The eight-pointed star known as the octagram is a symbol of fullness and regeneration. Through its links with the great
eight-fold systems of East and West - the trigrams of the I Ching and the
pagan wheel of the year - the octagram gains its connotations of wholeness,
rebirth and cyclical infinity. The figure's association with infinity is further strengthened by the
lemniscate, the common symbol for infinity, taking the form of a figure eight on its side,
and through its links to the eight primal deities of ancient Egypt, the Ogdoad.
The octagram's associated polygon, the octagon, is intermediate between square and circle, moving fixed manifestation towards the
infinite and confirming the sense of spiritual regeneration. For this reason, many baptisteries and fonts are octagonal, though
twelve-sided figures are sometimes used, as twelve is linked to totality (see our discussion of the
As an expression of the number eight and in its aspect of making sense of and communicating wholeness and regeneration, the
octagram is linked to the Kabbalistic sefira Hod.