Star polygon In geometry, a star polygon is a type of non-convex polygon. Regular star polygons have been studied in depth; while star polygons in general appear not to have been formally defined, certain notable ones can arise through truncation operations ...

s and polygonal compounds are the basis for numerous figures of significance in arts and culture. The figure may be the border or interior of the polygon, or one or more closed polygonal paths that include all of the border and also have some legs crossing the interior. Impressions of astronomical stars provide the term, but specific uses may exploit the connection or not. Stars often represent the unity of states within a country when they are used as a part of the flag.

Emblematic use

*In

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

, a mullet is a star with straight arms and typically five points. A star with wavy rather than straight rays is called an estoile. The mullet, used as an heraldic charge, is the ensign of knightly rank, and every order of knighthood incorporates this symbol in some way. It has traditionally been used in British heraldry as a mark of cadency for the third son. *In Christian art, St. Bruno bears a star on his breast;

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

, Saint Humbert and

Saint Peter of Alcantara In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

have a star on their head or forehead. *The star with six (or less commonly five, sometimes seven) points is associated with

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and forms the basis of the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

's badge.

Five-pointed stars

The five-pointed star, if drawn with points of equal length and angles of 36° at each point, is sometimes termed a golden five pointed star.The five-pointed star
from . Retrieved 19 July 2006. If the colinear edges are joined, a pentagram is produced, which is the simplest of the

unicursal Unicursal may refer to: * Eulerian path, a sequential set of edges within a graph that reach all nodes * Labyrinth, a unicursal maze * Unicursal curve, a curve which is birationally equivalent to a line * Unicursal hexagram The unicursal hexag ...

star polygon In geometry, a star polygon is a type of non-convex polygon. Regular star polygons have been studied in depth; while star polygons in general appear not to have been formally defined, certain notable ones can arise through truncation operations ...

s, and a symbol of mystical and magical significance. The golden five-pointed star is a very common

ideogram An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...

in the western world, and has particularly strong associations with military power and war. Many

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

countries (such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

) and symbols (the

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...

) also incorporate five-pointed stars. Image:VIIcorpsbadge.png, Union Army, VII Corps, 3rd Division Badge Image:XIIcorpsbadge.png, Union Army, XII Corps, 3rd Division Badge The five-pointed star appears in the flags of 35 countries, and also appears commonly in the

of the

, and stands in contrast to the vexillologically rarer

seven-pointed star A heptagram, septagram, septegram or septogram is a seven-point star polygon, star drawn with seven straight strokes. The name ''heptagram'' combines a numeral prefix, ''hepta-'', with the Greek language, Greek suffix ''wikt:-gram, -gram''. ...

. The five-pointed star occurs in conjunction with a crescent in the flags of several countries to symbolize

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, appearing for example as part of the symbol of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In

philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...

, the five-pointed star signifies stamps that have not been postmarked. The five-pointed star is used as the symbol of the People Nation alliance of gangs from Chicago.

Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

gangs who originated from New York, known as the United Blood Nation, also use this as a symbol as they have emulated the People Nation alliance. RWS Tarot 15 Devil

In the Armenian Pantheon, there is a goddess called Astlik/Astghik. In the Armenian language Astgh means star, Astghik - Little Star. Compared with Ishtar, Astara, this goddess' sign should have been the (probably)eight-pointed star. Image:Pentagram.svg, The pentagram, a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes Image:Star and Crescent.svg, The star and crescent symbol is mostly shown with five-pointed stars in modern flags, but in the oldest Ottoman flag of this design as well as the flag of Azerbaijan, the star is eight-pointed. Image:Flag of the United States (1777–1795).svg, The 1777

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

had 13 stars of an unspecified number of points

Six-pointed stars

Several varieties of six-pointed stars are used in cultures around the world: * If the collinear edges of a regular six-pointed star are connected, so that two interlaced triangles are formed, a symbol results that is variously known as the

hexagram , can be seen as a compound composed of an upwards (blue here) and downwards (pink) facing equilateral triangle, with their intersection as a regular hexagon (in green). A hexagram ( Greek language, Greek) or sexagram (Latin) is a six-pointed ...

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

, or Shield of David (Magen David). This symbol is most commonly associated with

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. It is also used in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, but on a less frequent basis. *The Ahmadiyya flag, ''Lawa-e-Ahmaddiyat'', contains a six-pointed star, adjacent to a crescent. * The Star of Life, which is a six-armed cross. * The municipal

flag of Chicago The flag of Chicago consists of two light blue horizontal bars, or stripes, on a field of white, each bar one-sixth the height of the full flag, and placed slightly less than one-sixth of the way from the top and bottom. Four bright red stars, ...

has four six-pointed stars. * German and German-American hex signs and barn stars often incorporate both five- and six-pointed stars as central themes. * The six-pointed star is used as the symbol for the Folk Nation alliance of gangs from Chicago. Crip gang members tend to use this symbol also. Apart from the foresaid mentions, six-pointed star formations are rare as an

ideograph An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...

