Star of David Engraving by Vredemann De Vries

Rosicrucian in his temple - Transmutation

 by Hans Vredemann De Vries

(1527-1604)

Dutch Renaissance architect, painter, and engineer.

Two Interpretations for the Star of David as a Medical Symbol

Source: Schat der Gesontheyt (1672) by J. van Beverwijk

Jan Schouten  wrote a book about "The Pentagram as a Medical Symbol - An Iconological Study" (1968) where he claims that it was a medical symbol in the 16th century and brings some cases of hexagrams that seem to him to be mistaken pentagrams. Ewa Chojecka in her review of this book (Isis, Vol. 60, No. 2 (Summer, 1969), pp. 242-244) has another interpretation for these hexagrams:

"llustrators of this kind of imagery were usually quite accurate in drawing iconographic details, and by ignoring this one might easily fall victim to the pitfalls of wishful thinking. For example, the woman enthroned on a socle adorned with hexagram and cornucopiae from J. van Beverwijk's Schat der Gesontheyt (1672, Plt. 31- See Above), identified by Schonten as personified-Health-with-corrupted-pentagram, is in fact closely analogous (with the same attributes—hexagram and horn of plenty) to a personification an the title page of M. Merian's Musaeum Hermneticum (Frankfort, 1677), where she is a symbol of Nature.

Source: M. Merian's Musaeum Hermneticum (Frankfort, 1677)

Again, hexagrams on the series of German eighteenth-century pharmaceutical jars (Plt. 38) are most probably not misinterpreted pentagrams but, together with the two ravens and the sun painted above them, rather seem to he alchemical symbols (the black raven symbol of the liest phase of alchemical transmutation, the nigredo; the hexagram - sign of the materia prima)". 

The Star of David its Origin and its Meanings

The Star of David - Can we uncover its original meaning?

It has a geometric, abstract, origin. It is made ​​up of two triangles which interlock in such a unique way, that it seems, despite being two-dimensional, that each side of one triangle goes above or below the side of the other triangle. The same impression on the viewer is created by the symbol that is comprised of two interlocked squares. The origin of these two symbols is the circle. If you have eight points on the circle and you connect each second point with a line - you get the interlocked squares, and if the circle has six points and you connect each second point with a line - you get the Star of David.

The importance of this distinction is that it rejects natural, concrete, forms, which are called the Star of David, and look like the Star of David, but you do not see where the two triangles are interlocked. Snowflake is not a Star of David in spite of having six vertices, as well as the crown of the pomegranate, and the same goes for the lily flower, the star in the sky, and certain species of cactus in which  the Star of David is revealed when the stem's width is cut.

The abstract geometric origin of the Star of David, is compatible with the idea that is expressed in the biblical story of David and Goliath's war. David initially rejects the shield and armor that Saul offers him. Then he says to Goliath: "you come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you has defied" (1 Samuel, 17:45). David's shield in this case is God, and the same goes for the book of Psalms, whose creation is attributed to David. David turns a few times to God as his protector, such as: "The LORD is... my shield and the horn of my salvation" (Psalm 18:2).

There are also abstract shapes which are called the Star of David, and look like a the Star of David, but do not integrate its two triangles:  full "Stars of David" as the yellow badge, or as the seven stars in Zim logo, and empty "Stars of David", in which only the external outline appears, as the symbol of the IDF.

The two triangles of the Star of David do not integrate also when you put two opposite triangles one on top of the other. The triangle that is close to the viewer can be with the apex up or down, and the meaning attributed to these symbols by members of the Zoroastrian religion is or of victory of the good over the evil or of the victory of the evil over the good.

For the Greeks the geometric origin of the Star of David is noticeable because its name, Hexagram (six-shape), is part of a series of names of geometric shapes that end up with the suffix "shape" (gram) that includes the shape of five, pentagram, seven, septagram, and eight- octagram (two integrated squares).

The Pentagram and the Hexagram are made not only from interlacing shapes, but also from triangles built on an internal frame: Hexagon in the case of the Hexagram and pentagon in the case of the Pentagram. No wonder people got mixed between them and in many cases gave them the same name- Solomon's Seal.

