the right eye means the person lost a family or gang fellow member to murder.

In recent years, information technology'south get an extremely popular tattoo for rappers and celebrities in an attempt to play upwardly their "gangster" paradigm. The well-nigh recognizable name beingness Lil' Wayne. Why does the rapper have 4 teardrop tattoos? The tatts reportedly symbolize the four loved ones he's lost.

Tear tattoos aren't just done under the optics. You can also find them on fingers. What is the meaning of a teardrop tattoo on a finger? It could hateful dealing with a personal struggle. Considering tears symbolize sadness, that struggle could be a tragic incident or a traumatic event.

Even so, be warned: veteran inmates are oftentimes very ambitious towards new inmates with teardrop tattoos, specially when they find out that it's an artful choice rather than as a symbol of a crime they've already committed.

Three Dots

Uncomplicated, subtle, merely fairly poignant, the 3-dot tattoo is a pretty common jailhouse tattoo that ways "mi vida loca," or my crazy life. Despite pop belief, it's not actually the symbol of any one particular gang; it's a representation of the gang "lifestyle" itself. Outside of showing one's love for the outlaw life, the 3-dot tattoo could besides be a subtle religious tattoo, ane that symbolizes the Holy Trinity.

The three-dot tattoo is normally establish effectually the eyes, or on the hands about the base of the thumb, and different other jailhouse tattoos, the three-dot tattoo is about ofttimes created using the stick-and-poke method with makeshift tools.

MS 13

The "MS13" or "MS" or "13" tattoos are representative of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, a notorious and extremely trigger-happy gang originating from Los Angeles by style of El Salvador. The MS13 tattoo can be found on any part of the body, but it is mostly tattooed on highly prominent places similar the hands, cervix, or even the face. The idea backside their placement is that the person getting tattooed is proud of being part of Mara Salvatrucha, and is not afraid to make this affiliation known to both civilians and law enforcement.

Mara Salvatrucha is an extremely violent organization that has businesses all around the United States, Republic of el salvador and Canada. They mostly bargain in drug trafficking, but have been known to caput human trafficking operations and even child prostitution.

Five-point crown

The five-betoken crown tattoo represents allegiance to the Latin Kings, ane of the country'southward biggest and most notorious Hispanic gangs. Based out of Chicago, the Latin Kings are an extremely organized gang that uses heavy symbolism in their rituals and hierarchy, and boasts tens of thousands of members from declension to coast.

The five-indicate crown tattoo u.s. unremarkably accompanied by the letters ALKN or ALKQN, which stands for Almighty Latin Kings (and Queens) Nation. This tattoo usually has either 3-points or 5-points, with the v-betoken crown being more common, thanks to their amalgamation with the People Nation Gang, a loose confederation of Chicago gangs whose identifying marker is the number 5.

Although the five-point crown tattoo shows people your affiliation with the Latin Kings, the gemstones (should there be whatever) on the crown correspond an entire level of mystery altogether, with each gemstone representing a person's rank, tribe, region and other factors.

Cobweb

Unremarkably seen on elbows or hands, cobweb tattoos are a classic example of jailhouse ink that symbolizes being behind bars for a actually, actually long time. The thought of placing the cobwebs on elbows or on hands is that it signifies sitting with your hands or elbows on a tabular array for so long that a spider has woven a web on you. Symbolically, cobweb tattoos signified being "trapped" behind bars, the same fashion a spider traps its prey.

One thing to note, though: there are plenty of cobweb tattoos in popular civilisation that brand use of multiple colors. These are not likely to exist jailhouse tattoos, as tattoo artists in prisons rarely, if at all, take admission to multiple colors of ink.

Nazi Symbols

White supremacists apply a diversity of nazi symbols equally tattoos, from the almost common swastika and German eagle, to the lightning bolt and SS. Yet, some nazi symbols are less pronounced.

A.B.

The "AB" tattoo stands for Aryan Alliance, one of the about violent prison house gangs in the country.

Although the Aryan Alliance represents about ane per centum of the entire inmate population in the United States, they account for over xx percent of gang-related deaths and murders in U.Due south. prisons. Having this symbol as an inmate can bring you huge benefits from the Brotherhood, just can make y'all a large and glaring target for not-White inmates.

14/88

Seemingly innocuous at first, 14/88 actually has a darker meaning: information technology's used by neo-Nazis as a subtle indicator of their racist ideologies. The numbers can be used together, separately, or with a slash in the middle

The numbers have specific meanings: the fourteen represents the xiv-word slogan "Nosotros must secure the existence of our people and a hereafter for White Children," originally coined by David Lane, a White Supremacist who founded the terror organization The Order.

The 88 represents the 8^th alphabetic character: H. Combined, they course HH, a shorthand for Heil Hitler. This tattoo tin can be institute pretty much anywhere on the body.

Double Lightning Bolts

Double lightning bolt tattoos can take innocent meanings, but in the case of a prison tattoos, information technology'due south a stylized version of the South.Southward., or the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi party'due south premier paramilitary system.

Skull Head

The Totenkopf is a specific iteration of the traditional skull-and-bones tattoo, simply in this case, it'due south a symbol of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. It'southward often accompanied past the phrase Meine Ehre heißt Treue, which means "My honor is my loyalty," a former slogan of the Nazi party.

Russian Mob Symbols

The Russian prison tattoo organization contains a highly intricate, often esoteric, hierarchy of symbols that can correspond different meanings depending on placement.

Playing Cards

Playing carte tattoos are very popular jailhouse tattoos for inmates who are in prison house for gambling, or for inmates who honey to gamble in full general. It can also hateful that the person with this tattoo sees life as a take a chance, pushing their luck and ordinarily losing.

In Russian prisons, however, playing card tattoos have an entirely unlike meaning depending on the suite of cards: spades represent thieves while diamonds represent informants and "prison house rats." Heart cards signify that the person is looking for love inside the prison house. Unlike American tattoos, these suites are usually applied in Russian prison by force, usually as a punishment for breaking prison house codes of accolade, or if they insult a loftier-ranking gang fellow member.

Cantankerous on the Chest

A cross tattoo on a person's chest is ordinarily reserved for the highest echelons of the Russian Mafia. It is the highest rank that a Russian mobster can achieve, and symbolizes being a "Prince of Thieves."

Eight-pointed Star on Clavicle

Another tattoo reserved for high-ranking members of the Russian Mafia, the 8-pointed star tattoo denotes that the person is a highly respected member of the Vor, a moniker for the Russian mob.

Skull and Crossbones

Dissimilar the West's connotation of piracy with skull and crossbones tattoos, Russian inmates serving life sentences unremarkably carry this ink proudly.

Churches

Despite their religious connotation, church and monastery tattoos on Russian inmates signify thievery, with the number of cupolas on the church spires signifying the amount of convictions they've had.

Compass Rose

In the West, the Compass Rose ofttimes symbolizes a yearning for freedom or take a chance, but in the Russian prison tattoo organisation, this is usually used to indicate a person's hatred for prison guards and law enforcement in general.