What does an eight pointed star mean?

Answer 1

I think you may be referring to the six pointed star, the star of David. If so, five of the points refers to the five senses and the sixth is that of intuition, commonly called the sixth sense.

The 8 pointed star is a Gnostic symbol, known as the octagram of creation.

It is related to Venus, and also sacred to Ishtar.

In Nordic traditions the octagram is used to invoke magic and also as a protecting ideogram.

Chaospheres have 8 points - order 90 degrees and chaos 45 degrees.

This is the traditional Star of Ishtar. Composed of two intertwined squares, this is a symbol of regeneration.

It is a symbol for the natural universe interweaving order and disorder, yin and yang, to create an ultimately harmonious and balanced design.

Another Answer

You may be referring to it's often seen use in Native American and First Nations cultures, as in my Tribe to which it is a very important symbol that represents the sun for my people.

It is the eight pointed star. This symbol is often seen in Native culture as the seven pointed star, to which it used to be for Mi'kmaq to represent the seven Nations of Mi'kmaq people. An extra point had been added however to include all Nations and peace amongst all people.

I recently found out though that the Lakota Tribe also uses an eight pointed star as one of their symbols, I don't know what the reasoning behind their extra point is though, perhaps the same as the Mi'kmaq reasoning.

The star itself was first seen on Mi'kmaq petro glyphs in Nova Scotia about 500 years ago and was made to represent the sun (at this time it was seven points though and then changed to include the British Crown and represent unity as well.

I believe it is also a universal symbol of unity, used since ancient time as well in other cultures aside form Native culture.