The original symbol of the Twelve Colonies of Man showed the interconnectedness of the branches of humanity under common cause. It was created in the period following the Colonial Civil War. The white color represents the purity of the human spirit and the openness and trustworthiness of their intentions with other civilizations. The three triangles forming the larger triangle are the building blocks of human civilization; commerce, knowledge, and justice. They also represent the three suns that provide life giving energy for the twelve worlds of the human race. Together, these three triangles form one larger triangle which is the entire diverse population of the human race. This larger triangle is intersected by a double outline triangle. The inner line represents humanity's shared origin while the outer line stands for humanity's shared purpose which touches the circle surrounding these triangles, symbolizing the unity of mankind.
The new symbol of the United Human Empire is a play on the old symbol of the Twelve Colonies. The twelve points circumnavigating the circle represent the twelve worlds that were destroyed. The three large triangles that represented the building blocks of human civilization are divided to show the impact of the Thousand Yahren War and the Second Exodus and are broken into twelve pieces representing the twelve tribes of humanity. The three large triangles now stand for the three separate branches of humanity: the people of Earth, the people of Terra and the remnants of the Colonial civilization. The circle in the middle represents the new oneness of humanity that extends beyond the original Colonies and includes the other branches of the human race encountered in recent history. The omega sign represents the indomitable human spirit and that humanity will endure any adversity until the end of time. The shields represent eternal vigilance against threats. The swords stand for the ability to fight and defend what is ours and the scales represent the fairness and justice as the foundation for human society and its interactions with other species. The blood red color represents the pain and tremendous loss of life suffered by the human race and the new focus on warfare as a means of securing a prosperous and peaceful future.