A circle of stars often represents unity,

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s and signs, and is also seen in iconographic motifs related to the

Woman of the Apocalypse A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteru ...

as well as in

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

allegoric

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

that sometimes depicts the Crown of Immortality.

Woman of the Apocalypse

The

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

( 12:1, 2 & 5) describes the

: ''And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth. .... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.'' In

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tradition she has been identified with the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, especially in connection with the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

. Mary is often pictured with a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

or Circle of Stars. The doctrine of the

was somewhat controversial in the medieval church, and the liturgical Office for the feast was only established in 1615. In 1649,

Francisco Pacheco Francisco Pérez del Río (bap. 3 November 1564 – 27 November 1644), known by his pseudonym Francisco Pacheco, was a Spanish painter, best known as the teacher of Alonso Cano and Diego Velázquez, as well as the latter's father-in-law. His ...

(father-in-law of Velázquez) published his ''Art of Painting'' firmly establishing the detailed correct iconography for paintings of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, which included the circle of stars (he also advised the

inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

in Seville on artistic matters). This was followed by Murillo and his school in very many paintings, and influenced non-Spanish depictions.

European Flag

The European flag, first adopted by the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, consists of 12 golden stars in a circle on a blue background. The stars symbolise the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of unity. Arsène Heitz, one of the flag designers, in 1987 revealed that his inspiration was the crown of twelve stars of the

, often found in modern Marian iconography. However, he did not suggest that the finished design held a religious meaning. Paul M. G. Lévy, the official responsible for the design process, denied any religious inspiration for the flag design. Carlo Curti Gialdino, ''I Simboli dell'Unione europea, Bandiera - Inno - Motto - Moneta - Giornata''. Roma: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., 2005. , pp. 80-85. Gialdino is here cited after a translation of the Italian text published by the ''Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe''
cvce.eu

Zodiac

The

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

is an ancient ''circle of stars''Jeffrey Armstrong , A Western Master of Eastern Wisdom
where some stars are

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

ically combined into 12 star signs also known as

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

s. The etymology of the term

comes from the Latin , from the Greek [], meaning "[circle] of animals", derived from , the diminutive of "animal".

Crown of Immortality

The Crown of Immortality is a separate and earlier motif (and metaphor) which also uses a circle of stars. It has been widely used since the Early Church as a metaphor for the reward awaiting martyrs, but they are not depicted in art wearing a circle of stars. In art the use is mainly in Baroque allegorical compositions, and those with

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

Art gallery

Religious

Image:Mariae Verkuendigung Fuchstal Fresko Magnifikat 2.JPG, A star circle

halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

is found on a ceiling fresco in an Annunciation Church located in Fuchstal, a

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n district of Landsberg, Germany. Image:Maryaltar2.jpg,

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church (), known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, the Chapel in Marlborough Street or the Pro, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Archbishop of Dublin (Catholic Church), Catholic Archbisho ...

, Dublin (

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest Order of precedence, precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that t ...

) with a star circle halo. Image:Boms Pfarrkirche Mariengruppe.jpg, Virgin Mary with a

of stars in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Image:Immortality.jpg, Crown of Immortality, held by the Allegoric figure Eterna (Eternity) on the Swedish House of Knights

Fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

by David Klocker Ehrenstrahl File:Gardenenclosed.jpg, "Our Lady the Garden Enclosed", statue of Our Lady of Sorrows at the hermitage church in Warfhuizen, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Image:DULURI.JPG, The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows,

Żejtun Żejtun ( ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at the end of 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von ...

, Malta. File:Blessed mary basilica san julio orta.jpg, Blessed Virgin Mary Basilica di San Giulio, Orta, Italy File:SAAM-1933.4.1 1.jpg, Madonna with Halo of Stars, Italy (17th century). File:William-Adolphe Bouguereau The Virgin With Angels.jpg, Regina Angelorum by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1900

Non religious

Flags

File:Flag of Europe.svg, The

Flag of Europe The flag of Europe or European flag consists of twelve Or (heraldry), golden stars forming a Circle of stars, circle on a Azure (heraldry), blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the who ...

with circle of stars representing European unity File:International Paneuropean Union flag.svg, Flag of the

Paneuropean Union The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is an international organisation and the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Richard von Coudenh ...

(the stars were added after the creation of the Flag of Europe) File:Flag of a United States Foreign Service Officer.svg, Flag of

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

Officer File:Betsy Ross flag.svg, The Betsy Ross flag (early version of the

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

)
flag
File:Jack of the CSA Navy 1861 1863.svg, CSN Jack, 1861–1863 File:Flag of the Confederate States (1861–1863).svg,

Flags of the Confederate States of America The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

, 1861–1863 File:Flag of Missouri.svg,

Flag of Missouri The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Miss ...

File:Flag of Rhode Island.svg, Flag of Rhode Island File:Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg,

Flag of Georgia Flag of Georgia may refer to: * Flag of Georgia (country) ** Flag of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic * Flag of Georgia (U.S. state) {{disambig