The History and Meaning of the 8 Point Star

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Unlocking the mysteries of the eight-pointed star in spiritual traditions

Co-authored by Jennifer McVey, Cht and Maryana Lucia Vestic, MFA, M.Phil.

Last Updated: April 17, 2025 Fact Checked

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8-Pointed Star Religious & Cultural Meanings

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Spiritual Meanings

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Significance of Number 8

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The 8-pointed star (or octagram) is a potent symbol among many religions and cultural traditions worldwide. It’s appeared everywhere from ancient Mesopotamia to the modern-day Wiccan practice. Embark on a journey to find out more about this mysterious 8-sided symbol, including its religious and spiritual significance throughout the world, what it's called in different cultures, and the many spiritual meanings associated with the 8-pointed star and the number 8 itself.

Meanings Behind the 8-Pointed Star

The 8-pointed star (or octagram) is a significant symbol across cultures and belief systems including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Native American and Indigenous Canadian spirituality, and ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions. It is often associated with balance, harmony, spiritual renewal, and rebirth.

Section 1 of 3:

8-Pointed Star Religious & Cultural Meanings

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Ancient Mesopotamia The 8-Pointed Star is associated with the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. Ishtar is the Babylonian (a region within ancient Mesopotamia) goddess of love and war. She is therefore capable of both creation and destruction as one of the Near East’s most powerful and revered deities. Ishtar is referred to as Inanna in Sumeria.^{[1]
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- Like Ishtar, the 8-pointed star (also called the Star of Ishtar) represents a place between heaven and earth where believers can reach higher consciousness.
- Ishtar also corresponds to the planet Venus (called the “morning star”), which is why her Roman deity equivalent is Venus, the goddess of love.
Ancient Egyptians had 8 deities symbolized by the 8-pointed star. Four of them were male and four were female: Nanet, Nu, Amun, Amunet, Kauket, Kuk, Huh, and Hauhet. Each pair of deities ruled over 1 of 4 primal forces of nature: air, water, darkness, and infinity.^{[2]
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Christianity refers to the 8-pointed star as the Star of Bethlehem. In the Bible, this star let the 3 Wise Men know about the birth of Jesus Christ.^{[3]
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Research source} It’s become a Christian symbol for hope, divinity, miracles, direction, and guidance. The star also relates to new beginnings, resurrection, and regeneration, because the number 8 occurs after day 7 in the creation story.^{[4]
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Islam The 8-pointed star is a symbol of God’s throne in Islam. It’s called Khatim, which means “symbol of the prophets” in Arabic. It represents both the Islamic faith and the Muslim community as a whole.^{[5]
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Research source} The symbol relates to a line of verse from the Quran that mentions the Day of Judgment when 8 angels will appear to flank God’s throne.^{[6]
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- It also stands for the 8 qualities of the Prophet Muhammad: wisdom, justice, generosity, peace, kindness, patience, trustworthiness, and humility, along with the 8 nations that support Islam.^{[7]
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- The 8 points of the star signal a hope for salvation that traditionally appears as an artful design decorating Muslim homes during the Ramadan and Eid holidays.
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Native American and Indigenous Canadian spirituality In Native American and Indigenous Canadian cultures, the 8-pointed star is linked to the phases of life and nature. For the Mi’kmaq tribes in Canada’s maritime provinces, the star represents sol (the sun). It was originally a 7-point star for the 7 districts of Lnuk, the name the Mi’kmaq people call themselves, which became an 8-pointed star after the addition of the Ktaqmkuk district in Newfoundland.^{[8]
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- The Mi’kmaq 8-pointed star has four colors: white for the north, red for the south, yellow for the east, and black for the west. It’s a colorful symbol of their nation which often appears on art, jewelry, and quilts.
- In Lakota mythology and art, the 8-pointed star tells the story of the morning star. In the story, an old medicine man becomes the morning star after he dies. The Morning Star is more powerful than the sun and the moon and is a symbol of wisdom and understanding.^{[9]
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- The 8 points of the morning star represent the 4 stages of life: infancy, youth, maturity, and old age. In addition, it stands for the 4 cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west.
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Buddhism The Dharma Chakra is the symbolic image of the 8-pointed star. Each spoke of the wheel has a specific meaning, including the right livelihood, the right action, the right effort, the right intention, the right concentration, the right mindfulness, the right speech, and the right view. When Buddhists follow these ideals, they spiritually travel along the Noble Eightfold Path, otherwise known as the path to enlightenment.^{[10]
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- The Dharma Chakra wheel’s circular shape also links to the Buddhist concept of samsara, a term for the infinite cycles of death and rebirth found in the universe.
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Wiccan spirituality The 8-pointed star is depicted in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year symbol. In the Wiccan wheel, the star is set in a circle and contains 8 points, each representing 8 solar events of the year. These include the Spring Equinox, Autumn Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Winter Solstice, plus the beginning of 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.^{[11]
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- Wiccan tradition also used the Wheel of the Year for lunar events like the 8 moon phases: the new Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent.
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Gnosticism The Gnostic ogdoad concept includes 4 female/male pairs of deities. These 8 gods were called Abyss and Silence, Truth and Mind, Word and Life, and Man and Church.^{[12]
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- In Gnosticism, ogdoad refers to an astronomy-based theory of 7 planetary spheres with 8 fixed stars above them. The stars are similar to the 8 main gods found in ancient Egyptian mythology.
In Hinduism, the 8-pointed star is called Ashta-Lakshmi. This symbol of Hinduism refers to the 8 forms of the goddess Lakshmi, who rules over wealth, prosperity, and good fortune.^{[13]
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Chaos Magic The 8-pointed star is a symbol used in chaos magic. Chaos magic is a magical philosophy that promotes technique more than symbol. It focuses less on absolute truth and more on experimentation and real-world results.^{[14]
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Research source} The chaos sign used in chaos magic consists of 8 intersecting arrows with a cyclical center that resembles the Dharma Wheel in Buddhism.^{[15]
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Research source} It represents the idea that chaos magic doesn't focus on one technique or system, but many.
- The 8-pointed star also stands for chaos theory, another term for the butterfly effect. Both chaos theory and the butterfly effect refer to the idea that small changes made in a trajectory can lead to bigger changes in the future.

