Sagittarius Tattoo Designs & Their Meaning

Those born under the sign of Sagittarius are said to be optimistic and good-humored but also irresponsible and careless. Before you commemorate your birth sign with a Sagittarius tattoo, take a moment to learn more about the most popular options for their design, color, art style and placement, so you don’t fall into those negative traits.

The zodiac and its symbols are steeped in mythological meaning, including the centaur of Sagittarius. Astrology assigns personality traits but that’s not all. Each sign is associated with one of the four traditional elements: earth, fire, water and air. This and more can be explored in the tattoo design of your sign.

Popular Sagittarius Designs

With such deep symbolic meaning in astrological signs, there are a number of designs you can choose from for your Sagittarius tattoo. You can even combine them with other systems to denote your birth time. The Chinese Zodiac assigns an animal for each year and each month has a birthstone.

Centaur

Sagittarius in art and mythology is associated with Chiron the centaur. These legendary half-human, half-horse creatures were celebrated as educators in ancient Greek mythology. Chiron taught the hero Achillies how to shoot a bow.

Choosing Chiron as the subject of your Sagittarius tattoo shows your love of the classics. Depicted with an arrow notched in his bow, he can symbolize your willingness to protect those you love. Teachers born under the sign might prefer to include Achilles to show your dedication to educating your students.

Abstract Symbol and Constellation

According to the myths, Hercules accidentally shot Chiron with an arrow poisoned by hydra blood. In great pain, the god Zeus ended his suffering and gave him a place among the stars in the constellation Centauri. Both it and the Sagittarius constellation are common for tattoos, especially small and simple ones.

Each zodiac constellation has its own sign. The archer of Sagittarius is a diagonal arrow from left to right with a crossbar near the bottom. Along with the constellation, this symbol is a great design for tiny tattoos.

The Planet Jupiter

The planet Jupiter is associated with the Sagittarius sign. With its iconic red spot and beautiful swirling clouds, it makes for a striking tattoo subject. Named for the king of the Roman pantheon, the planet represents justice, law and order, but also light-hearted joviality.

It’s easy to combine images of the planet Jupiter with other Sagittarius symbols. Add the planet hanging in the sky of your centaur tattoo or include it with the constellations.

Fire

Sagittarius is a fire sign and adding flames can make for a dynamic tattoo. Flames themselves have deep symbolic meaning. Fire provides warmth and light but it’s a dangerous element when you lose control of it.

Give your centaur tattoo a flaming arrow to play on Sagittarius’ connection with fire and how you burn bright. The zodiac sign wreathed in colorful flames is another possible design.

Popular Art Style for Sagittarius Tattoos

The art style for your tattoo is a very personal decision and as long as you are happy, there are no wrong answers. We have chosen some of the most common and popular to discuss to give you a better idea of the possibilities.

Traditional

The old-school style of western tattoos grew out of the long-standing naval body art favored by sailors. When these sailors came home with ink, the practice spread and those traditional styles are still popular today.

Perfect for tattoos both large and small and of centaurs or more symbolic Sagittarius art, there is a reason this classic style is still around. If you already have traditional ink, your new marks won’t look out of place, either.

Tribal

The sailors, who inked up to commemorate important milestones in their naval career, learned of the practice initially from the Tahitians and their tribal-style tattoos. With their distinctive black coloring and intricate geometric patterns, they offer an eye-catching look. It’s no wonder they have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity.

Representations of Chiron the Centaur might not be the best choice for tribal style Sagittarius tattoos, but they are ideal for the zodiac’s arrow symbol or constellations. Consider using the stars and lines of the constellation as the center point for the style’s dazzling geometric patterns.

Art Nouveau

Characterized by its swooping curved lines and seemingly infinite ornamentation, this colorful art style ruled the world in the late 19th and early 20th century. Modern tattoo artists have branched out from traditional styles to mimic those from the art world. The colorful and intricate style of Art Nouveau can give your Sagittarius tattoo a unique look.

This style works best when representing people, animals and natural scenes. Chiron the centaur, his bowstring drawn tight with a notched flaming arrow, is one possibility.

While he is traditionally male, you can have her depicted as female. The most loved artists of the Art Nouveau period excelled at creating long swirling hair on their female subjects.

Abstract

When our ancient ancestors looked up into the night sky full of twinkling stars, they created the constellations and the stories behind them from a blanket dotted with light. With such an abstract creation, zodiac tattoos are well suited for a more symbolic style.

The constellations or the Sagittarius symbol are probably your best choice for an abstract tattoo, but the surreal nature of abstract representations can give less symbolic art a fetching quality.

Colors

When considering a new tattoo, there are a lot of considerations. Color can add symbolic meaning to your Sagittarius ink, but like with everything else, there are no wrong choices.

Blue

Many of the stars that make up the Sagittarius constellation are blue so it makes for a striking color for a tattoo of your birth sign. You don’t have to limit the color to constellation tattoos, either. A bright blue arrow symbol or one enshrined with blue flames can give the same effect.

Red and Orange

As a fire sign, the traditional colors of fire work amazingly well in a tattoo. These colors are present on the planet Jupiter as well, so you can combine Sagittarius symbols with the flame colors.

Black

Every girl needs a little black dress because it goes with everything. The same is true for black tattoos. Perfect for small Sagittarius symbols and constellations, it also looks dynamic when used for photorealistic representations of the centaur.

Body Placement

You can get your Sagittarius tattoo anywhere you want, but there are a few places that are more common for different styles and sizes of ink.

Chest

The chest is the closest canvas to your heart. If you have taken your zodiac sign to heart, displaying that over it is a great place for a small tattoo. If you want to go big, an off-center centaur with his bow drawn across your chest is a great, eye-catching idea.

Back

Here’s where you can really go big with your tattoo ideas. The back is a perfect place for sprawling works like a circular representation of the entire zodiac with all the constellations. If you want a tattoo featuring both your western and Chinese zodiac animals, the back is the place to let your ideas go wild.

Arms

For small and medium-sized tattoos, you can show them off on your hand and wrist or hide them away on your bicep. Choose your forearm for ink you want to see yourself. This can be a powerful reminder for important ideals.

Legs

Bloodletting was a common medical practice in the Middle Ages and believed to keep the body’s fluids in balance. Practitioners used star charts and astrology when deciding where to draw blood. The Sagittarius vein ran along the inner thigh. Adding a small tattoo of your birth sign there can harken back to the strange beliefs of that time. The ankle is another great place for a small tattoo.