Representations of the eight-pointed star have played an important role in the history of Latvian culture. They were present during the national revival movement at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, widely represented in the visual art of the first half of the 20th century and played an important role during the Third Awakening in the late 1980s. By analysing the depictions of the eight-pointed star using the historical method, comparative analysis, and connecting the images with the text, it is possible to create a context-based interpretation of the depictions and to express insights about the role of ethnographic ornament elements in interwar Latvian culture. The eight-pointed star appears in many of Niklāvs Strunke’s (1894–1966) illustrations and on covers of books, periodicals, and other printed editions. The meanings of the eight-pointed star in his work vary: it can be a symbolic representation of a celestial body or Latvian ornament, a decoration of the palaces of ancient Latvian rulers, or reflect the “star ornamented blanket” found in folk songs. Strunke’s book art is always related to the text, deriving from it, but also giving additional connotations to the text itself. In Strunke’s book graphics, the eight-pointed star is considered an expression of Latvian style, which appears to be a creative use of ethnographic ornaments in the context of decorative art and indicates the Latvian position of the author of the text or the national nature of the publication. The depictions of the eight-pointed star, which played a prominent role in Strunke’s book art, are part of wider cultural processes in interwar Latvia. These processes involve the new nation differentiating itself from previously dominant cultures, strengthening its myth of shared history, supporting the idea of national awakening, and bringing to life the symbolism characterising national identity in everyday life.