The heptagram was used in Christianity to symbolize the seven days of creation and became a traditional symbol for warding off evil. The symbol is used in some Christian sects such as Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.
The symbol is also used in Kabbalist Judaism.
In Islam, the heptagram is used to represent the first seven verses in the Quran.
The heptagram is used in the symbol for Babalon in Thelema.
The heptagram is known among neopagans as the Elven Star or Fairy Star. It is treated as a sacred symbol in various modern pagan and witchcraft traditions. Blue Star Wicca also uses the symbol, where it is referred to as a septegram. The second heptagram is a symbol of magical power in some pagan spiritualities.
In alchemy, a seven-sided star can refer to the seven planets which were known to early alchemists.
In Polynesia, the seven-pointed star is used often in imagery, basket making, tattoos, and is considered to be a symbol of Kanaloa, the first Polynesian navigator.
The seven-pointed star (or, alternately, septagram or heptagram) has accumulated many levels of meaning over the centuries. One of the oldest recorded meanings given to this star may be found within Kabbalistic tradition, where it represents the sphere of Venus and the power of love. It is also found within Christian tradition as a symbol of protection, the seven points representing the perfection of God and the seven days of creation. This resonance with the days of the week carries through into its use as a planetary symbol, as each point not only represents one of the traditional "seven wandering stars," but also the corresponding days of the week, (as well as other magical correspondences that come under the influence of the planets). The 7/3 septagram (the "3" indicates the distance between points) is a common sight within neo-paganism, where it is known as the "Elven" or "Faery" star. However, this is a surprisingly recent addition to this symbol's catalog of meanings, having only risen to prominence with the appearance of the "Otherkin" movement in the 1990s.
The very first use of the Septagram as the "Elven Star" can be traced to a group in San Francisco during the 1980s called, "The Elf-Queen's Daughters." Although they adopted this strongly feminist title, the group consisted of both men and women who believed themselves to be incarnated elven spirits in human form, sent to bring about an acceleration of consciousness and a peaceful paradise on Earth. Over time, their work and influence spread, with many taking inspiration from the idea of otherworldly spirits being born into human form to come out of the closet themselves. Not only did we find that there were elves in human form walking the earth, but also other kinds of fae, mer-folk, dragons, angels, demons, and earthly creatures such as wolves. With the spreading of the "Otherkin" movement came the wider usage of the Septagram as the "elven star" as well as a symbol for otherkin nature in general.
As the popularity of the symbol spread, more meanings were attributed to it, including a loose and often individual assignation of the seven directions—North, South, East, West, Above, Below, and Within—and similar creative and elemental systems that appear to be inspired by the qualities of the pentagram as used within Wicca but with an extra Faery flavor. When I created my Tarot of the Sidhe (Schiffer Books, 2011), in 2005/6, I was also inspired to create my own meanings for the points of the elven star, based on the seven directions, with the additional layer of Sun (Within), Moon (Below), and Stars (above), for a Tarot spread designed to reveal the state of the whole self. When I came to start writing my latest book, Faery Craft (Llewellyn, October 2012), I returned to this same version of the septagram when I realized that I needed a strong faery-based magical structure to hang the work on. With the rationale that no one could fault me for making up my own use for the symbol, as it already had evolved and been tweaked for individual use so much in recent years, I added yet another layer of meaning to the seven points. The "Faery Craft Septagram," as I named it, also represents seven essential qualities, corresponding to the seven directions, that are needed for faery work. The book takes a quality for each chapter, ending with an eighth quality of "balance" that ties them all together.
