Here is an artistic imagination of an eight pointed yantra associated with Goddess Lakshmi.
She is venerated for wealth & prosperity and all aspects of material well being. Her consort is Vishnu, who is considered as the sustaining force of the creation. In the Vedic tradition, She is considered as the dynamic force, the feminine principle behind the masculine principle of Vishnu. While these aspects find its own relevance for those engaged in samsara , for the yogis and seekers of the beyond, Lakshmi and Vishnu take up the form of the vibrant ever-changing creation and the unchanging, ever present ultimate reality. Another thing is, once you are in tune with either of these forces, at one point they both manifest as the same ultimate reality.
In the Yantra, the very center is represented by a bindu, a dot. This is where the presiding deity the yantra is considered to reside. Everything emanates from this point. So, in the artwork,there are 16 animals including the man or woman, elephant, tiger, cat, 2 dogs , cobra, 2 cranes, flamingo, turtle head, fish, myna or crow, horse, buffalo and wild boar.Not all but few represent certain strong tendencies or vasanas & they also represent the outer changing creation too. When we move from the outer space into the bindu, it signifies the transcendence of animal nature. You align with the deity. Now this path is called Lakshmi Tantra.
