Tattoos

Native American Head

Johnny’s first tattoos is a Cherokee Indian chief for his ancestral heritage – on his right biceps. “I started getting tattoos when they were sort of verboten in Hollywood… 1983, 1984. I was 17 when I got the first one [a Cherokee chief, to honor] my Indian heritage.” (Inquirer.net, May 13, 2011)

Heart & Betty Sue

His mother’s name “Betty Sue” is inside a heart with some tribal flourishing on his left upper arm. He got it on May 31, 1988.

Wino Forever

His tattoo was once dedicated to his, at that time, girlfriend Winona Ryder with the words “Winona forever”, but later he laser edited it to “Wino forever” – the tattoo is on his upper right arm.

Inverted Triangle

Over the heart with his mother’s name he has an inverted triangle. The triangle was originally drawn by Russian painter Ilya Chasnik in 1925. Chasnik was part of a group which embraced the Communist ideal of producing art for the benefit of the worker and arranged many public art projects – maybe this tattoo has political meaning for Johnny. There’s a photo of him posing next to the picture.

The Brave Symbol

This symbol from his movie The Brave he has inside his right arm. He got it around fall 1998.

Three rectangles

Three little rectangles are to be found on his right index finger. He once described them as “permanent phone doodles”.

Number ’3′

On his left hand is this number 3. Regarding this 3 he made this comment about a three in general in the Young Flix Magazine in April 1996: “Three is a sort of special number for me. It’s a very creative number. Triangle, trinity — you know, two people make another person. Three is a mystical, magical number.” But in an interview not long ago he said, that he and his friend “just put it there one day while they were bored.”? The same tattoo has Vanessa Paradis’ sister Allison on her neck.. And the same 3 (in this exact font) appears in the film credits of the Brave.

Lily-Rose

Johnny wears the name of his daugther Lily-Rose Melody close to his heart. The letters are made up of little rosebuds.

Jack and Flying Bird

From the movie Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl he took the tattoo on his right forearm, turned it around, so that the bird flies towards Johnny, and added his son’s name.

Skull and Crossbones

On his outside lower right leg Johnny has a skull and crossbones with the letters ‘death is certain’ below.

?

A question mark on the right inside leg over the ankle. It’s a part of The Brave symbol.

Silence Exile Cunning

The tattoo on Johnnys arm appeared first at the MTV movie awards, June 2nd, 2008, and reads “Silence Exile Cunning”, a quote from a book from James Joyce titled “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”. At five pages of the end of the book, we can find this quote, from the main character Stephen: “I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use – silence, exile, and cunning.”

Three Hearts

The tattoo on the inside Johnnys upper left arm appeared first during the filming for The Rum Diary in Puerto Rico, March 2009. It represents his family: Vanessa and his two kids. It looks as if the ones for Lily-Rose and Jack are attached to each other.

Sailor and Waitress

Probably December 20, 2009, Johnny got two more tattoos at the shamrock social club on the sunset boulevard. There was info, he was in there that day for 2 hours (though the tattoos must have taken much more time). The tattoo on his right arm is his grandfather as a sailor. The tattoo on the other arm shows his mother in a waitress uniform (she used to work at Holiday Inn).

Gonzo Fist

On the front of his left shin, Johnny has a Gonzo fist, which first appeared while filming Pirates of the Caribbean 4, on June 22, 2010 in Hawaii. Above the Gonzo fist, Johnny has some writing. He got it a few days later.

Skull

This tattoo first appeared inside Johnnys upper right arm at the Voices for Justice concert in Arkansas on August 28th, 2010. It shows a skull and crossbones.

Salve Ogum

Outside his left arm, Johnny has an “Ogum” tattoo and the writing Salve Ogum. Ogum is an Afro-American deity. It is portrayed as a comic-strip character with a crown. It might be that Johnny has drawn a layout of the symbol himself. “Salve” is Portuguese/Latin and means “hail” or “save”. Jonathan Shaw put the tattoo there in 2010, while he spent some time with Johnny in Hawaii.

3 small dots

The 3 small dots Johnny has inside of his left ankle. They first appeared while filming Pirates of the Caribbean-The Curse of the Black Pearl. Johnny loves the number 3 !

Rook

Johnny got a new tattoo in late July or August 2011. It’s on his left lower arm, below the Salve Ogum tattoo. It is a rook, the pic coming from a Card game called “Rook”, a game popular in Eastern Kentucky. Johnny changed the 2 in the card that the rook is holding into a 3.  

Ching

October 7, 2011, Johnny Depp and Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three were seen on Sunset Strip. They visited Depp’s favorite tattoo parlor – Shamrock Social Club, and Damian got a huge tattoo, while Johnny got the same tattoo in smaller. Quoting the site I Ching divination this is the meaning:

Hsiao Ch’u – Taming Force Wind over Heaven Forcing your way will only bring misfortune. Remain focused on your plan and surpass obstacles with gentleness and decorum. Stay focused on the long term. Plant the seeds for success now, and reap a bountiful harvest in the future. Cultivate tolerance, patience, detachment and adaptability. Understand that all you have the power to change is yourself.

  Thanks to fatalistfemme for some of the info about the Inverted Triangle & Salve Ogum tattoos!