Zodiac tattoos are one of the most common tattoo designs for women. Since the majority of women who choose to don a tattoo choose designs that are small and delicate, the tattoo symbol of one’s sun sign is a popular choice. The word zodiac comes from the latin word zodiacus, meaning "circle of animals". Ancient scholars mapped the sky by naming patterns of stars, or constellations. Each pattern of stars has a dominant place in the Northern Hemisphere’s sky at a given time of the year. For example, the zodiac tattoo symbol for Capricorn would represent a person born toward the end of December or the beginning of January. The constellation of stars that makes up Capricorn is also easily identified in the Dec./Jan. sky.

While there are standard symbols for zodiac tattoos, and many of these tattoo symbols are commonly found in our temporary tattoo catalog, the wearer can design his or her own version of the zodiac tattoo to modify it toward what he or she wants it to represent. Some ideas for modifying the standard zodiac tattoo design include:

1. tattoo symbols could include your zodiac constellation; include the stars in the design
2. each member of the zodiac has an element associated with it (fire, water, earth, air); design the zodiac tattoo to include the element’s features
3. each member of the zodiac “rules” a certain body part; get the tattoo placed where your zodiac rules (i.e., Pisces rules feet, get the tattoo on your feet)
4. design the tattoo symbols of your zodiac sign with a tribal twist
5. design your partner’s zodiac symbol and your zodiac tattoo together into one larger zodiac tattoo

The most common zodiac tattoos are the Western zodiac signs, representative of constellations. Other zodiac tattoos include the Chinese Zodiac. In this zodiac, each person is said to have an animal symbolize the year they were born. Chinese Zodiac signs include the: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. This year’s Chinese zodiac calendar began on January 26, 2008, which brought in the year of the ox. The rotation of the Chinese zodiac is a cycle of the twelve animals in the same order, so next year, 2009, will mark the year of the tiger. If one wanted to personalize a zodiac tattoo design by using both Western and Eastern zodiac symbols, here again lies a plethora of design options to get creative with.