The Complete Guide to the ✼ (Open Centre Teardrop Asterisk) Symbol
The Open Centre Teardrop Asterisk (✼) is a decorative typographical symbol featuring eight teardrop-shaped spokes radiating from an empty circular core. Originally designed as a stylized bullet point or section break, this elegant dingbat has evolved into a popular aesthetic marker used in social media bios, digital art, and creative typography.
This symbol owes its existence to Hermann Zapf, the legendary type designer who created the Zapf Dingbats font in 1978. When the Unicode Consortium standardized digital text in 1991, they included Zapf's iconic collection in the Dingbats block. The Open Centre Teardrop Asterisk lives specifically at Unicode code point U+273C. Unlike a standard keyboard asterisk, this symbol is rarely used to indicate a footnote. Instead, it serves a purely visual purpose, adding a touch of floral or geometric flair to a page.
You will spot the ✼ symbol in a variety of modern contexts. On social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, users frequently incorporate it into their usernames or bios to create a delicate, cottagecore, or mystical aesthetic. In digital publishing and typography, designers use it to separate paragraphs, build decorative borders, or style custom bulleted lists. While it lacks a specific mathematical or scientific function, software developers and UI designers sometimes map the symbol to custom commands or use it as an eye-catching interface element to highlight special features or indicate premium status.
Typing the Open Centre Teardrop Asterisk depends on your device. On a Mac, press Control + Command + Space to bring up the Character Viewer, then search for "teardrop asterisk." Windows users can use the Character Map app or type 273C followed by Alt + X in applications like Microsoft Word. Web developers can seamlessly insert it into HTML using the decimal code ✼ or the hex code ✼. For mobile users on iOS or Android, copying and pasting the symbol directly from a webpage remains the fastest and most reliable method.
The Unicode Dingbats block contains an entire family of similar stars and asterisks. The ✼ symbol is closely related to the solid Teardrop-Spoked Asterisk (✻ U+273B) and the bolder Heavy Teardrop-Spoked Asterisk (✽ U+273D). Compared to the standard keyboard asterisk (* U+002A), which looks rugged and utilitarian, the teardrop variations offer a much softer, almost flower-like appearance. Whether you are formatting a digital zine, designing a website, or just spicing up a text message, this open-centered star provides a perfect typographical accessory.