Six pointed star on the device of book printer William Faques 1504 ==Source
A Short History of English Printing, 1476-1898
by Henry R. Plomer, 1900
A
One of the most conspicuous characteristics of the created world is its multiple polarities. Following the original polarity of Creator-Creation, there are polarities in every dimension of Creation, such as spirit and matter, North and South pole, male and female, positive and negative in electricity, and so forth. The Chinese principle of yin-yang also expresses aspects of polarity.A striking example of two opposing forces forming in their balance a very beneficial energy field are the centrifugal energies of the planets held in their positions by the gravitational pull exerted by the sun. Without the latter, the planets including our earth would spin somewhere in the void of the space; and without the former, they would plunge into the sun and melt in its atomic furnace.When looking closely at any of these examples, we notice that some of them consist of two related power fields, such as male-female, while others are two sides of the same force, as in the case of electricity. Without flow, the latter would exist only as potential. In fact, physics gives each case its specific properties, but for our purposes, we shall group all of them as polarities, and concentrate on the relating force between their respective "poles".No pole could exist without its counterpart, nor could there be poles without this relating force. For instance, an atom would not be an atom without the force between its positive and negative particles, nor could the species continue to exist without the force between its male and female partners.On the other hand, we will not find any polarizing force between statues of a male and female, or between a male fish and a female bird. Properly understood, all polarities, including that of spirit and matter, are categories of relationships, and not contrasts. Thus, poles are not antagonistic sites; they are opposite yet related points in a field of energy. The bar magnet with its field of force made visible by iron filings demonstrates this clearly.Interestingly enough, the very first statement in Holy Scripture indicates polarity: "In the beginning God created Heavens and Earth." Here, the word heavens (שמים , shamayim) denotes both the sky (רקיע , raqi'a) which at a later stage is also called heavens, שמים (vs.8); and a spiritual entity, often referred to as "The Kingdom of Heavens." This Kingdom of Heavens exists on Earth - its material pole. Obviously, all of us are exposed to, and permeated by, this polarity, whether we recognize it or not.An interesting question was raised already in ancient times: "Where do the heavens begin? Beyond the clouds? Beyond the atmosphere? Beyond the moon?" The answer was: "Approximately a yard above the ground" - that means to say in the area of the diaphragm of an adult, whether he lives high up in the Himalayas, or whether he works as a miner hundreds of feet below the surface of the earth. All the organs below the diaphragm are carnal while those above it can, and should, express also spiritual or Divine qualities (as e.g. voice; intellect; self reflection; mercy; forgiveness). The "lower" are to be guided and treated by the "upper" organs and the qualities they carry. The heart with its double nature , symbolically located just above the diaphragm, plays the role of the connecting "chakra", as mentioned in Chapter 2 - THE SIX-POINTED STAR IN OTHER CULTURES and in Chapter 7 - THE KABBALISTIC TREE OF LIFE.
Gudrun Bühnemann is a Professor at the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her book, Mandalas and Yantras in the Hindu traditions (2003) there’s a chapter about the hexagram, where I found some info that was new to me (but I didn’t find an answer to the question about the origin of the Indian hexagram).
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The hexagram (satkona, sadara, tara) - Begley [1] 1973:85 notes that the word star, Tara, appears as a synonym for satkona
My Note (zeevveez): the sound of the word "sadara" id also close to he sound of the word "star".
[1] Begley Wayne Edison, Vishnu's flaming wheel: the iconography of the Sudarśana-cakra, New York University Press for the College Art Association of America, 1973
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In Budhist Tantrism the word "evam" is thought to be represented by two intertwined triangles...Kolver discusses the shapes of the letter e and the va which were remeniscent of downward pointing and upward pointing triangles around the sixth century C.E. and were visualized as hexagram... when Vagra-yogini is described as situated “in evam” this means that she is visualized inside a hexagram.
In descriptions of the symbolic shapes (mandala) of the elements the hexagram represents the element wind.
In the hexagram the deities are often worshipped at the points of intersection of the two triangles…
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In Budhist traditions hexagrams appear especially in mandalas of Vajra-Varahi / Vajra-Yogini.
According to Nath 1975-1976:78 the hexagram is also found in Indian temples, especially in Rajastahn were it is believed to have been associated with the worship of Siva and Sakti.
The hexagram appears in Islamic monuments of North India. Its center features a point (bindu) a lotus or a dancing peacock. (Nath 1975-1976:74-75).
In 1902 Arthur Evans discovered two stars of david’ on a mural plaster at the Court of Distaffs in a palace in Knossos. Now they are exhibited in the fresco storeroom of the Herakleion Museum.
Lesley Lesley Bearman Lahm wrote to me:
I purchased the rug in the photo below (in Baku, Azerbaijan) and am very curious about the symbolism. At first I thought it might be from a Jewish home, but then thought it might be some sort of neo-facist iconography.
I had an appraiser take a look at it, and she is rather intrigued as well - her speciality is carpets.
we have approached museums and they never respond! I am simply interested in its origins etc. - I find it intriguing and also a lovely piece (the workmanship is beautiful).
The other things are flags we think - I originally thought they were the wings of the birds, but the appraiser pointed out they were flags - the rug is in storage, but I believe the stripes are green, yellow and red. Colors of Lithuania?
