A Worldwide Star Trivia Quiz

Answer: The star on the Moroccan flag has 5 points, not 6

Traditionally, the Seal of Solomon is a six-pointed star, such as that found on the national flag of Israel. Although almost always referred to as the Star of David, the two (Star of David and Seal of Solomon) are generally accepted as one and the same.

Originally, the green star found on the Moroccan flag was 6-pointed, but the design was changed by the royal Dahir in 1915.

The Seal of Solomon (or Star of David) is a recognisable symbol to many, and its meaning has been partially uncovered by the popular Dan Brown book, "The da Vinci Code". As Brown tells us, the two interlocking triangles represent the unity of men and woman, but these associations come from other, more universally accepted symbolic interpretations. The upright triangle represents fire and the inverted triangle is water. At the same time, both symbols for air and earth can be found within this ancient symbol. The Seal of Solomon therefore incorporates the forces which combine to form all living things (fire, water, earth and air). As fire came to be associated with men and water with woman, this symbol can also be taken to be the coming together of man and woman, therefore still carrying the same symbolic meaning - the root of all living things.

Answer: Circle

A mandala is a symbol/diagram whose origins are found in the Hindu faith.

Although meaning "circle", a mandala can be square, triangular or, as suggested in the question, star-shaped. In fact, mandalas can be any shape and can be as complex or as simple as the creator desires. The creation of mandalas is seen as a method of meditation by Hindus and Buddhists and this idea has spread to the Western world.

The significance of the mandala in Buddhism is demonstrated in the ritualistic creation of a beautifully intricate design by Tibetan Buddhists using coloured sand (actually crushed coloured stones). Equally ritualistic is the destruction of this giant mandala, which immediately follows its completion.

The Temple of Borobudur is a 9th century construction intended as a place of Buddhist pilgrimage. When viewed from above, this breath-taking structure is an example of a giant mandala.

Carl Jung once claimed that the mandala is a "representation of the unconscious mind", and so can reveal a lot about one's personality.

Answer: The Elven Star

The Elven Star is a septagram and can, like the pentagram, be drawn without the hand leaving the paper. It has strong magical associations, as suggested by the reference to "witches" in the question.

The name by which Pagans and Wiccans know this symbol - the Faerie star - gets its name from the story that it was a gift from the fairies (or faeries) to humans in order to bridge the gap between the mortal world and the "other" world.

The Elven star may also be referred to as the "Seven Sisters", due to its association with the cluster of stars known as "the Pleiades". This group of stars, like many others, owes its name to a Greek myth. The Pleiades (or Pleiads) were daughters of the titan, Atlas, and were loved by the giant, Orion. In fear of Orion's advances, the sisters prayed to Zeus, who changed them into pigeons (or doves). The group of stars can be seen in front of Orion in the night's sky.

Another of the Elven star's claims to fame (or perhaps infamy in this case) is being the seal for Aleister Crowley's Astrum Argentum Order.

Answer: Raelism

Members of this organisation claim that humans were created from a humanoid race from outerspace, who have sent prophets such as Jesus to Earth. They believe that the last of the great prophets to be sent to them was the founder of Raelism, Rael. Rael was a sports-car journalist originally named Claude Vorhilon.

The organisation was founded in 1974 and has spread to several parts of the world, although its headquarters are in Paris, France.

The symbol of the Raelism cult is a 6-pointed star whose arms meet in the centre, creating an image similar to that of a spiral galaxy. Originally, the central piece of this symbol was the swastika - the ancient symbol for the sun - but this was removed so as to not affiliate Raelism with Nazism. The astronomical attributes of this symbol reflect the idea of this organisation that they were created by extraterrestrials, whom they call Elohim (a Hebrew word meaning divine).

Answer: Druze

Founded by Hamza ibn- 'Alî ibn Ahmad, the Druze faith was announced in 1014, in Egypt.

Al-Hakim, who was to become a worshipped figure in this religion was said to be a descendant of Fatima - daughter of Muhammad. Al-Hakim disappeared in 1021, leading many in this new faith to speculate that he was waiting to return and bring his followers a new golden age.

Today, followers of the Druze faith are found in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel (amongst other countries which contain a very small numbers).

The Druze star is a 5-pointed star made up from five diamond shapes. The segments of the star are commonly colored (usually green, red, blue, yellow and white). Each section also represents the five universal principles of the faith. The segments are as follows: green - masculine, sun; red - feminine, moon; yellow - the divine word; blue - realms of possibility; white - the manifestation of the divine word in every day life.

Answer: A crescent moon

Just as the cross has become a worldwide Christian symbol and the Star of David a Jewish symbol, the star and crescent is recognised as being the symbol of Islam.

The symbol is thought to originate from an ancient Mediterranean religion and was associated with the moon goddess, Tanit Astarte.

