The Meaning of Pieces Angelina Jolie's Tattoos

Angelina Jolie's kids play a big role in her life... and on her body. This tattoo on her left shoulder contains the geographical coordinates of each child's birthplace, according to the Sydney Morning Herald -- and she's had to update it a few times.

N 11º 33' 0" E 104º 51' 00" represents the Phomn Penh, Cambodia, location where adopted son Maddox.

N 9º 2' 0" E 38º 45' 0" marks Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where adopted daughter Zahara was born.

S 22º 40' 26" E 14º 31' 40" shows Swakopmund, Namibian, where she gave birth to daughter Shiloh.

N 10° 46' 0" E 106º 41' 40" indicates Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, birthplace of adopted son Pax Thien.

N 43º 41' 21" E 07º 14' 28" shows the location of Nice, France where she gave birth to her twins -- son Knox Léon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline -- in 2008.

Perhaps Jolie's most famous -- and prominent -- tattoo, she got this Buddhist inscription for her adopted son, Maddox.

That tattoo was done in the traditional Thai style -- with long needles and a hammer by Noo Sompong Kanhphaiin, who also did the Bengal tiger on her lower back. Jolie had to kneel in prayer as the tattoo was created.

"I kind of felt like it was something that I was going through for Maddox because it's for protection," she told Jam! Showbiz in 2003. "I kind of felt that I should suffer through something, that it was part of something that was a ritual, a prayer for him."

The inscription translates as: "May your enemies run far away from you. If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always. Your beauty will be that of Apsara. Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides.

Jolie originally had the Japanese character for "death" in this spot, but had it removed.

Don't get too close to Angelina Jolie's sexy lower back -- a fierce Bengal tiger protects the actress. You can see part of the animal peeking out from her low-cut open-back dress.

The tattoo was created in Bangkok in 2004 by the famous Thai tattoo artist Noo Sompong Kanhphaiin, who chanted a hymn as he worked.

The same artist did the shoulder blade inscription above it.

Angelina Jolie's left wrist features a runic inscription. It represents the letter "H" and she got the tattoo while dating Timothy Hutton... but she has said it represents her brother, James Haven.

Angelina Jolie has a lot of ink on her left side. In addition to the runic "H" on her wrist and the geographical coordinates on her shoulder, she also has an inscription from Tennessee Williams and a series of Roman numerals.

The Williams quote reads, "A prayer for the wild at heart kept in cages." She had the tattoo done after completing the film "Girl, Interrupted."

"I have a prayer for everyone when I see people who aren't living fully, who aren't happy," she told USA Today. "You can see someone in the grocery store who doesn't look as if they fit in their life, and they have a dream they're not fulfilling, and it makes me sad."

Also on that arm are a series of Roman numerals. It began with an XIII, representing the number 13, to show that the actress was not superstitious.

But maybe she is -- because she later added V MCMX -- turning it into a date: May 13, 1940.

That's the date Winston Churchill said, ""I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."