Star

Esther as pun with Persian str for “star” & “veil”

The Biblical character Esther is named after the Persian word استر astar which means “star”. In its spelling variant ستار‎ satar, it overlaps with the word for “veil”. The meanings “star” and “veil” are likely even related, as a punctured veil and a starry sky look very similar, so one may be named after the other. In any case, in Persian the word for “star” is a perfect pun with “veil”.

And the “veil” meaning has even been loaned into the Semitic languages, where the word root √str is used for many meanings related to “veiling” & “hiding”, even throughout the Bible. So Esther’s name puns with סתר str “hiding” in Hebrew, where it’s a very common word. It’s even one of the few officially admitted Bible puns: Esther is publicly admitted to pun with “veiling”, and is celebrated with a masking festival.

Spookery is all about “veiling”, so that may be one of the reasons why the star became a spook symbol. It may not the main reason though, since only the “veil” meaning was loaned into the Semitic languages, but not the “star” meaning.

Star of David as pun with ṭˁy for “star” & “deception”

One of the most famous star symbols is ✡ the Star of David, a six-pointed star, associated with Judaism since medieval times. However, the Biblical story of David doesn’t feature any star at all. So how did it come to be associated with David? The answer is again punnery: David puns with star.

In the Bible, David is paired several obvious but not-so-similar puns. The ancient authors used words with an initial Dalet or Ṭet, where some forms then have a suffix Tav. So it’s the pattern Ṭ-(T), which is supposed to pun with the D-D in David. These puns are most obvious through the meanings, since they’re central to David’s stories: It’s dwy(t) for “weak” (vs. Goliath as “strong”), dwy(t) for “spying” (spy stories), ṭwy(t) for “spider” (spider story), and ṭwy(t) for “concealed” (spook pun).

The star is another one of those puns: It’s Aramaic טעי ṭˁy for “planet” & “star”, which you could also suffix to ṭˁy(t). The basic meaning is “wandering”, and planets were called “wanderers”, and stars “not-wanderers”. For the ancients, stars & planets were all similar to the naked eye, and therefore depicted by the same star symbols. So that’s how David came to be associated with a star symbol. This pun probably evolved long after the Bible was written, in an age when fixed & “wandering” stars were more commonly distinguished, and that’s why it wasn’t used in the Bible.

Through this pun, the Star of David also became associated with demon worship, because טעי ṭˁy for “wandering” also means “lost” & “errant”, and was a name for “errant spirits” & “idols”, i.e. ghosts & demons. A similar pun exists for the Seal of Solomon.

However, the word טעי ṭˁy for “wandering” also has another, spooky meaning: “wandering” means “going astray”, and the causative is “leading astray”, which is “deception”. That’s why טעי ṭˁy also means “deception” in some texts. That is likely the meaning that the spooks had in mind when they promoted the Star of David.

The full Hebrew name for the symbol is מגן דוד mgn-dwd “shield of David”, which is then probably supposed to pun with מגן טעיותא mgn-ṭˁywtˀ “shield of deception”.

We can conclude:

• The Star of David is a star, because ṭˁy(t) for “wandering” & “planet” puns with dwyd “David” if you slap on a grammar T.
• The Star of David is a spook symbol, because the same word ṭˁy(t) also means “erring” & “deception”.
• The Star of David is associated with summoning demons, because the same word ṭˁy(t) also means “errant spirit”.

(Note: I previously thought it was supposed to pun with dwd “confusion”, which is closer to “David”. But that one doesn’t pun with “star”.)

Seal of Solomon as pun with mzl for “star”, zlm for “oppression”

The Star of David is often also called Seal of Solomon, Solomon’s magical signet ring. Solomon is said to have controlled spirits & demons with it. But just like with David, Solomon is not associated with stars or demons anywhere in the Bible. So where does it come from? Again, it must be a pun: Solomon puns with star, and also with ghosts, that’s why he has a star to summon ghosts.

• The Seal of Solomon is a star, because ḥtm-šlmh “Seal of Solomon” puns with ḥtm-mlwš “star seal” (anagram).
• The Seal of Solomon is a star, perhaps also because ḥtm-šlmh “Seal of Solomon” puns with ḥtm-mzl “star seal” (anagram with Z for Š).
• The Seal of Solomon is used to summon demonic servants, because ḥtm-šlmh “seal of Solomon” puns with ḥdm-ṣlm “ghostly servant”.
• The Seal of Solomon may be a spook symbol for secret agents, because in Hebrew, ḥtm-šlmh “Seal of Solomon” puns with ḥdm-š-ˁlm “secret servant”, i.e. a secret agent (see shalom).
• The Seal of Solomon may be a spook symbol for concealed oppression generally, because in Aramaic & Arabic, ḥtm-šlmh “Seal of Solomon” puns with ktm-zlm “hiding oppression” & “restraining opposition”. This is likely the main spook pun in Arabic.

Note: Solomon is especially important in Islam, because both words “Solomon” & “Islam” are derived from the word root √šlm, with its various puns.