125+ Carpe Diem Tattoo Ideas to Help You Seize the Day

Choosing a tattoo is one of the hardest choices that a person can make. Since tattoos are permanent and are a hassle on their own to remove, your choice of tattoo must be timeless. So, if you are having a hard time choosing a tattoo, you can always get an incredibly motivating one; much like the carpe diem tattoo.

Carpe diem is an incredibly famous Latin phrase which directly translates to “Seize the Day.” It is an incredibly motivational phrase used in movies and various other forms of media. So if you are looking for an inspirational tattoo to keep you going, here are 10+ ideas for a carpe diem tattoo.

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  1. Carpe Diem and Music

The Carpe Diem and Music tattoo shows off a beautifully written Carpe Diem along with musical notes. The tattoo features a rich black color that adds to its overall beauty.  The tattoo holds great metaphorical meaning for both aspiring musicians and people struggling creatively throughout their careers. The tattoo represents the music of life and the importance of time in our lives. In terms of placement, this tattoo is incredibly diverse and versatile as it is simple and small; and can look good anywhere on the body that is visible at all times like the arms.

  1. Hour Glass Carpe Diem

An hourglass is one of the oldest methods to measure time and makes sense thematically with this Carpe Diem tattoo. The tattoo consists of a skeleton hand holding an hourglass with writing surrounding it. The entire tattoo features a monochromatic color pallet while also featuring a traditional tattoo style. The skeleton hand holding the hourglass shows the importance of time and how time goes by incredibly fast. The tattoo is quite large and will look best on your back or your ribs. You can even reduce the writing to carpe diem and the portrait of the hourglass and the bone hand.

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  1. Carpe Diem Compass

The Carpe Diem Compass is a tattoo that holds significant meaning. The carpe diem compass tattoo shows an old eight hand compass, with north pointing towards the carpe diem phrase. The tattoo holds great metaphorical meaning towards liberty and making the most of your day. It also lacks color, as it focuses more on the message than at the visuals of the tattoo; the visuals represent the freedom in traveling and how life is a journey, not a destination. Moreover, the size of this tattoo is quite small and can go well with almost every part of the body.

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  1. Ship’s Helm Carpe Diem

The helm of the ship is a wheel that helps in steering the ship and is possibly the most critical part of the ship. It is also the part of the ship designated for the captain, who controls the ship. This Helm Carpe Diem tattoo holds an incredibly powerful message about self-control and how you own your life. The helm represents your position as the captain, a person who is calm and level headed under all circumstances. The tattoo also features the phrase Carpe Diem along with roses and an anchor. As for placement of the tattoo, it is quite a big tattoo that will require a lot of space on the body.

  1. Carpe Diem Feather

The carpe diem and feather tattoo is incredibly beautiful and empowering. A feather often represents freedom, bravery, and courage, and is mainly what this tattoo symbolizes. That said, this tattoo represents mostly breaking free from your previous mistakes and faults and rising above them. The tattoo itself consists of a feather that is transforming into a flock of birds with the phrase “carpe diem” alongside them. As for its colors, it is mainly made up of black and lacks any other colors. To further improve the message of the tattoo, you can add color to the flock of birds.

  1. Carpe Diem Flower

The Carpe Diem Flower tattoo is an incredibly delicate and stylish tattoo. This tattoo symbolizes a lot of things such as wisdom, happiness, and courage. The flower represents happiness in every walk of life and to always have hope for better things in life. The tattoo is also one of the few tattoos on this list with color, which further adds to the happy and joyous aesthetic of this tattoo. Other than the flower, the tattoo contains vines and the carpe diem phrase written in a very stylish font. Since it is incredibly small, this tattoo can look good on a visible part of the body.

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  1. Carpe Diem Heartbeat Monitor

This Carpe Diem tattoo is an incredibly innovative tattoo that is just stunning to look at. It shows the carpe diem phrase written in a cursive font with certain letters in the words rising and falling to imitate a heartbeat on an ECG machine. The tattoo is incredibly creative and symbolizes how only by seizing the moment you are truly living. It is an incredibly small tattoo that looks especially good at the wrist or slightly below the elbow creating a band of sorts. The tattoo is incredibly simple and is excellent for people who are getting a tattoo for the first time.

  1. Carpe Diem Clock

With an hourglass tattoo already present in this list, a proper clock and carpe diem tattoo was sure to be here. On the other hand, this tattoo consists of a clock that is breaking and cracking away, while the time on the clock is five minutes to 12. It represents how quickly time fades away and shows that not everyone has a lot of time on this earth. This tattoo also stands for love and how it is timeless. Unlike the hourglass, this tattoo is comparatively quite small and will look great on nearly every part of the body.

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  1. Carpe Diem of Lyrics

Songs have become one of the most appreciated forms of art in the current decade. With that said, here is a tattoo for all of you aspiring musicians. The Carpe Diem of Lyrics tattoo shows a guitar playing along with the phrase carpe diem in a fancy cursive font. This tattoo symbolizes freedom and peace as well as spreading of love through music. It is also incredibly colorful featuring bright colors, further supporting the message of the tattoo. Wear this tattoo to remind yourself and your friends to appreciate life.

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  1. Carpe Diem Wings Tattoo

The Carpe Diem Wings tattoo is the embodiment of what the carpe diem phrase stands for. It features a pair of massive wings with the sun rising in the back, and on the top of these two is the phrase. People often associate the rising of the sun with the beginning of a new life. The rising sun also personifies new opportunities and chances in life. This tattoo itself features the use of color; while limited, the colors add to the overall intensity of the scene. As for size, the tattoo is quite big and will look good at either the chest or at the back.

  1. Classical Carpe Diem

For those of you looking for a tattoo with a lot less symbolism and just the simple phrase itself, then the classical Carpe Diem tattoo might be the one for you. The tattoo itself features an incredibly beautiful art style, further elevated with the monochrome color pallet. The size of the classical style depends significantly on your personal preference and can be big or small. The Classical style gives an immensely fearless look and generally looks good. Thanks to its diversity in size it will look good on nearly part of the body.

  1. Simple Carpe Diem

The simple Carpe Diem tattoo is the most common tattoo of the phrase, and for a good reason. It is the most versatile in terms of placement and size, as well as the best looking of the other styles, garnering it the reputation that it has now. Furthermore, this tattoo is also very welcoming to people getting a tattoo for the first time, as it is not too flashy but beautiful to look at. As for placement, the tattoo is incredibly diverse in terms of its placement and can look good with on any part of the body.

Conclusion

The phrase Carpe Diem is an incredibly powerful and motivating phrase that is sure to inspire you and others around you to do great things. However, while it is great to get a tattoo, You have to take immense care of the tattoo after you get it. You have to keep it away from sunlight and give it enough time to heal. Be sure to do your proper research before going to get a tattoo, and be sure to wear something comfortable before sitting on the chair for a tattoo.

The Carpe Diem tattoos are one of the best options for people getting a tattoo for the first time, as well as veterans; just because it is truly timeless.