The Menorah is Symmetrical: what you see in the right you see in the left, and what you see in the front you see in the back, but the Menorah is a Menorah as long as it stands, and the Star of David is the Star of David even when put on its head, or if it is tilted on its side. This feature of the Star of David contributes to the meaning of the unity of the opposites because it integrates the opposites: right and left, up and down, front and back.

the Menorah is more concrete than the Star of David because is a replica of the vessel used for lighting, while the shield of David - is purely abstract.

Everyone knows that the Magen David is a symbol related to King David, but many do not know this symbol preceded King David in hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. It appears in all its glory in a number of Minoan seals created at the latest in 1700 B.C. These seals were found in archaeological excavations in Festus Palace, Crete. Later the Star of David appears in different cultures in other palaces and on other seals. Due to its appearance in palaces the Star of Davids gets the meaning of majesty, and its appearance on stamps results in its nickname, Seal of Solomon, attributed to King Solomon. Solomon's Seal is also the name of the pentagram, the pentacle.

The Bible describes Solomon as the wisest of all the wise men who preceded him. With or without King Solomon the Star of David appears as a symbol of wisdom and education in Nepalese culture, where it is drawn on signs in public schools framing the drawing of an open book.

In the book Ecclesiastes, which is attributed to King Solomon, appears the following verse: "I provided myself with male and female singers... male and female devils  (Ecclesiastes 2:8). Talmudic sages understood from this verse that the wisdom of Solomon included its rule on demons. In other legends appears the tool used to control these demons - a ring on which was engraved the Star of David, or a pentagram, or the name of the Lord. The Bible also tells about the sins of Solomon who built temples for many of the foreign gods of his wives, and thus was associated with his seal over the generations the significance of the work of the stars and constellations, reinforced by the Christian name the Star of David instead of the Shield of David. Ethiopians believe the founder of their dynasty was the son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, and therefore they adopted the star of David as one of the symbols of the royal family, and set the five-pointed star on their flag.

The meaning of majesty fits with the meaning of holiness. Both God and king are one single center unto which the eyes of the people are raised, and from which they derive their unity. The combination of the majesty and holiness is expressed in Jewish prayer by God's pronouns: "Our Father our King' and 'King of Kings'. Reinforces this meaning of the sanctity of the Star of David its appearance as a decoration in synagogues, churches and mosques, starting from the fifth century C.E. and in illustrations of the Bible and the Koran starting from the tenth century C.E. Majesty and holiness, serve the main significance of the Star of David as a symbol of protection, because people expect from God and from the king to protect them from their enemies. The Hebrew name "Shield of David" also reinforces this meaning, since shield is a weapon designed to protect. it is no accident that protection is also the main significance of the logo of the MDA. interestingly the figure of David (without shield and without David's shield, just with the name) appears in the Greek Roman period on charms designed to protect. Such amulets evolved in Kabbalah circles, where they added a "protection package" that included the names of angels, names of God, and combinations of letters.

Magen David as a symbol of protection is associated with messianic significance because of the prophecy about a Messiah from the House of David who will protect the people of Israel in the end of days, just as King David and King Solomon of Israel defended the Israelites during their prosperous period of rule. According to the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva interpreted the biblical verse: "A star will come out of Jacob" (Numbers 24:17) as predicting the birth of Bar Kochba. Following this interpretation, apparently, Christians interpreted the same verse as predicting the coming of their messiah, Jesus Christ.

