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The Meaning of the Pentacle

© Myrrha

The Meaning of the Pentacle

I've been amused more than once by the looks and comments made by various individuals when they see that I wear a pentacle openly on a chain around my neck. As i understand it, to many people it symbolizes satanic worship or involvement in some way with evil or black magick. That is the furthest thing from the truth. My spiritual and religious pursuits are life affirming. I looked into the history of the pentacle and found it to have had many diverse meanings in the past.

Before I share what I found, I thought I'd define a few words. A pentagram is a five-pointed star. A pentacle is pentacle in an closed circle. The latter is an item of regalia on a Wikkan altar, the former is the subject of this discussion. My primary reference for the information I gathered was The Dictionary of Symbolism by Hans Brierderman. I'm sure more detailed info can be found by much deeper study.

A symbol for Hygeia, the Goddess of health , the pentacle was also used by Pythagoras to symbolize harmony of body and mind and thus, health. For Gnostic and Manchurian sects the five points of the star represented light, earth, air, fire, and water. In modern Paganism, it represents the same concepts but spirit takes the place of light. Later in the early Christian period it was the symbol by which the undercurrent of gnosticism was recognized. Perhaps this is the root of the stigma it bears today. It's common knowledge that when one culture conquers another, the deities of the oppressed culture become the demons eschewed by the ruling culture. The pentacle has also been the symbol by which white and black magicks are recognized, the inverted pent representing the black arts. However, in Europe today it is not uncommon for pagans to wear an inverted pentacle with it bearing no reference to satanism or black magick. In Christian iconography the five-pointed star at one time represented the five stigmata of Christ. To the Etruscans it represented all the stars in heaven. In the middle ages this icon held apotr0paic (evil-banishing) significance. And finally you'll recognize the free mason symbol of the blazingg star.

So as you can see there are many meanings this misunderstood symbol has carried with it. More of them have been good than bad. A symbol has meaning primarily to the wearer and therefore one should learn the meaning that the bearer is influenced by before one allows one's prejudices to condemn an individual. We have many dividing factors and stereotypes and hatreds in the American culture that could easily be dispelled by a little education and a lot of understanding.