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THE
PENTAGRAM
OR
PENTACLE!!
The Pentagram
The pentagram or five pointed star is an ancient Pagan symbol. (As
is the pentacle--which is a pentagram inscribed in a circle.) Its
history is probably
one of the oldest in the Craft, as historians know that the
Druids used the Pentagram in their rituals, and held it as a
sacred object. It is for this reason
that the pentagram has survived into Wicca as an object to
enccompass our belief system. The pentagram however is not simply
a pretty symbol. It
has very deep meanings,though it means different things to
different witches. I wear a pentagram daily, and when people ask
me what it means, I
often have a hard time choosing the definition. The pentagram is
a very powerful symbol, and understanding it can offer the student
great insight into hi or
her religion. The top point of the pentagram represent the
element of Spirit--it represent the ethereal, the everlasting,
and the immanence of the
Goddess. It represents our souls; it represents the parts of us
that are dedicated to Witchcraft, and dedicated to a spiritual
connection to the Earth
and to each other. It symbolizes spiritual love. All of the
remaining points of the pentagram relate to the human experience--our
lives as being purely
profane creatures, made of body and material. the entire
pentagram has been said to represent the human--the top poin the
head and the bottom four
the body. In a sense, this is true. The bottome four points will
be described below. The top left point of the pentagram
represents Earth. Earth is the
Mother element. It is that element that representrootedness. It
symbolizes security, growth, nourishment--all of the things that
the Earth Mother
provides for us. The elements Earth is what offers us the ability
to explore the spirit, because it gives us grounding. Without
Earth we would always
have our head in the clouds. Earth is represented by Coins/Pentacles
in the tarot deck. The top right point of the pentagram
represents Air.Air is the
element of the mind. It represents intuition, intelligence,
rationale. It is the element that allows us to exmine the spirit
and discove where it fits in our
lives. Without air, the element of Earth would have little use,
for though we are grounded in Earth, we are allowed to reason out
our spirits with Air.
Air is represented by Wands/Staves in the Tarot deck. The bottom
left point in the pentagram represents Fire. Fire is the element
of the loins. Fire
represents passion. It represents that part of us that wants to
overthrow reason, to lead by the horns, to plunge on without
thinking about our
actions. Fire is symbolic of adrenaline, of testosterone, of
brashness. Once we have progress past air and have analysed our
spirits and our paths in
life, fire allows us determine whether that analysis is right for
our lives. Fire is what allows us to say, "I don't care if
it makes sense, this is what I
believe. without fire, we could not perform magick, we could not
link ourselves to each other. Fire overrides the intellect. Fire
is represented by
Swords in the tarot deck. The last point, the bottom right, is
the element Water. Water represens the cycle of life: we came
from the watery dark of the
womb, and we return to watery tears of death. Water is the
element of emotion. Water is the element that validates our
existence as sentient beings,
because it allows us to have feelings, but not the brash,
unwarrented feelings of fire. Water is the emotion that comes
along with understanding
ourselves and each other after all else has been discovered.
Water is is pure love, pure joy, pure sadness, pure anger. Water
is not childish--it knows
why we feel the way we do. Water is the element that calms fire--it
it emotion with reason. Water is represented by Cups in the tarot
deck. {Note: This
is how I learned the position of the elements in the Craft.
Others may interpret the positions differently. All that really
matters is that the student
understand the esoteric significance of the pentagram.} When the
pentagram is inscribed ina circle--a pentagram--it unites all of
the aspects of man. It
unites the body with the mind, the spiritual with the profane. It
reminds us that we need all of our aspects to fulfill our lives
as human beings. It
reminds us also everything is a cycle--that we will not
experience joy without pain, but pain will again give way to joy.
When the pentacle is worn
right side up, it represent "spirit over the body".
This means that as witches, we recognize the importance of all
things, but when we get right down to
it, we strive to serve the spirit and not solely our bodies.
"An it harm none" means that serving the spirit may
mean sacrificing bodily pleasures, but if
we are serving the spirit, we can never harm. When the pentacle
is worn upside down in Satanism, it means "flesh over the
spirit", meaning, if it feels
good, do it, regardless of who you hurt. This symbol NEVER HAS
THIS MEANING IN WITCHCRAFT!! If a witch wears the pentacle
inverted, it means
that she is undergoing a period of introspection and self
discovery, and that she is going through the underworld to confront
her fears and demons and
conquer them. BLESSED BE!!!