Symbols in the Kingdom Hearts series

This is beautifully done, ShardofTruth, your eye for detail is absolutely extraordinary. -- 02:15, July 31, 2010 (UTC)
 * There's some spellchecking to do, but yeah, this is amazing.
 * By the way, the world symbols, with color added, are what the guide uses as the Gummi Route symbols. Glorious  CHAOS!  02:54, July 31, 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for kind words and the understatement, I know that my English is absolute horrible and in now way sufficient for a written article.;-)
 * There are still some symbols to be added. If you want to use the colored world symbols for the gummi route template, just say so, I'll will upload them. --ShardofTruth 10:37, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

Draft with written sections
The Kingdom Hearts 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.

Main Symbols with importance to the story
Heart

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 manifests 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.

Additionally every keyblade releases a unique star when hitting an object or enemy.

Minor Symbols with no impact on the story (yet)
Fleur-de-lis

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 Winning Medallion, and other weapons, such as the Dream Sword. King Mickey uses the symbol to seal all of his official letters.

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

Other Character Symbols which are not seen ingame, but in the Ultimania
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. 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.

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 the World of Nothingness.

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. 100 Acre Wood is represented by one of Winnie the Pooh's honey pots. Genie's magic lamp not only represents Agrabah and the Ancient Highway, but is also the Keychain token of a few Keyblades. The Beast's rose represents his castle, Stardust Sweep, and is also featured in Belle's Dive to the Heart Station and the Keychain tokens of a few Keyblades. Cinderella's glass slipper represents the Castle of Dreams and is the token of the Stroke of Midnight.

Deep Space is represented by Stitch's paw print, the Dwarf Woodlands are represented by one of the Queen's poisoned apples, and the Enchanted Dominion is represented by a book with some of Maleficent's thorns coiling around it. A pumpkin symbolizes Halloween Town and is the Pumpkinhead's Keychain token. Yen Sid's magical sorcerer's hat represents his Mysterious Tower. Neverland is represented by two different symbols; the feather from [[Peter Pan's hat—which is also the token of a few Keyblades—and Skull Rock in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Port Royal and the Floating Island are represented by a skull and crossbones, a symbol commonly associated with pirates. The Pride Lands and Sunlight Storm are both represented by Rafiki's cave painting of a young Simba, and a different version of the symbol is the Circle of Life's Keychain token.

Tron's Identity Disc is the Keychain token of the Photon Debugger and the symbol of Space Paranoids. The Land of Dragons and Asteroid Sweep are represented by a generic Chinese pattern, which also appears on several Heartless in the World. Wonderland is represented by a spade, one of the four suits of cards, which also appear on the Card of Spades and the Lady Luck. System Sectors are represented by the Bug Blox corrupting them. The Realm of Darkness is symbolized by a swirl of darkness.

Olympus Coliseum's symbol—a cloud with a lightning bolt striking from it, a reference to Zeus—appears on many different objects. It appears on the Phantom Storm Gummi Course, the Olympus Stone, Herc's Shield, and is the Keychain token of all three Keyblades that are obtained in the World; Olympia, Hero's Crest, and Mark of a Hero.

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. The Trinity Limit circle is a compilation of small heart symbols, fleur-de-lis symbols, and Hidden Mickeys. Two more compilations—one of the Nobody, Heartless, and Somebody 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.