In the culture of India, where it must have been known since ancient times, the six-pointed star still plays a role. It is found there in Hindu temples and shrines, and also on the flag of Indian ships, while in Nepal it is embroidered on the front of the king's headgear.
There, it is considered a symbol of harmony between spirit and matter. In Yoga schools, this idea is well expressed by graphic representations of the human chakras7 with the star marking the heart chakra as the central and connecting link between the three lower "carnal" chakras and the three upper "spiritual" chakras. While the lower and upper chakras are all represented by Sanskrit letters, it is noteworthy that only the heart chakra is depicted by an abstract sign, the six-pointed star.
In the tantric teaching, the star serves as a symbol for relationship between man and wife.
Some Indian tribes of North America have used it "since ancient times as a symbol expressing the wisdom of 'as it is above, so it is below', as well as the union of spirit and matter, heaven and earth."8
While each state of the United States of America is represented by a pentagram in their "Stars-and-Stripes" flag, their Great Seal incorporates a six-pointed star; or, to be more precise, a hexagram-like arrangement of the thirteen pentagrams which represent the 13 founding states of the USA.
This blog (by Zeev Barkan) is dedicated to the Star of David, its history, its various meanings and usages in different cultures. It includes thousands of pictures of Star of David, six-pointed stars, hexagrams, Solomon's Seals, Magen Davids and yellow badges,and served as a resource for three books and four art exhibitions.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
The Great American Seal
The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass