Editing Auseklis (section)

== Symbol ==
[[Image:Lietuvena krusts.png|frame|right|Crosses of Lietuvēns: Auseklis (above) and the pentagram (below) had to be drawn without lifting one's hand.]]
Auseklis is also the name of the eight-pointed star (an [[isogonal figure|isogonal]] [[octagram]]). It is also known as one of the crosses of [[Lietuvēns]] (a [[malevolent spirit]]). The other cross of Lietuvēns is the [[pentagram]], which symbolizes Venus in other cultures, suggesting that both signs might have originally been symbols of Auseklis. In more modern times, the pentagram is sometimes seen as a symbol of evil, however, originally both signs were used for protection from evil and are named after Lietuvēns because they were used to ward it off. Both signs had to be drawn without lifting the hand to ensure that protection was effective.

In the 1980s, the octagram became the symbol of [[Latvian National Awakening|the third Latvian National Awakening]].