Thursday  Sep 15, 2005

Break the Tattoo Code - Spider Web Tattoos

Jessica Lund continues her look into the coded meanings behind some of the most iconographic tattoo symbols. Today's subject - The Spider Web tattoo

The spider web is a very common coded tattoo, whose meaning is wildly varying. In North America, this tattoo is commonly found on the elbow, but sometimes on the face.

Most commonly, the spider web means prison time or murder, but its variations are somewhat more complex.

The older meaning of the spider web tattoo is that a person has murdered another in prison. This ends up being a self-protective tattoo, warning others to stay away.

This tat can also mean that the wearer has killed an enemy, which would also be a warning to potential future enemies. Some people indicant that the number of rings represents the number of people killed.

Some also report that a spider web on the left elbow means the wearer is packin’ heat, (or got a gun, and not afraid to use it).

On the white-power side, a spider web commonly means that the perpetrator has killed an African-American man. There have been several documented cases of prosecutions based on white-power aficionados attempting to ‘earn’ their spider web.

For most people, the spider web represents prison time in general. The number of concentric circles corresponds to the number of years spent in jail. Alternately, the spider web can mean three to five years in jail and color in the tattoo means a longer prison term.

In Russia, the spider web is worn on the hand between the thumb and index finger. A spider web with a spider in the web means that the wearer is a drug addict, a spider web with no spider means that the wearer is a thief.

If a person has a spider web on their neck in Russia, it means they have been repeated confined and punished in lock-up or punishment cells for disobeying prison rules and policy.

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