Friday, April 13, 2012

The Pentagram

The Pentagram of the Witches is a five-pointed star formed by five straight lines, and encased in a circle, with one point upwards. The five points of the pentagram represent the five elements. The crowning point represents Spirit, and continuing in clockwise order, the remaining points symbolize Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. The circle is related to the magic circle of Power, and connects all of the elements together, all of which is under the dominion of Spirit.

When inscribed on a disk, it represents the Pentacle, or ritual tool of Earth. Small silver Pentagrams are favorite amulets of Witches, and are often worn as ritual jewelry.

The first known uses of the pentagram are found in Mesopotamian writings dating to about 3000 BC. The Sumerian pentagrams served as pictograms for the word "UB" meaning "corner, angle, nook; a small room, cavity, hole; pitfall".

The Pentagram is a very ancient magic sigil, and has been used by many groups under many names. Among the names are: Pentalpha (the five A's of Pythagoras), the Endless Knot, the Eastern Star (used in Masonry, and the star the Magi followed in Biblical myth), the Star of Knowledge, the Seal of the Templars, the Seal of Solomon (although this is a misattribution, as Solomon's Seal is actually a six-pointed star), the Pentagrammaton (or "the five letter word": YHShVH, the ineffable name of the God of the Hebrews when coupled with the Shekinah), the Goat of Mendes, the Seal of the Microcosm, Gawain's Garter (Gawain used this symbol on his escutcheon after defeating the Green Knight) the Witch's Foot, and the Goblin Cross.  Christians once used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Jesus.

The inverted pentagram represents Spirit triumphed by Matter, and is used as a symbol for the second degree in some traditions of Witchcraft.

The planet Venus traces a pentagram in the sky every 584 days, and the pentagram's associations with this planet – the morning star and the evening star – form some of the earliest stellar lore.

Cutting an apple in half reveals a pentagram within, formed by the seed cavities.  The apple blossom is five-petaled, as is the rowan, and the rose, all of which are associated with Witchcraft and magic.

The Pentagram is used magically as a portal.

2 comments:

  1. Shared on my FB page. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a been doing research on the Eastern Star pentacle due to my family members having been members. Interesting post, thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...