WHAT IS THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF AN ANCHOR JEWELRY?
The anchor has been around since 2500 B.C. It is one of the oldest symbols used in tattoos and one of the most widely used and classic symbols in jewelry. Whether male or female, anchor jewelry is one of the most popular designs, and the reason it is so popular is that it has design versatility. To many people, an anchor may just be a frame on which designers can hang a number of different elements and symbols, including a ship, a rudder or a star. So this also makes boat anchor jewelry more versatile. Why is boat anchor jewelry so popular and what do anchors symbolize? Let’s discuss this topic today.
The anchor motif has stood the test of time for a long time, and it remains a very popular maritime symbol to this day. Seafarers have long enjoyed wearing anchor jewelry and have even used the anchor as their tattoo design, and that is because the anchor is one of the oldest symbols. This popular and well known symbol has been around for centuries. However, the anchor motif was only popular in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps at first. It wasn’t until the 20th century that ship anchors became popular with the general public. Sailors were among the first to acquire them to show their connection to the sea. Sailors who crossed the dangerous Atlantic Ocean used the tattoos as a symbol of their accomplishments, so soon ship anchor tattoos became a symbol of experienced sailors. Later, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps began using the same design to indicate their affiliation, and they would often pair a picture of their ship or their equipment with the anchor in the design.
It is said that anchor symbols were also popular among pirates, although skulls and crossbones were usually more associated with them. When we look at a realistic ship’s anchor, it really has one sole purpose, and that is to stabilize the ship in the water. When the anchor point falls, the water cannot make the ship give an omen. We can actually derive some of the symbolic meaning of anchors from these facts, and “stability” is probably the most common meaning of anchor jewelry, in addition to affiliation in Western countries.
In the past, sailors believed that the anchor was the last refuge for sailors in rough seas, and that it symbolized stability and the hope that things would get better. That is why people were willing to wear anchor rings, anchor bracelets or anchor necklaces, with the meaning of praying for stability.
In Western countries, while the anchor motif is most commonly associated with sailors, it also has a strong connection to Christianity. When Christianity was a persecuted minority, Christians used the anchor in place of the cross to hide their true identity. When Christians were under Roman control, the cross representing Christianity was hidden most of the time, and Christians used boat anchors to imitate the cross as a code word to communicate with other Christians and to keep themselves safe from persecution. In the New Testament book of Hebrews, the anchor symbolizing stability is also borrowed as a metaphor for finding the anchor of the soul after believing in God, as recorded in Hebrews 6: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”. So in the Western countries, the anchor design has a certain religious significance.
And now, the anchor is also a symbol that can show sexual orientation, is a representative of the gay man’s self-identification, he will not change himself because of the world’s vision, in the waves of life to find their own position, even if denied by people, not accepted, but still able to live their true self with confidence.
As mentioned earlier, designers often combine anchors with other elements, with the rudder being the most common element. The combination of these two symbols is one of the most meaningful ways to design, and the rudder itself has a profound meaning.
On a ship, the helmsman provides direction, but not power. The rudder can represent people trying to find their way through rough seas, and it serves as a reminder that one must choose a correct direction through treacherous waters as a way to continue on until we reach our originally chosen destination.
When the anchor and rudder symbols are used together, they represent pleasure as you have strong restraint and free will prefers the boundaries of pleasure. It symbolizes that the purpose is consciously and freely achieved. It refers to the determination to continue to be happy.