The Star of David is far earlier than the birth of not only David, but even of the appearance of Judaism. The fact that it was borrowed and imported from neighboring cultures, started the study of the Star of David, because the first researchers did not understand who allowed such a symbol to enter the synagogues. Solomon's seal connection to idolatry caused them to question whether a Jew wearing a Star of David around his neck is committing a sin. These questions did not bother Zionists, most of whom were secular. They were responsible, in the end, that we have the Star of David on the flag of Israel. It is worth remembering that for hundreds of years before Zionism the Star of David was popular and beloved by the religious, but when the Star of David symbol became significant Zionist symbol, some religious leaders who were opposed to Zionism ordered to remove it from the synagogues. Zionists found the Star of David inside synagogues and on top of them, where it served as a symbol of protection, and they changed its designation to a national symbol. In the seam between nationalism and protection the Star of David has also served as a representative of the Jewish religion, and especially in Christian art. It appears several times in paintings or sculptures showing a blindfolded female figure representing the synagogue, along with a female figure representing the Church. Similar meaning of the distinction between Jews and Christians influenced the custom of marking graves in cemeteries where soldiers of different faiths were buried when the graves of Jewish soldiers bore the Star of David while tombs of Christian soldiers bore the crucifix.

Today, the Star of David arouses resistance among many Israeli Arabs, who feel that the shield of David represents only the Jewish citizens of Israel. After the War of Independence, the Star of David symbol became an outcast in some defeated Arab countries, and many Stars of David that were there in the past have been broken or removed.

The Interlacing of the triangles in the Star of David received for the alchemists the meaning of the unity of the opposites. Fire and water are examples of opposites. Water Turn off the fire. Fire vaporizes the water. In one triangle alchemists represented the fire and in the other - the water. In the Star of David the meanings of fire and water complement each other instead of fighting each other. Thus this symbol gets the meaning of peace and of acceptance, of two that are one, of two opposing triangles that create something new, Star of David, which contains both, but each one in itself is not half of it. In Hebrew the words for peace and acceptance, as well as for Solomon (in the Seal of Solomon) - come from the same root.

From the significance of fire and water for the alchemists the star of David developed in the Middle Ages as a symbol of alcoholic beverages and of wine houses, and the brandy was perceived as Fiery Water, a combination of water and fire. Interestingly, approximately two thousand years previously were Stars of David engraved on the handles of pots of wine in Gibeon, Israel.

More than a thousand years after its appearance as a single symbol in the seal at the Festus Palace in Crete the Star of David appears in dozens and perhaps hundreds of places throughout the Roman Empire, accompanied by a variety of symbols, including protection symbols like the Pelta (Amazons' Shield) and the pentagram. Protection symbols accompanied to the Roman Magen David strengthened its significance as a symbol of protection. The Pentagram served for the Pythagoreans as a symbol of health, and around its five vertexes bore the letters of the Greek word for health, Hygeia, from which is derived the word hygiene, which includes among its letters, incidently, the Hebrew word for protection - Hagana.

The Christian period coincides with the end of the Roman period. The Christian Star of David continues, often, the Roman style, and it has those same groups of symbols, but with the addition of a cross.

In the Muslim period we can already find Stars of David in a similar style centered by the Muslim crescent.

And among the Indians the idea of the Star of David as a frame was adopted and they added into its center the letters Om. Another incarnation of this idea can be seen in the Zionist period of the Star of David, when in the center appears the word Zion. all these graphics are continuing a very popular idea in the Roman period when the center of the Star of David was often occupied by a rosette with six leaves - vegetable motif which originated, apparently, in a geometric shape.

On antisemitic Nazi, anti-Israeli cartoons, the Star of David appears, usually, when it is clumsily drawn manually (not using a compass and ruler) on or near a grotesque figure of a Jew or an Israeli. This star is functioning as a substitute of the word Jew or an Israeli. Often these cartoons have an element of originality and invention as, for example, a Star of David made from spider web, or from the barbed wire fences surrounding Gaza.

Invention of new models appears also in the Muslim Star of David. Muslim, like Jews, have a prohibition on making sculpture and image, and their artistic passion was expressed in geometric decoration, which included, among other things, Stars of David.

Original Jewish way to circumvent the prohibition of making sculpture and figure was the micrographic Star of David which was usually built from verses, and not from lines.

