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The  series uses a huge array of recurring symbols, some original and some derived from real-world sources, with deep significance to its story and characters. This page compiles the most important of these symbols and details their use in the series.

Heart


Hearts are some of the most recognizable and prominent symbols associated with the series; one type of heart symbol is featured on the series logo and, as a result, on the majority of real-world Kingdom Hearts merchandise. The symbol also appears on the back of every Card, Limit Form's outfit in Halloween Town, in several worlds, such as Hollow Bastion, The World That Never Was, Traverse Town, and Radiant Garden, and several Keyblades and miscellaneous weapons. Simplified heart symbols appear less frequently, but are featured in Trinity Marks, several Keyblades, Wonderland, typically with the Queen of Hearts, and, most notably, the heart-shaped moon, Kingdom Hearts. A few Pureblood Heartless have heart-shaped holes in their chests.

The most recognizable heart symbol is depicted as the outline of a heart with tips that curl inward at its top. More simplified heart, solid designs also appear in the series, although they are featured less prominently.

Heartless


The Heartless symbol is used, as its name suggests, to represent the Heartless, specifically Emblem Heartless. The standard Heartless emblem is displayed on every single Emblem Heartless, as well as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's chest and certain weapons related to Heartless, such as the Akashic Record and Precious Mushroom. In the End of the World, the doorway leading to the Final Rest area is shaped like the Heartless emblem. The Heartless emblem without the spiked "X" is commonly associated with Riku. When using Dark Mode, Riku wears the symbol on his chest, and it is the Keychain token of his main Keyblade, Way to the Dawn. The Keychain token of the χ-blade is a black and red heart resembling the Heartless emblem, but with two Kingdom Keys crossed over it in place of the normal red design.

The Heartless emblem is comprised of a heart with a fleur-de-lis at its base. It is typically black with a red outline and spiked "X" crossing through the heart in the symbol, which symbolizes the fact that Heartless act without emotions, hence their name. A common variation of the Heartless emblem is a completely black silhouette, lacking the cross over the heart. A third variation is simply a heart featuring the color scheme of the standard Heartless symbol, a black body and red outline, but also lacks the cross.

Nobody
The Nobody symbol (ノーバディのマーク) is primarily associated with Organization XIII and the Nobodies it commands, and many of the members' weapons incorporate the symbol into their design. Every single lesser Nobody is emblazoned with the Nobody symbol, and a few are even shaped like it. The Proof of Nonexistence, Challenge Sigil, Unity Badge, and Ordeal Badge all feature the symbol. Certain accessories with connections to Organization XIII, such as the Full Bloom and Shadow Archive, also use the symbol. The symbol is featured countless times in the architecture and decorations of the Castle That Never Was and other areas related to the Organization. Two Become One is the only Keyblade to sport the full Nobody emblem in its design. A variant of the Nobody emblem based on the original's top half appears on several Gummi Nobodies.

The Nobody emblem resembles an upside-down Heartless emblem in shape, but with several circular notches taken out of its edges. The symbol's base is shaped like an upside-down heart, while its top is a thin, spiked cross. Spikes and sharp edges often evoke the Nobody emblem without the full symbol being displayed. The symbol is usually depicted as white or silver, like most Nobodies. Xemnas created the symbol based on Terra's fragmented memories, and, as a result, the Nobody emblem bears a strong resemblance to Terra's mark.

Unversed


The Unversed emblem is emblazoned at least once on every single Unversed, with the exception of the Flood. After Vanitas forcibly merges with Ventus, Ventus's Dive to the Heart Station changes appearance, incorporating Unversed emblems into Vanitas’s half of the pillar.

The Unversed emblem is designed to resemble a heart expressing emotion. It uses sharp corners, deep curves, and straight edges to form a heart shape in its center. Certain parts of the Unversed symbol's design resemble some Unversed's eyes. The symbol is virtually always black.

Dream Eater


The Dream Eater emblems appear on almost every Dream Eater.

