On Baha'i Symbols: The Nine-Pointed Star

The nine-pointed star. Here is the tatoo version as seen on Marco Oliviera's wonderful Povo de Baha. He, in turn, found it on The Blingdom of God, which has got to be one of the funniest oddball blogs out there. Turns out the Blingdom blogger, Jeff Trexler, is a professor of law at Southern Methodist University, who also publishes the blog uncivilsociety.com, and who also has an interesting Baha'i connection. He was a law clerk for the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, who is also a long-time member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.

OK, I admit to having no tatoos, but if I did, a nine-pointed star it would be.

A simple nine-pointed star is generally used by Bahá'ís as a symbol of their Faith. The number nine has significance in the Bahá'í Revelation. Nine years after the announcement of the Báb in Shiraz, Bahá'u'lláh received the intimation of His mission in the dungeon in Teheran. Nine, as the highest single-digit number, symbolizes completeness. Since the Bahá'í Faith claims to be the fulfillment of the expectations of all prior religions, this symbol, as used for example in nine-sided Bahá'í temples, reflects that sense of fulfillment and completeness.

The Bahá'ís, a publication of the Bahá'í International Community.