In summary, the Star of David is currently used mostly as a Jewish symbol, but its origin is not Jewish. We are talking here about an abstract, geometric symbol, whose most prominent component is the interlacing. This component influenced throughout history only marginal phenomena as alchemy and the wine industry, but, without any agreed explanation, the Star of David was used in the last thousands of years in different cultures as a symbol of protection. In Judaism it was used as a symbol of protection mainly because of its name, David's Shield, and not because of its shape. In the last hundreds of years its designation changed and it became a religious symbol, and then a national symbol, and today it is used in both these meanings at the same time, when the meaning of protection is still remembered only by its name, David's Shield.

Alchemy Signs on Hexagrams

Woodcut from 'Cabala chemica' in Volume VI of Theatrum chemicum, Hamburg 1661

Tetraktys with Hexagrams

From Emblem book about Alchemy 

by D. Stolcius von Stolcenberg, 

Viridarium Chymicum, 

1624

Hexagram & Ouroboros

Hexagram & Ouroboros Tattoo

Cc Picture by m0n3d4 (c) from Flickr

Hexagram Ouroboros Alchemy

Cc Picture by vaxzine(c) from Flickr 

Hexagram Ouroboros Alchemy

With Signs of the planets

which represent Alchemical compounds  

(C) 

Dr. Amir Zohar

Mystic Hexagrams

12 Hexagrams, sun and moon appear in a book by German Christian mystic Jakob Bohme (1575- 1624), probably representing the zodiac.

Picture is courtesy of recienjubilado from Flickr

Fiery Water

From Wikipedia entry “Fire (classical element)” uploaded by Bryan Derksen

 In alchemy the triangle that points up is the symbol of fire while the triangle that points down is the symbol of water 

From Wikipedia entry “water (classical element)” uploaded by Bryan Derksen

Fire and water (needless to say) are opposites. In the hexagram they interpenetrate and together they represent the unity of the opposites or (in alchemy)- the fiery water -that’s why hexagrams were drawn on the signs above shops that sold brandy until about hundred years ago. 

Plinius explained the word "pyramid" as coming from the Greek root PYR (Fire). Pyramid is comprised from triangles pointing up to the sun.

Hexagram with Planet Glyphs

The six glyphs of the planets surround the Sun; each glyph occupies another triangle of a hexagram. Picture is from Opus Medico-Chymicum, an alchemy book by Johann Daniel Mylius published in 1618. The usage of the six-pointed star to represent the planets is a new discovery for me, and I’ll appreciate it if readers could refer me to articles about this subject, or to other pictures that show this kind of usage.

I reckon that the planets in this illustration represent the days of the week, while the zodiac signs represent the months:

1. Sun Day
2. Moon Day
3. Mars day
4. Mercuri day
5. Jupiter's day
6. Venus Day
7. Saturn day

Copyright: “abramelin” from Flickr 2008

Hexagrams Represent Planets-1

The five colorful alchemical hexagrams represent the planets (not including the yellowish Sun and the silvery Moon)

Picture is from Wikipedia entry: “Odd people” uploaded by Mattes 

Source: Basilius Valentinus, Azoth ou le moyen de faire l'Or caché des Philosophes, Paris, 1659.

It seems that using hexagrams to represent the planets was a conventional theme for the 17^th century illustrators of alchemical books. 

Alchemy - Hexagrams Represent Planets-1

The five hexagrams on top of this illustration represent the planets (not including the Sun and the Moon)

Picture is from Spanish Wikipedia entry: Nigredo

Source: Basilius Valentinus, Azoth ou le moyen de faire l'Or caché des Philosophes, Paris 1659.

Six Hexagrams and Twelve Zodiacal Signs

6 hexagrams and 12 zodiacal signs and glyphs appear on a mosaic ceiling at Greenwich Town Hall, London, England, right above the main door. It is not clear what these hexagrams are doing there and if the number six has a certain meaning. I can only guess that it has to do with the influence of alchemy. Anyhow it’s a splendid contribution to my new research about the hexagram and the Zodiac.

