Brigid Amor
The Pentagram
The pentagram is a five pointed star that is purported to date back to pre-babylonian Sumer around 3500 B.C.E. (Before Common Era- B.C.) The pentagram has been used by many different cultures throughout history including the Jews as the symbol of the Pentateuch (the 5 books of Moses) and Christians as a protective symbol. In ancient Greece, Pythagoras considered it a sacred symbol of harmony between the mind and body, making it a symbol of health. Later in Christianity, the pentacle was associated with the stigmata of Christ, or alternatively as Christ being both Alpha and Omega because it is closed and unending. In past, the pentagram has been called both the Druid?s Foot and Witches Star and has, in the last few centuries, become one of the integral symbols in the pagan tradition. Generally, in the pagan tradition, the pentagram symbolizes the 5 elements. The top point represents spirit, the upper left represents air, the upper right symbolizes water, earth is the lower left and the lower right is symbolic of fire.
The Pentacle
The pentacle is a five pointed star (pentagram) within the confines of a circle. Historically, beginning with Gnostic and Manichaean groups, the pentacle has represented the five elements with each of its points. It later used on tombstones by certain sects, on the famous "Abraxas" amulets, and within alchemy. Traditionally (and fairly mythically, as it is not prominent today), the "white magic"/"right hand path" pentacle would face up and be drawn beginning with a horiziontal stroke from left to right, a diagonal stroke to the lower left, and so forth. Conversely, the "black magic" /"left hand path" pentacle would be drawn upside down in an opposite fashion, often with a goat?s head inscribed within it. It is thus that the upside down pentacle has often been associated with satanic cults and the like in the last century. However, within paganism, the pentacle represents the elements and their inseparable connection. The pentacle, to us, is comprised of the pentagram within a circle because the circle represents the all consuming and unending power of magic around us as well as the sacredness and secrecy often associated with magical workings.
The Secondary Pentacle
Traditionally, as mentioned above, the secondary (upside down) pentacle has been representative of Satan and the darker side of magic. However, in some traditions, the secondary pentacle is meant to represent someone who is further along in their experience in the world of magic. The pentacle represents the first level, the secondary pentacle represents the second level and a ten pointed star (a combination of the aforementioned stars) represents the third and highest level attainable. Symbolically, the upside down pentacle represents the drawing of the spirit into the body or material. It is also sometimes used to represent a lack of power "above" (positive energy) , giving way to the power "below."
In the nineteenth century, the great denigriation of the seconday pentacle began. At this time, Alphonse Louis Constant (Eliphas Levi), a templar and former Catholic priest, stated that the secondary pentacle was to be considered to be satanic because it showed the idea of "matter over mind" or "matter over reason" because the top of point, symbolising spirit was below the cardinal elements. This idea was further built upon when Anton LaVey used the inverted pentagram within a circle, with a goat's head superimposed as the symbol for the famed "Church of Satan." This idea has plagued the image of the inverted pentacle for a long, long time and still does, causing it to be seen as a symbol of Satanism (which it sometimes is) and therefore a symbol of evil (which it is not.)
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