The Dream Eater symbols are designed in the form of hearts with certain aspects that display whether they are Spirit or Nightmare. The Spirit variant is always a faded pale peach fading to a deep hot pink with a dark purple border, the tail at the bottom of the heart-shaped is bowl-shaped. Its wings are shaped more like swirls as it is given a simplistic innocent look, compared to the Nightmare version. The Nightmare variant is always colored a deep navy fading into a bright neon purple with a thick white border, the tail at the bottom of the heart-shaped symbol is cone-shaped. Its wings are shaped like bat wings with small spikes in the center and growing larger near the sides. They bear a very vague resemblance to the Heartless symbol, specifically the Nightmare version.

Due to his nature within Sora's dreams as a Dream Eater, Riku has the Spirit emblem on the back of his vest during most of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

Terra's Mark


Terra, Aqua, and Ventus wear an emblem on their clothes as badges. While it is not uniquely associated with Terra, and appears to be a signature of Keyblade wielders that train in the Land of Departure, it is referred to as "Terra's Mark" (テラたちのマーク) in official materials. Master Eraqus wears the emblem on his armored chest piece, and it is also the Keychain token of his Keyblade. Aqua's Wayfinders have the emblem in their centers. Terra's mark is featured on several Dive to the Heart Stations, including two of Ventus's Stations and the character selection screen of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. It also appears on the walls of the Chamber of Waking.

Terra's mark resembles the Heartless and Nobody symbols in shape; it is a heart with a sharp cross at its base. The symbol is very angular and squared, and the points of its cross are much more compact and close together than those of the Nobody symbol. The symbol appears in several different colors, such as gold and silver.

Crown
Crowns are another heavily featured symbol of the series and are part of the Kingdom Hearts logo along with the curled heart symbol. Sora notably wears a silver crown necklace in most of his forms and can in fact wear a crown in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. Puzzle pieces and Mission Crowns are represented by golden crowns. Limit Form and, in Halloween Town, Final Form, is represented by crowns. The tops of the cards used in Castle Oblivion are shaped like the standard crown, and are featured on the front of some cards. The Crown-G, the Keychain token of the Oblivion, accessories such as the Draw Ring, the Save the King shield, and the Ultima Weapon all incorporate crowns into their designs. Every one of Sora’s Dive to the Heart Stations feature crowns. A large, glowing crown appears underneath Sora when he unlocks a World Gate.

The most widely used crown symbol in the series is a flat, three-pronged crown that appears in a wide variety of colors, most commonly gold and silver. The shape of the crowns prongs create a negative space silhouette of the Kingdom Key's teeth. Strategy guides for the series occasionally use a yellow symbol that could be a crown viewed from above. This symbol is a ring with spikes along its outer edge and an "X" in its center, and is used to represent characters and enemies that cannot be classified as Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed or Dream Eaters.

Keyhole


Every World has a Keyhole that leads to its heart and can be locked by the Keyblade. Locking all of the Keyholes is Sora's primary objective in the original Kingdom Hearts. In Kingdom Hearts II, Sora seeks out and unlocks Gates, which are represented by large, glowing keyholes. When the χ-blade was destroyed, it released several small, glowing keyhole symbols, but it is unclear what significance this has. The Wonderland Doorknob's mouth is a Keyhole.

The Keyhole symbol is normally depicted as a simple silhouette of an old-fashioned keyhole, one that a skeleton key could unlock.

Key


Keys are recurring symbols in the series, mainly through the use of the Keyblade by the main characters. The simplified key symbol is used to represent physical attacks with the Keyblade in the Command Menu and Command Deck and similar menus.

Excluding the many different forms that Keyblades take, the common key symbol resembles simplified Kingdom Key. The Kingdom Key, in turn, is modeled after a skeleton key, a type of key that was designed to open any lock.

Chi and the Recusant's Sigil


Chi is the twenty-second letter in the Greek alphabet, from which the Latin letter "X" is derived. Master Xehanort can form a glowing, stylized version of the letter in his hand. According to him, χ is "a most ancient letter" that represents death and endings, and it can be pronounced "kye" or "key". The letter χ lends its name and form to the χ-blade, which features two Kingdom Keys crossed in an "X"-shape on the blade and Keychain token.