Picture is courtesy of a2d

Stopper On The Bottle

From: The Internet Book of Shadows

In alchemy, the Star of David combined the symbols for fire and water; hence, it meant distillation. Until recently, therefore, it appeared on shops selling brandy... The stopper on the bottle containing the bottle imp or jinni was stamped with the seal of Solomon. In the Nsibidi script of West Africa, a native form of writing, the symbol means ardent love; the universality of the male-female content of the sign is here apparent.

Christian Star of David

Summary of what I’ve learned about the Christian Star of David in the previous year

Christian organizations that use the Symbol
Today many Christian organizations use the Star of David:
Messianic Jews fellowship; Christian Friends of Israel; Hope for Israel, Christian Friends of Israeli Communities;Why Israel Canada; Messianic Jewish Net;
Jews for Jesus; Messianic Congregation; Campus Crusade; Hebrew Christians; Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship; Young Life ; Here's Life
Between the World Wars the symbol of the Cross in the Star of David was widely used by Jewish believers in Yeshua.

Ethiopian
Ethiopian kings used the Order of Solomon's Seal, a cross inside a hexagram.
There is a Star of David on the right side of the Ethiopia 1930 Coronation stamp.
in Lalibela, where 11 churches have been hewn into a mountain rock. The Churches have been used continuously since the beginning of the 13th century. Most are decorated with a Star of David, underscoring the church's close kinship with King Solomon.

Makuya
Makuya of Christ, based at the Tokyo Bible Seminary, is a small Japanese New Religion, which considers itself Christian, and is strongly Zionist. They use the Star of David in their parades.

Zion Christian Church
A Star of David badge is worn by members of the Zion Christian Church. They have over three million members and are the largest African Initiated Church in southern Africa; a Star of David is also on their flag.

Mormons
Mormons believe they belong to the Jewish lost tribe Ephraim, and that's why Judaism is so important for them. No wonder they use the Star of David. The Salt Lake Assembly Hall is Victorian gothic building and a Star of David within a circle is placed high above each entrance.

David Koresh
There was a Star of David on the flag of David Koresh (1959-1993) who was born Vernon Wayne Howell. He was the guru of the Branch Davidians cult. David Koresh and some of his believers were killed while they fought with the FBI on Mount Carmel Center, Texas.

Artifacts

Ein Yael, Israel
White lily motif in the center of the star appears in Ein Yael in south Jerusalem in a farm with a Roman villa from mid-third-century CE. Yehudah Rapuano, who participated in the excavations, wrote an article about the Christian findings on this site:

among the thousands of baskets of pottery shreds recovered, we discovered fragments of slipper-type oil lamps bearing parts of Greek inscriptions based on a formula that translate as: “The light of Christ shines beautifully for all.” A complete oil lamp was found, the upper half of which bears a crucifix in molded relief. In addition, excavation revealed a large chunk of white marble, carved in the shape of a cross, surrounded by a floral motif. Another cross was discovered, painted in a niche on the wall of the upper bathhouse.

Yehudah Rapuano discusses in his article the possibility that this place commemorated Philip’s baptism of the eunuch, related in Acts 8.

Aquiliea, Italy
There’s a six pointed star in the Christian basilica in Aquileia, Italy from third-century CE.

Capernaum, Israel
In Capernaum, headquarter of Early Christianity, is the earliest Star of David that was found in a synagogue. Maybe Judeo-christian synagogue.

Bethlehem, Israel
There’s a six-pointed star inside a circle as one of many other symbols on mosaic fragments in the Milk Grotto Church in Bethlehem, which was built before the 5th century.

St. Euthymius, Israel
There’s a six-pointed star on the mosaic floors at the Monastery in St. Euthymius (Khan el Akhmar) in Mishor Adummim, east of Jerusalem in the Judean desert – 7th century CE.

Shilo, Israel
There’s a six-pointed star on the mosaic floors at the Basilica- 6th century CE

Kafr Makr, Israel
The el-Makr 6th century CE mosaic adorned the floor of a church/monastery that dates to the Byzantine period. The mosaic pavement is from the nave.

Khirbet Sufa, Israel
There’s a six-pointed star carved on a marble chancel screen from the late Byzantine period.

