 |
The Pentagram.
<<< Back
|
|
| |
The Pentagram and Pentacle
are commonly the most famous symbols of Witchcraft, and are
symbolic of the power of Spirit as the overriding power controlling
elements. As the cross is to Christianity and the six-pointed
star to Judaism, so the pentagram is a symbol of the magickal
craft of Witchcraft.
|
|
| |
|
The Pentagram
is an image of an up-right five-pointed star (single point on
top) drawn inside a circle with a single continuous line making
the five points equally spaced. To a witch or magician the pentagram
image is symbolic of the mysteries of creation. As such for
use in rites and rituals, the image is commonly drawn, etched,
carved or inscribed onto a round disc called a Pentacle. A pentacle
can be made from a variety of materials such as: wood, clay,
copper, brass, silver or gold, and is placed centrally on the
altar as a focus of attention. Magically they are used in rites
and rituals for consecration, evocation, transformation and
banishment. |
|
| |
Many witches make their own pentacles, which can be as plain
or ornate as they choose. They can be decorated with pieces
of stained coloured glass; stones or gems with due regard to
their correspondences, or personalized by adding appropriate
symbols, runes and sigils that have special meaning to the practitioner.
By doing so, many are designed and used for a particular purpose
or intent. Many people wear a pentacle pendant or ring as a
sign of their interest in occult and spiritual matters. Many
also wear them as specially charged amulets or talismans. For
instance a pentacle crafted from silver may represent the Moon’s
female energies and psychic forces, the same made in gold may
represent the Sun’s male energies of power and strength.
During ritual and magical workings, the pentagram is often symbolically
drawn in the air using the athame or sword, this is done to
either invoke or banish specific energies. Traditionally four
of the five points of the pentagram has been attributed to the
four sacred elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, with the fifth
point (uppermost) representing Spirit:
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
The Inverted Pentagram:
To those who do not
know the true symbolism of the witch’s pentagram (single
point on top), sadly and most often it is associated or confused
with the Satanic pentagram, the inverted pentagram (single point
down). Given that the up-right pentagram represents Spirit,
or Deities control over the elements, then the inverted pentagram
is said to represent Satan and Chaos. Commonly today the inverted
pentagram is depicted with a goat’s head, a symbol adopted
and made popular by Anton Szandor La Vey when in 1966 he founded
the Church of Satan in San Francisco. This he most probably
took from a description made by Eliphas Levi in his book “The
Key of Great Mysteries”. In it, Levi describes the inverted
pentagram as representing the horns of a goat of the Witches
sabbat:
“It is the goat of lust attacking the Heavens with its
horns. It is the sign execrated by the initiates of a superior
rank, even at the sabbat,” say’s Levi.
The inverted pentagram has also been used to represents a second-degree
status of rank in some traditional groups of witchcraft. However,
due to its association with Satanism and black magic, many traditions
have since substituted other symbols, such as the triangle to
represent the same degrees.
|
|
| |
The pentagram
through history. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