The star and crescent is one of the most common symbols found on flags of the world. Countries whose national flag features this symbol include Pakistan, Mauritania, Malaysia, and Algeria. There are variations on the traditional design, such as the Malaysian flag, where the star possesses numerous arms, and the Mauritanian flag, where the crescent is depicted on its "back".

Taken alone, the crescent is a feminine symbol and is strongly linked with the virgin goddesses of Greece and Rome, as well as the Virgin Mary. This link comes from the feminine associations with the moon and the fact that the crescent, on its "back", resembles a chalice.

Answer: Lakshmi

Lakshmi is a many-limbed deity in Hinduism who is associated with many positive traits, such as beauty, charm, fertility and wealth. It is said that those who worship Lakshmi will have their money problems lifted.

In 2005, a girl was born in Bahir, India who possessed 8 limbs. She was named Lakshmi. This shocking medical phenomenon was a result of conjoined twins, one of which was born headless and so only existed as a partially formed torso, 2 legs and 2 arms. The news of this girl soon spread and her story inspired many. As some began to plan Lakshmi's surgery, others demanded that no surgery take place, believing Lakshmi to be an incarnation of the Hindu deity of the same name. Nevertheless, the girl received the surgery, funded by charitable donations, and made a strong recovery afterwards.

As well as being a symbol, the Star of Lakshmi is also a huge sapphire. The myth behind this precious stone tells us that it was a gift to the Hindu goddess in hope that the people of India would enjoy wealth, which they did from that point. After being stolen by an unknown criminal, many Indians began to experience poverty, as is the case today. In 2005, the sapphire was purchased by the House of Louis XV's jewellers. The Star of Lakshmi is noted for its size - 60.15 carats, compared to the Hope Diamond which is only 45.52 carats.

Answer: Malta

The Maltese cross is known by several names and is a common symbol around the world.

The ends of the cross are pointed, essentially giving it eight tips rather than four. The number eight here is said to be representative of "8 points of courage", which are loyalty, piety, generosity, bravery, glory and honour, contempt of death, helpfulness towards the poor and sick, and respect for the church (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_cross#Symbolism).

The number eight is also symbolic of infinity and infinite life (the sign for infinity being a number 8 on its side). The cyclic design of the number is said to represent birth, life, death and rebirth in one continuous cycle, and this is the logic behind "Regeneration Cross" - another name for the Maltese cross.

Yet another name for this cross is the Cross of St. John, and it was an emblem for the knights of St. John at the time of the crusades. The knights' actions of setting up hospitals in Jerusalem has led to the Maltese cross becoming the symbol for the St. John Ambulance - an ambulance service founded in 1877 in England.

The Maltese cross should not be confused with the George cross, which is the emblem which features on the country's national flag. The entire island was awarded a George cross by King George VI on account of their bravery in the face of heavy bombing during the Second World War.

Answer: Metatron

Although never appearing in either the Old or New Testament or the Qur'an, Metatron does feature in the Talmud and several other sources.

In some literature, he has been described as the "highest angel". Also, Metatron was rewarded by being given a seat in heaven and acted as scribe, noting down every event in human history.

The symbol for Metatron's cube looks complex, but is deceptively simple. It is formed from the Fruit of Life symbol, which itself is formed from the Flower of Life symbol. The Flower of Life is formed from several circles, which overlap to give several 6-pointed "stars". It has been claimed by some that the Flower of Life holds the secrets of the universe.

Metatron's cube is said to protect people from evil demons and other wickedness, both supernatural and that on Earth.

Answer: The pentagram

The perfect and simple symbol which is the pentagram has been a common symbol for over 4000 years of human civilisation. It is intimately linked with humans, seeing to represent the 5 extremities of the human body as well as being the sum of the masculine 3 and the feminine 2 (union of man and woman).

More specifically, the symbol suggests wisdom within the human population - knowledge of more than anyone ever imagined. This association can be traced back to the bible and the interpretations many have of the book, Genesis. Although never referred to as an apple, the fruit which was taken from the tree of forbidden knowledge by Eve is often presumed to be this fruit. The taking of the fruit was symbolic of the gaining of wisdom (albeit forbidden wisdom) by the human race. The link between the apple and the pentagram is found when you dissect an apple horizontally. As the famous mathematician, Pythagoras, popularised, when you do this you find a perfect 5-pointed star in the centre.

With the wisdom of the human race comes obvious power - another association of the pentagram. This power is said by many to be magical, but this most likely stems from the common misconception that pentagrams and pentacles are the same. Whilst the pentagram is a 5-pointed star, the pentacle can be one of many designs and is a magical symbol.

The link between Venus and this symbol comes from astrological observations. Over the period of 4 years and 1 day, the planet Venus traces out the image of a pentagram in the night's sky. For this reason, some have come to associate this androgynous symbol with the female.