Akko, Israel
Six-pointed star with a lily and a cross were found by Gaetoni Pierri in a house of the old city in Akko. Begatti published the lintel without being able to identify the location.

Khirbet er ribba, Israel
Lily inside a hexagram was published by Avi Yona with lily and Greek cross.

Khirbet el karmel
In Khirbet el Karmel Near Hebron was found the only instance of cross inside a Star of David.

Early Christians

Israel Today, October 09, 2005:

Because Yeshua (Jesus) was from the House of David, the Star of David served as a symbol to the early Christians of the link with their Jewish brothers (represented by a menorah [candelabrum]), and Gentile Christians (represented by the Ichthys [fish]).

Moreover, the Law of the Spirit, that is, «the six-point star...is one of the symbols that the early Christians connected with Christ and which was called Exagram, or Monogram of Christ…Monthly Hera Magazine, year III, n.30, june 2002, p. 59.

Gershom Sholem:

"Seal of Solomon" a term which was also taken over by many Jewish groups. This name connects the hexagram with early Christian, possibly Judeo-Christian magic, such as the Greek magical work The Testament of Solomon.

Adriano Forgione:

That keeps us back to the ancient’s knowledge of microcosm. The six-pointed star, the base for the drawing of the hexagon, it’s one of the symbols that early Christians associated to Christ, calling it “Hexagram” or “Christ’s Monogram”, which goes back to the concept of a harmonized human thanks to the purification of our inner waters.

Eastern Orthodox Church
Agia Irene Eastern Byzantine has Stars of David on the two domes and on the walls of the choir.
Professor. Oskar Wulffberlin:

Aya İrini, Hagia Irene or Hagia Eirene (Church of Holy Peace), is an ancient Byzantine church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It is open as a museum. The building reputedly stands on the site of a pre-Christian temple. It ranks, in fact, as the first church built in Constantinople. Roman emperor Constantine I commissioned the Hagia Irene church in the 4th century and Justinian I later had the church restored. It served as the church of the Patriarchate before Hagia Sophia was built.

Armenian Stone Cross Monuments
At a short distance from the chapel of St. David stand two very remarkable khatchk'ar monuments. [khatch = cross and k'ar = stone] decorated with a six pointed star interlace.

There is a 12th century hexagram on the dome of Armenian st. Jacob’s church in the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem.

Cathedrals

Germany
There are hexagrams in Brandenburg, Stendal and Hannover in Germany.

Spain
There is a six-pointed star in a rose window in the Gothic-style cathedral in Burgos, Spain. The cathedral was built in the 13th century but the main façade was reformed in the 18th century.
There is a marvelous black hexagram on a stained glass window in Valencia Cathedral, Spain.
There is a hexagram pattern in the Almudena Cathedral, near the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain. The Almudena Cathedral is very new by European standards; it was completed in 1993 but the plans for its building began in the 16th century.
There is a Star of David stained glass window in the Gothic Metz Saint-Etienne's Cathedral, which was built from the 13th century.
There is a Star of David stone carving above Roman Catholic Sevilla Cathedral entrance in Spain.

USAThere is a hexagram surrounded by circles on the façade of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston MA.

Mexico
There is a Hexagram in a stained glass window in the cathedral at Mazatlan, Mexico.

Holland
In Amsterdam there is a big hexagram above the entrance to St. Agnes' Church, and a few hexagrams carved in stone above the entrance to Krijtberg church.

Italy
Jewish architect Niccolo Matas [1798 – 1872]. from Ancona designed between 1853 and 1863 the Santa Croce church in Florence with a big Star of David above the entrance.
There is a stone with an engraved Star of David found in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. According to legend, the stone was brought to Venice from the Temple in Jerusalem.

There is a Star of David on the Romanesque Cathedral of Ferrara, Emilia Romagna, Italy. Built in the 12th century… It seems as "an official" acknowledgment of the contribution offered from the Jewish community of the time to the construction of the cathedral.