Section 2 of 3:

8-Pointed Star Spiritual Meanings

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The 8-pointed star is tied to several spiritual meanings. From good luck and protection to new beginnings and happiness, there are many ways to use this ancient symbol on your path to spiritual enlightenment.^{[16]
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- Illumination: The 8-pointed star is linked to the planet Venus, also called the morning star, as well as the sun. It becomes a potent symbol of light triumphing over darkness, which is a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment.
- Creation: Many cultures connect the 8-pointed star with the birth of the entire universe. It’s a representation of creation in its most grandiose and divine form, so it’s easy to see why we associate the star with growth and expansion.
- Solar Events: In many belief systems, the 8-pointed star stands for the 8 phases of the moon, 8 solar events, and the 4 seasons combined with the annual 2 solstices and 2 equinoxes. It’s a reminder that we are all part of the natural cycles of life as they come and go.
- Guidance: The 8-pointed star is thought to represent the North Star, also called the Polaris star. It’s no accident that a compass looks very much like an 8-pointed star since it can guide you wherever you need to go and direct you along the way.
- Protection: The 8 points of the star are meant to ward off evil coming from the 8 cardinal directions. Multiple cultures have used the 8-pointed star as a talisman of protection, which is why it was usually depicted on the front of a door.
- Renewal and New Beginnings: The number 8 stands for resurrection, salvation, and new beginnings. The number 7 equals a calendar week, so 8 becomes a symbol of new beginnings, and also the cycle of death and rebirth.
- Prosperity and Good Luck: The number 8 is associated with both material success and achievement in numerology and with the 8 auspicious objects relating to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who rules over wealth and good fortune.
- Balance and Harmony: The evenly symmetrical design of the 8-pointed star includes 8 points to represent a color, a direction, and an element. The number 8 also stands for the balance between opposites.
- Infinity: Because the number 8 turned to its side becomes the infinity symbol, it too stands as a symbol of the infinite, beyond the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.
- Happiness: The 8-pointed star symbol relates to both light and the sun, which makes it a clear representation of happiness and joy.

Section 3 of 3:

What is the spiritual meaning behind the number 8?

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In astrology, the number 8 is linked to balance and equilibrium. It is a symbol of the natural order of everything, so it makes sense that its equivalent among the actual stars is said to connect all the aspects of cosmic energy. The number 8 is also associated with Saturn, a planet that rules over both discipline and karma.^{[17]
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- The 8 points of the star are symbols of the sun and the moon, along with the infinite nature of space.
- In spiritual geometry, the number 8 represents balance and the cyclical nature of existence. It also stands for infinity, via the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. The number 8 becomes the infinity sign ∞ once turned on its side.
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The number 8 stands for balance and harmony in alchemy. The number 8 symbolizes the 4 elements of earth, fire, air, and water, plus the 4 qualities of matter (hot, cold, wet, and dry).^{[18]
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Research source} It also relates to the concept of acquired wisdom through the alchemical element of Bismuth.
- The Bismuth symbol looks like the number 8 with an open top.^{[19]
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