Five-pointed star

A five-pointed star (☆) is a common ideogram used throughout the world. If the colinear edges are joined together a pentagram is produced.

The five-pointed star, geometrically a regular concave decagon, used in flags originates from European or Western heraldry, and the golden five-pointed star has associations with military power and war. It has also become a symbol of fame or "stardom" in Western culture.

Comparison with a pentagram

A simple five-pointed star

A simple five-pointed star

A pentagram with strokes through the center

A pentagram with strokes through the center

A pentacle is an enscribed pentagram (inverted in this image)

A pentacle is an enscribed pentagram (inverted in this image)

Flags

Five-pointed stars are found on many flags, generally in solid form, although some, such as the flag of New Zealand, have a different-colored outline. The pentagram appears on only two national flags, those of Ethiopia and Morocco.

Five-pointed stars appear on the flag and in the heraldic symbolism of the United States. In the U.S. context, the stars allegedly symbolize the heavens. They stand in contrast to the vexillologically rarer seven-pointed stars, such as those used in the flag of Australia – which also has 1 five pointed star, Epsilon Crucis – 5 pointed star, 1/10 of the way right and 1/24 down from the centre fly.