in Western cultures except in the case of law enforcement badges.The sixpointed star
from . Retrieved 19 July 2006. In

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

, some formations of a six-pointed star can signify

fixed star In astronomy, fixed stars ( la, stellae fixae) is a term to name the full set of glowing points, astronomical objects actually and mainly stars, that appear not to move relative to one another against the darkness of the night sky in the backg ...

s. In some rare instances, it can signify the date of birth on a gravestone, synonymous with the five-point star. File:Star of David.svg,

File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya 1-2.svg, Ahmadiyya flag File:All for Australia League logo.svg,

All for Australia League The All for Australia League (AFAL) was an Australian political movement during the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depressi ...

emblem File:Flag_of_Chicago,_Illinois.svg, alt=four red stars on a white flag with a blue stripe above and below,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Flag File:Ulster banner.svg, alt=Flag showing red hand in a white six-pointed star under a crown, overlaid on flag of England, Flag of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, 19531972.

Seven-pointed stars

Political

A seven-pointed star appears in the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

and

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

symbolism of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In the Australian context, the seven points (also known as the Commonwealth Star, the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the

Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western A ...

which came into force on 1 January 1901. Six points of the Star represent the six original states of the Commonwealth of Australia, while the seventh point represents the territories. The seven-pointed stars stand in contrast to the vexillologically more conventional five-pointed stars. The Seal of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

has an acute gold seven-pointed star in its seal. The seven-pointed star is also used as a symbol of the

Trinitarios The Trinitarios is an Dominican American criminal organization founded by Dominicans in New York City, New York in 1993. History The Trinitarios were established in 1993 on Rikers Island, the New York City jail,Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Barbar ...

gang from New York City. Image:Flag of Australia.svg,

Flag of Australia The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a ...

Image:Flag of Jordan.svg, Flag of Jordan Image:Flag of Iraq 1924.svg, 1924 Flag of Iraq

Heptagram

heptagram A heptagram, septagram, septegram or septogram is a seven-point star drawn with seven straight strokes. The name ''heptagram'' combines a numeral prefix, ''hepta-'', with the Greek suffix '' -gram''. The ''-gram'' suffix derives from ''γρ� ...

or septagram is a seven-pointed star drawn with seven straight strokes. There are two kinds of heptagrams: * ''Acute heptagram'', the star polygon. * ''Obtuse heptagram'', the star polygon.

Eight-pointed stars

Political

Image:Flag of Iraq 1959-1963.svg, 1959 Flag of Iraq Image:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg, Flag of Azerbaijan Image:Hail flag.svg, Flag of Ha'il state (1834–1921)

Other

The eight-pointed star is widely used in the Arabic states in decorative art,. It is sometimes similar star to the

Star of Lakshmi The Star of Lakshmi is a special octagram, a regular compound polygon, represented by Schläfli symbol or 2, made from two congruent squares with the same center at 45° angles, and figures in Hinduism, commonly misattributed to ''Ashtalakshmi'' ...

formed from overlapping squares but may also appear in the form of the Rub el Hizb which adds a central circle to the design. Image:Ashthalakshmi - Star of Laxmi.svg,

Image:ROUB EL HIZB 06DE.svg, Rub el Hizb A two-color, 8-pointed star associated with the

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (''Quaker'') founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by Am ...

and other Quaker service groups since the 1870s is sometimes called "the Quaker star". Image:Quaker_star-T.svg

Nine-pointed stars

A nine-pointed star is the most common symbol of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, the number nine being significant in the religion. Image:Bahai star.svg

Eleven-pointed stars

The flag of the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

used the eleven-pointed star from 1950 until 1963, with the star representing the 11 member states of the federation. File:Flag of Malaya.svg,

Flag of Malaya This is a list of flags used in Malaysia. National flags Monarch Military Law Enforcement Flags Administrative divisions States Federal territories A common flag for the three federal territories was adopted by the Ministry of ...

Twelve-pointed stars

The flag of

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

uses a twelve-pointed star representing the 12 tribes on the island. Image:Flag of Nauru.svg,

Flag of Nauru Following the declaration of independence, independence of Nauru, the flag of Nauru ( na, anidenin Naoero) was raised for the first time. The flag, chosen in a local design competition, was adopted on independence day, 31 January 1968. The des ...

Fourteen-pointed stars

The flag of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

uses the Federal Star, a fourteen-pointed star representing the unity between the 13 member states and the federal government. Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg, Flag of Malaysia

References

*Graham, Dr. O.J. The Six-Pointed Star: Its Origin and Usage 4th ed.

External links

{{Commons, Star symbol
Moroccan Islamic Patterns: The Eight-Point Star
Examining the symbolic meaning of the eight-point star (khatam) in Islamic ornamentation. Heraldic charges Pictograms Topics in culture Topics in the arts

Emblematic use

Five-pointed stars

Six-pointed stars

Seven-pointed stars

Political

Heptagram

Eight-pointed stars

Political

Other

Nine-pointed stars

Eleven-pointed stars

Twelve-pointed stars

Fourteen-pointed stars

See also

References

External links