Xemnas adds a similar-looking "X" known as the Recusant's Sigil (異端の印) to the names of all members of Organization XIII. This is because he vaguely remembers Master Xehanort's fascination with the χ-blade. According to Young Xehanort, the Recusant's Sigil can be used to track a person's location once he or she has been marked with it. During his Mark of Mastery exam in the Sleeping Worlds, Sora is marked with the Recusant's Sigil by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness so that the other incarnations of Xehanort can keep an eye on him. The Recusant's Sigil appears on Sora's shirt in the form of a silver "X."

The designs of Terra, Aqua, and Ventus's outfits were each inspired by the Latin letter "X."

Stars
Stars are frequently-seen symbols in the series and are often associated with the various Worlds in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Stars in the night sky are actually other, distant Worlds. Stars fade out when the corresponding world has been destroyed; the disappearance of many stars is what prompted King Mickey to find a way to stop the Heartless, beginning the events of the original Kingdom Hearts.

An artifact called the Star Shard allowed for transportation from one World to another, albeit randomly. Several accessories and Keyblades incorporate stars into their designs, such as the Star Seeker. Paopu Fruit are star-shaped fruit which supposedly create bonds between friends that can span many different Worlds. Wayfinders, lucky charms modeled after Paopu Fruit, have a similar reputation. The Wayfinders made by Aqua in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep manifest these bonds of friendship physically, in the form of the Dimension Link system. Paopu Fruit and Wayfinders are featured in the designs of several important Keyblades, including the Ultima Weapon and Oathkeeper. Yen Sid's powerful sorcerer's hat is adorned with several stars and moons.

In Kingdom Hearts χ [chi] Lux, a form of light, is introduced that together with the related Crystals of Light are also star-shaped. Additionally, every Keyblade releases a unique star when hitting an object or enemy.

Fleur-de-lis


Even in the real world, the is an extremely old and widespread symbol. It is a stylized flower, specifically a lily or iris, with a diverse range of meanings, but it has been most commonly associated with royalty or purity, and is the symbol of the French monarchy. Within the Kingdom Hearts series, the fleur-de-lis appears on several accessories and weapons, such as the Master Ring and Midnight Roar, the door to Timeless River, various areas and uniforms in the Country of the Musketeers and two Dive to the Heart Stations: one of Ventus's Stations and the Station displaying silhouettes of Alice, Jasmine, and Kairi. A standard fleur-de-lis is used to represent Valor Form, while a stylized version of the symbol—one shaped like an "X"—represents Master Form. The Old Mansion features a unique symbol that combines the crown, heart, and fleur-de-lis symbols. In Traverse Town the fleur-de-lis symbol appears as a huge sign for the Accessory Shop.

Roxas's zipper pull


During his time in Twilight Town, Roxas wears a jacket with a distinctive, X-shaped zipper pull. The zipper pull is modeled after the Nobody symbol, specifically the notched cross that comprises the Nobody emblem's top half, and hints at Roxas's background. The symbol is also the Keychain token of the Two Become One Keyblade, which is directly connected to Roxas. Similar symbols are often used to evoke the Nobody sigil, such as in Saïx's Lunatic Claymore and Larxene's Foudre Knives.

Mickey Head
The silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head is frequently used to represent not only Mickey himself, but Disney as a whole. Disney Town and Disney Castle feature the symbol heavily, and three of the many craters in the Keyblade Graveyard form the silhouette as well. The symbol is also incorporated into the Trinity Limit circle, Gimmick Cards, the Keychain tokens of the Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key D, and Victory Line, and other weapons, such as the Dream Sword. King Mickey uses the symbol to seal all of his official letters. In the Sleeping Worlds, La Cite Des Cloches, The Grid and Prankster's Paradise are arranged to make up a Hidden Mickey.

In the real world, Disney places s in many of its properties, including Disney theme parks and scenes in many Disney movies.

