Symbols

http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/30/3061.html

1. The Cultural Origins
This is and Egyptian hieroglyph thats means "underworld" or "kingdom of death." The star in its center is an Egyptian hieroglyph that means, not surprisingly, star.

2. What it Represents
This was mostly explained in #1, but it also can a computer sign that means "system" when it is upside down.

3. Emotive, ambiguous, or vague?
I'd say this symbol is vague, as it is just a circle with five lines in it, and I can't really deduce any real knowledge about what it means from that.

 4. Knowledge Issues
 The problems of knowledge that I identify with this symbol are that it can easily be mistaken by people who are computer savvy as the symbol that means system instead of an Egyptian hieroglyphic. Additionally for people who don't know Egyptian hieroglyphics and aren't involved with computers, it wouldn't be able to be understood. Lastly, since it is round and has what look like spokes, the symbol would probably be assumed to have something to do with wheels when first guessing its meaning.

 5. Similar Symbol
A symbol that looks similar to the one I originally chose is this http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/30/3019.html. This is a symbol within Buddhism called the Wheel of Life. Symbols.com says that "Its eight spokes represent the eightfolded way: right knowledge, right state of mind, right speech, right action, right way of living, right striving, right vigilance, right meditation." This symbol looks very much like mine, and it actually does have a meaning that involves a wheel and spokes.