What is "ashtar"

Ashtar may refer to:

• alternate spelling of Attar (god), an Ethiopian Aksumite god
• Malik al-Ashtar (c. 637-658), in Arabic history, a companion of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of Muhammad, and commander in some battles
• Ashtar (extraterrestrial being), an allegedly channeled alien with a flying saucer fleet that operates in the vicinity of Earth
• Ashtar, the Emperor of Darkness, an antagonist in the 1990 video game Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Ashtar (sometimes called Ashtar Sheran) is the name given to an extraterrestrial being or group of beings which some number of people claim to have channeled. UFO contactee George Van Tassel was the first to have claimed to have received a message, in 1952, from Ashtar. Since then many different claims about Ashtar have appeared in different contexts. The Ashtar movement is studied by academics as a prominent form of UFO religion.