I have three piercings right now, one in each earlobe and one in my left cartilage. I plan on getting several more in my ears, and possibly an eyebrow or nose piercing.

Piercings don't really mean anything super symbolic now, it's just more vanity and changing your appearance and having things to play with. But historically, different piercings meant different things, to different cultures. For example, in Egypt, a navel piercing could only be worn by the Pharoh, and if anyone else wanted one and got caught, they could be executed for it.

More stuff! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_piercing