The ✻ Symbol: Meaning, Uses, and History of the Teardrop Spoked Asterisk
The ✻ (Teardrop Spoked Asterisk) is an elegant typographical ornament featuring rounded, petal-like spokes radiating from a central point. Originally designed as a decorative alternative to the standard asterisk, this visually striking symbol is widely used today to create stylish bullet points, craft aesthetic text dividers, and add a touch of organic flair to social media posts and digital designs.
This unique character traces its roots back to 1978, when renowned typeface designer Hermann Zapf created the ITC Zapf Dingbats font. Because these decorative symbols became deeply embedded in early desktop publishing, the Unicode Consortium officially added the Teardrop Spoked Asterisk to the Unicode Standard in 1991. It lives under the code point U+273B and calls the Dingbats Unicode block its permanent home.
While a standard asterisk pulls heavy duty in mathematics, programming, and footnote formatting, the ✻ symbol strictly serves a decorative purpose. In traditional print typography, publishers use it to mark subtle scene changes in novels or to design eye-catching lists. Across the internet, the symbol has found a modern second life. Social media users frequently incorporate the teardrop asterisk into bios, usernames, and captions to achieve specific visual aesthetics like "fairycore" or soft minimalism. It acts as a more organic separator than standard dashes or dots. Although you will not find it in programming syntax, developers occasionally drop it into code comments to organize visual blocks or draw attention to important notes.
Typing the ✻ symbol requires a few specific keystrokes depending on your device. On Windows, you can type it in Microsoft Word by entering "273B" and immediately pressing Alt + X. Mac users with the Unicode Hex Input keyboard active can hold the Option key and type 273B. Web developers can seamlessly insert it into HTML using the entity code `✻` or `✻`. For smartphone users texting or posting on the go, simply copying and pasting the symbol from an online encyclopedia remains the absolute quickest method.
The Dingbats block offers several close relatives to the Teardrop Spoked Asterisk. The Heavy Teardrop-Spoked Asterisk (✽) shares the exact same shape but features thicker, bolder petals. If you want a more traditional floral look, the Black Florette (✿) provides a distinctly blooming appearance. Meanwhile, the standard asterisk (*) remains the go-to choice for functional, everyday typing. Whether you want to spice up a plain text document or design an enchanting Instagram bio, the ✻ symbol brings a beautiful piece of typographic history to the digital age.