Although the animation commands only animate a single element or group, it can have a much greater effect via use:
<defs> <path id="star" style="fill:white;stroke:none" d="M0,-14 L8,11 L-13,-4 L13,-4 -8,11z"> <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="rotate" values="0;360" dur="3s" repeatCount="indefinite" /> </path> </defs> <use xlink:href="#star" x="60" y="30"/> etc
Animating a star that is going to be used many times means that all the stars are animated with the single animateTransform command.