There is a raw of interlaced hexagrams in the middle of a column in Orvietto Cathedral, an ancient town in Umbria, Italy.
There is a Hexagram in Palermo, Sicily, Capella Palatina which was completed in 1143. On the wooden ceiling there is an Islamic inlaid Hexagram along one wall.
In 1632 architect Borromini planned The University of Roma chapel, which was dedicated to St. Ivo, protector of the lawyers. The plan of St. Ivo is based on a Star of David whose points act as chapels of alternating convex and concave forms.

France
In the church of Aveize, a village in the Rhone Alps which was built in 1884 there are many windows and above each there's a six pointed star space made by expert stonecutters surrounded by a splendid stone arc.

In the 12th century Rodez cathedral there are rose windows emblazoned with the Star of David. In the middle Ages, the rose was a symbol of esotericism - sub rosa means to do something in secret.

England
There is a tetragrammaton inside a Star of David stained glass dedicated to King Edward VII (9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910 at St Ann's Church, Manchester.
There are many hexagrams on the ceiling of the Old Templar church of Garway, Wales.

Solomon's seal
Solomon's seal or Seal of Solomon was according to Jewish Islamic and Christian legends King Solomon's signet ring that gave him the power to command demons. It is in the shape of five (pentagram) or six-pointed star.

Chrismons
Chrismons is a combination of CHRISt and MONogram. There is a gallery of such Chrismons on http://www.cresourcei.org/symbols/chrismon.html and one of them is The Star of David or the Creator's Star. The six points represent six aspects of God: love, mercy, wisdom, majesty, power, and justice. In this form, the two triangles represent the Trinity.

Coat of Arms
There are two hexagrams ( a.k.a.Stars of Mary) and a cross on the Coat of Arms of Hanover, Germany. Stars of Mary (Mariensterne) on top of the two side-towers recalls the fact that Hamburg used to be an archbishopric.

Various Interpretations

Remo F. Roth:
wrote an online book titled The Archetype of the Holy Wedding in Alchemy and in the Unconscious of Modern Man where he says that the Star of David is used
in the mysticism of all five world religions: in the Kabbalah, in Christian mysticism… in the heart chakra of Buddhist and Hindu Tantrism and in Muslim Sufism. It is always connected to the heart.

Apostle Paul McAroy
Apostle Paul McAroy wrote on his website in 1998

The Two Triangles interlacing each other Represent the Bride of Christ and the 144,000 Jewish saints that have been Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. One Triangle Represents the Bride of Christ and the Other Triangle Represents the 144,000 Jewish saints.

Number Symbolism
Robin Headlam Wells wrote in an article titled Number Symbolism in the Renaissance Lute Rose:

The renaissance luthier adapted the decorative motifs, which his instrument inherited from its Islamic origins, in order to express the idea of harmony. Despite their apparent variety most renaissance lute roses are based on two figures: the hexagram and the tetragram. According to the familiar body of Pythagorean doctrine transmitted through Plato to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the numbers six and four were of profound significance.

Six Is the Number of Man, Seven Is the Number of God
Whtstealth published a very elegant and ORIGINAL graphic explanation for the meaning of the shape of the Star of David on Youtube.


Lucian Craciun comments:
1) "Jews for Jesus", "Messianic Movement" -- such things didn't even exist until the 2nd half of the 20th century (>1948 AD).
2) Ethiopians were Jews long before they were Christians. (Moses had Ethiopian wives; Solomon & the Queen of Sheeba; and Acts 8:27-28). So don't act *too* surprised by them using circumcision, hexagrams, and abstaining from pork. :-))
3) The Neo-Protestant (wacky) leaders & (weird) sects You mention also appeared only in the XXth century. The Mormons themselves are no older than the 1800's.
4) The Byzantine church-buildings You mention are *all* from Israel, or the Middle-East (today's Turkey). -- so the symbol was borrowed from surrounding cultures (Arabs, Babylonians, ... Jews!).
5) The Catholic church-buildings You mention are *all* from the 2nd millenium AD. Around the turn of the 1st millenium AD, the great schism took place between the east and the west. The west shifted its course to become a mental, rational (istic), cerebral, intellectual religion. -- [It resembles in this aspect Judaism and Islam. -- and apropos Islam: remember that they once occupied the entire Iberic peninsula (so this would be an explanation right there)]. Anyway, this change of "mentality" made them in the course of time what they are today: scientific, wordly, etc. So they began to be exaggeratedly interested in 'sacred geometry' [in architecture], in renaissance-like paintings [in arts], in philosophical speculation [in theology], and a plethora of other kindred things.