Gazing Eye
The Gazing Eye (見つめる目) is a blue eye with a cat-like iris which belongs to the Master of Masters. He placed it within his Keyblade, then asked Luxu to pass it down from apprentice to apprentice, eventually reaching Xehanort in order to have it observe its surroundings throughout the eons and pass those back to the Master in his own era. The eye itself is present in both forms of this Keyblade, Master Xehanort's Keyblade and Young Xehanort's Keyblade, while the symbol appears on the Keyblades or Keychain tokens of his other apprentices, the Foretellers, as well as those of Xehanort: Vanitas's Void Gear, Terra's Chaos Ripper and Darkgnaw, Riku's Soul Eater and Way to the Dawn, Riku and Sora's End of Pain, Ansem's dual Soul Eater polearm, and Zexion's illusory copy of the Soul Eater.

Character symbols


The Ultimania strategy guides use miscellaneous symbols not used anywhere else to represent certain important characters. Kairi's symbol is made of three small circles superimposed over a thin cross. Naminé is represented by a white flower superimposed over a black four-pointed star, and resembles Roxas's symbol. Both Donald and Goofy are represented by stylized crosses; Donald's is formed by four silhouettes of his mage's hat, while Goofy's seems to be based on the Hidden Mickey symbol on his shield. Jiminy Cricket and Pluto's symbols are X-shaped and formed by crossed silhouettes of umbrellas and bones, respectively. Ansem the Wise's symbol is based on the odd, squared cross shape formed by the front of DiZ's cloak. Pete is represented by a stylized silhouette of his own head, and Maleficent's symbol is a cross formed by four silhouettes of her horned hood.

Pete has an additional symbol, a coat of arms seen above his door to Timeless River. The coat of arms is a grayscale shield adorned by the same stylized symbol of Pete's head, two arms with closed fists along the top, a letter "P", a cigar, and another closed fist at its base. Vanitas's crest is depicted as two halves of a gear arranged in an "S" shape, and appears on his and Ventus's fused Dive to the Heart Station, as the Keychain token for both versions of the Void Gear, and on the portal that initiates the battle with the Vanitas Remnant.

Organization XIII weapon symbols


Each Organization XIII member has a symbol displaying a black silhouette of his or her exclusive weapon. For members that carry multiple weapons, such as Xaldin, only the silhouette of one weapon is shown. However, both of Roxas's Keyblades and three of Larxene's Knives are silhouetted on their personal panels. Xemnas is the only member whose primary weapons, the Interdiction Ethereal Blades, are not silhouetted. Instead, Xemnas is represented by the silhouette of the shield used by his dragon form.

The symbols are used like tombstones to represent each member in Proof of Existence and the Garden of Assemblage.

Additional world symbols
Whole Worlds are represented by simple symbols of their own that appear in the screen fade when transitioning from one room to the other in the appropriate World.

Compilations
Some important recurring symbols in the series are occasionally compiled into larger ones and used for a few specific events. A symbol from one of Naminé's drawings in the Old Mansion—a compilation of the Nobody, Heartless, and standard crown symbols—is used to gain access to Ansem the Wise's laboratory in the virtual Twilight Town. Two more compilations—one of the Nobody, Heartless, and "Other" symbols, the other of the standard crown and heart symbols, as well as the Nobody emblem and Roxas's zipper pull—are used in the Ultimania.

Uses in magic
The Trinity Limit circle is a compilation of small heart symbols, fleur-de-lis symbols, and Mickey Heads.

Notes and References
=Dream Eaters=

The Dream Eaters (ドリームイーター) are a species of creature introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. As their name suggests, they reside in the realm of sleep, where they consume dreams. Dream Eaters fall under two major categories, Nightmares (ナイトメア), which eat good dreams and plant bad ones, and Spirits (スピリット), which eat bad dreams. Nightmare Dream Eaters serve as the primary enemies in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, while Spirits serve as recruitable allies that Sora and Riku can collect, replacing party members and allies in the previous games.

Story
Following the defeat of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, at Sora's hands, a portion of the worlds attacked by the Heartless remain submerged in sleep. Yen Sid explains that though this means the Heartless cannot reach them, they are instead plagued by Dream Eaters, entities produced by the darkness present in these specific worlds and that seek the worlds' Keyholes. There are two kinds of Dream Eaters, benevolent Spirits and malevolent Nightmares, constantly in conflict with each other.

