A hexagram (Greek) or sexagram (Latin) is a six-pointed geometric star figure with the Schläfli symbol {6/2}, 2{3}, or {{3}}.

[1] In the medieval period, a Muslim mystical symbol known as the Seal of Solomon was depicted as either a hexagram or pentagram.

The mandala symbol called yantra, found on ancient South Indian Hindu temples, is a geometric toolset that incorporates hexagrams into its framework.

It symbolizes the nara-narayana, or perfect meditative state of balance achieved between Man and God, and if maintained, results in "moksha," or "nirvana" (release from the bounds of the earthly world and its material trappings).

[citation needed] Some researchers have theorized that the hexagram represents the astrological chart at the time of David's birth or anointment as king.

[citation needed] In antique papyri, pentagrams, together with stars and other signs, are frequently found on amulets bearing the Jewish names of God, and used to guard against fever and other diseases.

[citation needed] Six-pointed stars have also been found in cosmological diagrams in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

The other possibility is that artists and religious people from several cultures independently created the hexagram shape, which is a relatively simple geometric design.

The two components are called "Om" and the "Hrim" in Sanskrit, and symbolize man's position between earth and sky.

In Buddhism, some old versions of the Bardo Thodol, also known as The "Tibetan Book of the Dead", contain a hexagram with a swastika inside.

In mystic Jewish and Islamic lore, the ring is variously described as having given Solomon the power to command the supernatural, including shedim and jinn, and also the ability to speak with animals.

A very early example, noted by Nikolaus Pevsner, can be found in Winchester Cathedral, England in one of the canopies of the choir stalls, circa 1308.

[5] The Star of David is also used less prominently by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the temples and in architecture.

The symbol is known in Arabic as Khātem Sulaymān (Seal of Solomon; خاتم سليمان) or Najmat Dāwūd (Star of David; نجمة داوود).

Today the six-pointed star can be found in mosques and on other Arabic and Islamic artifacts.In heraldry and vexillology, a hexagram is a fairly common charge employed, though it is rarely called by this name.

The coat of arms of the House of Kastrioti depicts the hexagram on a pile argent over the double headed eagle.

The hexagram, like the pentagram, was and is used in practices of the occult and ceremonial magic and is attributed to the 7 "old" planets outlined in astrology.

The six-pointed star is commonly used both as a talisman[7] and for conjuring spirits and spiritual forces in diverse forms of occult magic.

[9] In Rosicrucian and Hermetic Magic, the seven Traditional planets correspond with the angles and the center of the Hexagram as follows, in the same patterns as they appear on the Sephiroth and on the Tree of Life.

Saturn, although formally attributed to the Sephira of Binah, within this frame work nonetheless occupies the position of Daath.

[citation needed] "The interlacing triangles or deltas symbolize the union of the two principles or forces, the active and passive, male and female, pervading the universe ...

The two triangles, one white and the other black, interlacing, typify the mingling of apparent opposites in nature, darkness and light, error and truth, ignorance and wisdom, evil and good, throughout human life."

– Albert G. Mackey: Encyclopedia of Freemasonry[page needed][failed verification]The hexagram is featured within and on the outside of many Masonic temples as a decoration.