THE WHY OF ODD TATTOOS

​This is the story of the Flying Dutchman and his captain, Barent Fokke, a story circulating through the waters and known to sailors.
The Dutch, the most famous and feared ghost ship in the seas, was so named for the origins of its captain, who was condemned to roam the sea forever and without peace, for having challenged the sea itself. It is said that his ship was the fastest and when the waters and winds raged in a storm, the captain explained even more sails and went forward scornful of danger and fear. The sailors of his crew who tried to stop him were killed by him.
There are many different versions of the story of Fokke, but in one of these it is said that perhaps the man made a pact with the devil. And from there his curse was born: after several years passed to challenge the waters, the whole ship and whoever was on board, sank to resurrect as a ghost ship, with the conviction of never being able to port again. And there is nothing worse for a seafarer than not being able to touch the ground, because it means not being able to rest, not being able to sleep, not being able to satiate, therefore never having peace.

Every man of the sea knew and feared to suffer the fate of the Dutchman's crew, to the point that they looked at their shoulders with the obsession of seeing the ghost ship appear and be condemned to the same end. The fear was so great, in the days when this story was born, which was one of the reasons that led sailors and pirates to become the first tattooed in the Western world. They copied the custom from the populations of the new worlds they came into contact with, who taught him the magical-religious art of drawing the body. Anyone who left on board a ship used to make a first tattoo in the port of departure, as a good omen and to avert the dangers of the sea. As soon as we reached the land that was the destination of the journey, we got another tattoo. Having a number of even tattoos meant that we had reached the furthest point of the journey, a real goal, but the real challenge was to be able to go home. Only after the trip ended could you have the right to have a third tattoo.
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Odd tattoos on sailors tattooed on the chest, belly and arms

And that's how the legend is born according to which having an even number of tattoos brings bad luck: it means not being able to return, lost by sea as the captain of the Dutchman flying with his crew. Having three tattoos means to have left, arrived and finally have returned. Having an odd number of tattoos over three is a symbol of many travels, many distant lands visited, many miles traveled, and a good dose of luck that has always allowed us to find the way home ... basically we are all sailors and pirates and at intervals we get lost and dock in safe places in the sea of ​​our life and what we carry on our skin are often experiences, door-luck, memories of distant lands and old loves in old ports.
If your journey has not yet started, remember to make the first tattoo, and over time it will turn into the starting port of an adventure.
Source: Antonella Rapita