As part of their Mark of Mastery exam, Sora and Riku journey into the Sleeping Worlds to awaken them, recruiting Spirits to help them in their quest and battling and destroying Nightmares.

Shortly after Sora first meets Neku, the two of them are surrounded by Dream Eaters. Neku summons his own Dream Eater, a Necho Cat, and after the battle, he convinces Sora to partner with the Dream Eaters himself.

When Sora and Riku return to Traverse Town, they find that their companions have abandoned using Dream Eaters, and have instead simply banded together with their partners. They also find out that a powerful Nightmare, the Spellican, has been wreaking havoc on the city, and that the participants in the Reaper's Game are tasked with eliminating it. Sora and Riku manage to corner the Nightmare, but it summons several other powerful Nightmares as a diversion, allowing it to escape. Eventually, Mickey's actions in Symphony of Sorcery accidentally summon the Spellican, who takes control of Mickey and forces him to continually conduct music, causing chaos. However, Sora, with Riku's help, manages to reach the Spellican and defeat it.

Riku eventually makes his way to The World That Never Was, and finds himself face to face with Ansem, who reveals that Riku has been within Sora's own dreams from the beginning as a Dream Eater, in order to protect Sora from the machinations of the new Organization XIII. However, the Organization had already managed to force Sora into a deep sleep. After defeating Ansem and escaping to the real The World That Never Was, Riku finds himself at a dead end, unable to reach the Castle That Never Was, where Sora is trapped. He soon notices Sora's Meow Wow at the entrance to the castle, however, and uses the power of his own Komory Bat to forge a link between the Spirits and ride a Dreamline to the castle.

Following Young Xehanort's defeat at Riku's hands and Sora's rescue, they return to the Mysterious Tower, and Riku dives into Sora's dreams in order to wake him up. In order to defeat the Armored Ventus Nightmare, Riku absorbs the power of all his Spirits and wins in one final clash.

After Sora revives, and Riku is named Keyblade Master, Sora decides to visit the sleeping Traverse Town again, and he is reunited with all of his Spirit friends.

Design
Like the Unversed, Heartless, and Nobodies before them, the Dream Eaters come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and color schemes. Most Dream Eaters are designed after animals, and each Dream Eater is adorned with an emblem which signifies whether it is a Spirit or Nightmare.

Dream Eaters are characterized by colorful appearances. Nightmares tend to have darker color schemes, while Spirits have lighter, pastel colorations. Nightmares also tend to have round, red eyes which lack pupils, while those of Spirits are either yellow, blue, green or purple. A Spirit's eyes change color as its Disposition changes.

The symbol of the Spirit Dream Eater is present on the back of Riku's Sleeping Worlds outfit to symbolize his presence inside Sora's dreams, acting like a Dream Eater by vanquishing Nightmares, while the symbol of the Nightmare Dream Eater appears on the visor of Ventus's Keyblade Armor when it is possessed by a Nightmare with Sora inside it.

Nature
Dream Eaters exist primarily within the realm of sleep, feeding on the dreams and nightmares of those who sleep. The Nightmare Dream Eaters largely outnumber the Spirits, who only appear in small numbers to assist Sora and Riku.

Dream Eaters react to various forms of treatment, appearing to be happy when they are shown affection. It is possible to increase their affection with the Training Toys. Dream Eaters are able to share power with one another and with other beings in a variety of ways, via abilities like the Link System. Sora can utilize his companions in a combination attack, while Riku is able to harness their power to perform stronger attacks.

Each Spirit Dream Eater will have one of four Dispositions, unique to their species, and these Dispositions can be altered by boosting Affinity with the Spirits, or feeding it specific treats. After a Dream Eater's Disposition changes, its eyes change color, it utilizes different attacks and spells in a battle, and a new path may be formed on its Ability Link board.

Spirits can be customized with items such as Paint Guns, and can participate in mini-games such as Flick Rush.

List of Dream Eaters

 * Dream Eaters in italics appears only in Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
 * Dream Eaters in bold are bosses