Star Lore
Stars and Constellations in Flags
and other national symbols
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Star LoreStars and Constellations in Flagsand other national symbols |
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The Southern Cross in Flags and Symbols |
Five countries and a large number of states, provinces and regions, not to mention military units, sportsclubs, cities and fraternities
carry the southern cross in their flag. To save space, we have limited our collection to Contries and major subdivisions of countries,
such as states or provinces.
 For the complete picture, we recommend Wikipedia's site Flags depicting the Southern Cross, which has no less than 77 flags on display. |
Papua New Guinea
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Gulf Province Papua New Guinea |
New Ireland Province Papua New Guinea |
Simbu Province Papua New Guinea |
Western Province Papua New Guinea |
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Australia |
Victoria Australian Province |
Capital Territory Australian Territory |
Northern Territory Australian Territory |
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Cocos Islands External Australian Territory |
Christmas Island External Australian Territory |
New Zealand |
Samoa |
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Brazil |
Paraná Brazilian State |
Santa Cruz Argentinian Province |
Tierra del Fuego Argentinian Province |
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Coquimbo Chilean Region |
Los Lagos Chilean Region |
Magallanes Chilean Region |
Colonia Department in Uruguay |
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Mocoví Pueblo Indiginous Nation in Argentina |
| The Southern Cross is mentioned in the national anthems of Brazil, Australia and Samoa. |
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A stylized version of the cross is part of Brazil's Coat of Arms, which also
appears on Brazilian passports
The Portugese word Cruz is the root of the name of a former Brazilian currency, the cruzeiro. The Southern Cross is part of the "tails" side of Brazilian coins.
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Shield of Brazilian Coat of Arms
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Brazilian Passport
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Brazilian 1 Real Coin
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The Brazilian flag
The center of the Brazilian flag presents the night sky as it would have been on November 15, 1889 at 08:30 over Rio de Janeiro. Each star corresponds
to a Brazilian Federative Unit, is sized in proportion relative to its geographic size.
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Constellations in the Brazilian FlagSource: Wikipedia |
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| * | In official documents, Brazil used the old Portugese names Estrela de Magalhães for α Crucis, and Graffias for β Scorpii instead of the IAU designations Acrux and Acrab, respectively. |
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Sirius in the Crest of a Sydney University
The Crest of the
Macquarie University in Sydney,
Australia shows the star Sirius on top of a tower.
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Regulus in the Coat of Arms of Portsmouth, England
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The flag of the city of Portsmouth, England, shows a golden star and a crescent moon. Both have
been the City's arms for over 800
years and were a taken from an early version of the coat of arms of King Richard I.
One interpretation suggest that the star is Regulus, which at the time was commonly known a "Cor Leonis", or "Heart of the Lion" - making the arms a play on words on Richard's nickname "Lionheart". Source: Flags of the World |
Portsmouth Flag; Wikipedia
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Orion and Pleiades in an Australian Aboriginal flag
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The Adnyamathanha in South Australia show two asterisms in their national flag:
The southern part of Orion is called Mirarrityi, meaning The Saucepan and the Pleiades are Artunyi or The Seven Sisters. Mirarrityi (Orion) represents Miru Muda, the Men’s story line, Artunyi represents Artu Muda, the Women’s story line. They are both placed in the sky, called Ngiiarri, while the Sun is placed in the land, called Yarta. |
Adnyamathanha flagSource: Flags of the World |
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For the complete story, see our Australian Aboriginal site.
Source: Aboriginal Astronomy |
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Ursa Major - The Big Dipper in Flags and Coat of Arms
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The state flag of Alaska displays eight gold stars, forming the
Big Dipper and Polaris, on a dark blue field.
The Big Dipper is an asterism in the
constellation Ursa Major which symbolizes a bear, an animal indigenous to Alaska. As depicted on the flag, its stars can be used as a guide by the
novice to locate Polaris and determine true north.
The design was created by Benny Benson of Seward and selected from among roughly 700 entries in a 1927 contest. Source: Wikipedia |
Alaska State Flag; Wikipedia
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The flag of the Community of Madrid is crimson red, with seven silver, five-pointed
stars. The stars represents each of the administrative areas of the province of Madrid.
The stars are also thought to represent the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations, in reference to the bear of the City of Madrid's coat of arms. Source: Wikipedia |
Community of Madrid; Wikipedia
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In 1212, the Council of Madrid used an ensign showing a bear with the seven stars of Ursa Major or Ursa Minor. This flag was used in the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
In 1222, the ensign was changed showing the bear, which had been displayed grazing, now standing on its hind legs, rampant, to eat fruits from a tree. Seven eight-pointed stars where shown on a bordure Azure. Throughout the centuries, the ensign has been modified several times. The current version was adopted in 1982. Source: Wikipedia |
1212
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1982
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The Big Dipper is part of the Coat of Arms of the House of Bernadotte, the royal house of Sweden.
In Sweden, the Big dipper is known as Karlavagnen, meaning Charles's Wain, derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Churl for man. The stars were introduced as an element in the royal coat of arms in the 19th century, chosen as a symbol of Sweden's eternal existence, as in the poem by Esaias Tegnér: As long as Charles's Wain still turns, Its golden wheels around the Northern zone, As long as the land still produces iron and heroes, Intact shall stand the ancient Swedish throne. Source: Wikipedia |
House of BernadotteWikipedia |
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