The Warrior Within – Semicolon Tattoo Ideas For 2024

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Getting a semicolon tattoo takes a lot of bravery, as it’s both an intimate reckoning with one has been through, as well as an open statement to the world about it.

Known as the symbol of suicide prevention and mental health overall, it has quickly become a classic tattoo symbol.

What does a semicolon tattoo mean?

How can you combine the semicolon with other elements?

Should you get the semicolon tattoo on your wrist?

Read below and find over 50 unique semicolon tattoo ideas!

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Every Tattoo Has A Story – Semicolon Tattoo Meaning

The semicolon symbolizes a continuation of someone’s life.

It has become a modern symbol used in solidarity with other survivors against a plethora of mental health issues including suicide, eating disorders and addictive behaviors.

How has it started?

Back in April 2013, when social media just started making its global waves in culture and helping create awareness for different causes, Amy Bleuel asked that anyone who had ever struggled with a mental illness would draw a semicolon on their wrist and post a photo.

“A semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life,” – Amy Bleuel

In the mainstream media, the semicolon tattoo also makes its appearance in the TV show 13 Reasons Why, marking a new beginning after struggling with suicidal ideation.

There are also celebrities with a semicolon tattoo like Selena Gomez who has long been an ambassador of mental health and has opened up many times about their struggles with depression. Among others we can also count Alisha Boe, Tommy Dorfman, and Brandon Flynn, too.

Combining meanings

If you want the semicolon to be the added meaning to your tattoo, you can combine it with many other animals, objects or mythologies.

Some of them are:

Overall, the semicolon is a tiny (sometimes even hidden) symbol that adds a lot of meaning that can be added to any tattoo for women and tattoo for men.

Best Semicolon Tattoo Placements

The semicolon tattoo on wrist is a classic placement, as it goes back to how the Project Semicolon started – sharing photos of a semicolon on your wrist.

It can also quietly signal to the person you’re speaking to what you’ve been through, without you having to say a word.

Other placements include a semicolon tattoo behind the ear that is a very open statement, yet can be hidden with hair or accessories if needed.

Semicolon Tattoo Ideas

To help you with your research for your next tattoo design, we went on a hunt through Instagram to find the best semicolon tattoo ideas.

Take a look below to check them out all:

Semicolon Butterfly Tattoo

Butterfly’s main meaning is one of transformation, and coming out of your cocoon to become the new, beautiful and free you.

This beautiful insect that can come in incredible color patterns is also aesthetically pleasing, which makes it a great option for a tattoo.

You can form your unique butterfly semicolon tattoo either by having the semicolon in the wing, as a part of the wing design. It can also be done in a way where the butterfly is the full stop with the coma below.

Hidden Semicolon Tattoo

Many people do not want explicit expression of what they’ve been through in their tattoos.

If you would like to be the only one knowing what the deeper meaning of your tattoo is, you can go for a hidden semicolon tattoo.

Can you try and figure out where the semicolon is in the examples below?

Heart Semicolon Tattoo

The love for others and for oneself needed to get out of a depressive episode cannot be stressed enough.

Being able to accept that love, internalize it and use it to get better is critical to getting better.

For this reason, many use a heart semicolon tattoo to hint at their struggle and what helped them out of it.

Sunflower Semicolon Tattoo

Sunflowers serve as a symbol of hope for the hundreds of millions around the world that struggle with their mental health, 50% of them untreated.

For this reason, many use sunflower tattoos as the symbol of finally getting on the sunny side after a very dark time.

The cat semicolon tattoo can have a layered meaning.

If done without color, it implies that the animal in the tattoo is a black cat – often associated with transformation and change.

Additionally, it can imply that the person got their greatest emotional support and a reason to live in their pet, the cat.

Semicolon Flower Tattoo

As much as it doesn’t seem so while we’re going through a hard time, there is beauty in darkness.

And a flower semicolon tattoo can symbolize exactly this sentiment.

A beautiful flower accompanying the semicolon can imply the beauty and graciousness of the person that we’ve become after surviving.

You can add another layer of meaning by using your birth month flower or of the loved one that has helped you in your struggle.

Dragonfly Semicolon Tattoo

Dragonflies are beautiful insects with intricate meanings, very close to the topic of mental health.

Symbolizing change and new beginnings, dragonfly semicolon tattoo is very explicit in what it wants to say.

It also means growth and wisdom that one would achieve after living fully and gaining life experience, which can also imply having a dark time in your life that you’ve overcome.

Semicolon Arrow Tattoo

The oldest non human, non animal body part symbol out there is an arrow and it represents survival.

It also points straight, showing direction in which you want to go in.

After a very hard episode in life, you only want to move forward, no matter how small the steps are.

Adding a semicolon in your arrow tattoo shows exactly towards what you want to go without a doubt – into a new, happier life.

Semicolon Cross Tattoo

If you rely on faith and Christianity to help you go through the hard times in live, you probably already relate to the cross symbol.

But, if your faith is what helped you in the darkest moments, helping you start again when you reached the bottom, you might want to combine the cross and semicolon to memorize this moment of strength.

Phoenix Semicolon Tattoo

The semicolon and the phoenix share the meaning of survival, continuation of your journey and starting again.

So for many people, including a little semicolon in their phoenix tattoo is a great option to hint to their story only restarting, they are rebuilding their lives out of the ashes of the text that came before the semicolon.

Are you looking for a custom semicolon tattoo design? We got you.

Our expert tattoo artists will provide a quick initial draft to get you going.
Happy inking ❤

Milena Petrovic

Milena Petrovic

Co-founder of Tattoo Stylist

About the author

Milena has decided to start an organization that will create a safe environment for everybody to get their first, second or third tattoo and to encourage young people to transform their ideas into tattoos safely, with talent and vision.

You can find her writing about tattoos on Quora or updating our Pinterest profile with awesome tattoo ideas!

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