6) The Monogram of Christ is a Tetragram [no pun intended], rather than a Hexagram. It is: IC XC = IS HS = Jesus Christ. I'm completely unaware of a hexagram EVER being used as a symbol for Christ. [Cross, Chi-Ro, Fish, Pelican, Shephard, Bachus, ... you name it! ... but NOT the hexagram -- sorry].
7) "Christian mysticism" : well, it's like this: You sit quietly all by yourself, easily breathing in and out. You push your mind into your heart by way of respiration (inspiration + expiration). You constantly and attentively repeat the short prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, mercy me, the sinner", while avoiding any *imaginations* and *rationalizations* --> _NO_ HEXAGRAMS THERE WHAT SO EVER !!!
8) The *ONLY* thing which merits attention is that of the Roman villa. (And of the Capernaum Synagogue, maybe...)

Gibeon

Ephrayim Stern published stars of David (surrounding peacocks) engraved on jar handles at Gibeon, Israel, and dated them to the late period of the Israeli Kingdom of the First Temple 6th century B.C.E. He reckoned that they were copies of Greek emblems from Thasos and Carthago that served for the marking of wines.

From: Kadmoniot, 1973, Israel at the end of the period of the kingship, archeological survey, pages 2-17.

I find it very interesting that the same symbol served the beer guilds in the Middle Ages and that it was the symbol for alcohol in alchemy, since it combined the symbols for fire and water; hence, it meant distillation. Until recently, therefore, it appeared on shops selling brandy.

=
Photo courtesy of Ephrayim Stern.

Tetraktys Surrounded By An Ourobouros

A Hexagram in a Tetraktys surrounded by an Ourobouros
in Lisa‘s genious Alchemy illustration.
Courtesy of Lisa "Ninth Wave Designs" from Flickr

Ring of Planets

Dennis William Hauck wrote an Interpretation of artist Matthieu Merian's 1618 Tabula Smaragdina (Emerald Tablet) engraving which contains a few yellow Hexagrams:

The first area encountered as the alchemist travels along this vertical axis is a Ring of Stars in which seven larger stars predominate. This stellar ring presents the seven alchemical operations as cosmic principles available to sentient species everywhere... To the left of the large triangle is a smaller downward-pointing triangle representing Water or Mercury; to the right is a small upward-pointing triangle representing Fire or Sulfur. Below the central triangle is the Star of David, which symbolizes Salt, the union of Fire and Water, the permanent coming together of the Above and the Below.

The Magic Door

Above the Magic Door of the Villa Palombara in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, Rome, [belonged to Massimiliano Palombara who was a member of the Rosicrucians] …Built in the 17th century there's a  six-pointed star encircled by the motto… "three are the wonders: God and man, mother and virgin, the one and three". 

CC picture from

it.wikipedia

Porta magica dettaglio

The same hexagram on the cover of an alchemical book 

Aureum Saeculum Redivivum

by  Adrian von Mynsicht (1603-1638) Published 

under the pen name Henricus Madathanus

around 1625

Esoteric Palace

Renaissance summerhouse built in the years 1555 – 1556 by Ferdinand I of Tirol, by his own design, in the shape of a hexagram according to cosmological ideas influenced by alchemy. In Europe similar buildings can be found, even though not frequently, only in Italy and France.

Jon Dee's Sigel

Picture of Alchemy hexagram sigel is courtesy of "Vincent44" who published it on Flickr.
John Dee (1527-1608) British alchemist, occultist, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.