The Pentagram
Symbol
The Pentagram symbol is a star encased in a circle. Always
with 5 points (one pointing upward), each has its own meaning.
The upward point of the star is representative of the spirit.
The other four points all represent an element; earth, air,
fire, and water. All these things contibutite to life and
are a part of each of us.
To wear a pentagram symbol
necklace or other form of jewelry, is to say you feel the
connection with the elements and respect the earth.
The number 5
The number 5 has always been
regarded as mystical and magical, yet essentially 'human'.
We have five fingers/toes on each limb extremity.We commonly
note five senses - sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste.
We perceive five stages or initiations in our lives - eg.birth,
adolescence, coitus, parenthood and death. (There are other
numbers / initiations / stages / attributions).
The number 5 is associated
with Mars. It signifies severity, conflict and harmony through
conflict. In Christianity, five were the wounds of Christ
on the cross. There are five pillars of the Muslim faith and
five daily times of prayer.
Five were the virtues of the
medieval knight - generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry
and piety as symbolised in the pentagram device of Sir Gawain.
The Wiccan Kiss is Fivefold - feet, knees, womb, breasts,
lips - Blessed be. The number 5 is prime. The simplest star
- the pentagram - requires five lines to draw and it is unicursal;
it is a continuous loop.
Human Stars
Expressing the saying Every
man and every woman is a star, we can juxtapose Man on a pentagram
symbol with head and four limbs at the pointsand the genitalia
exactly central. This is Man in microcosm,symbolising our
place in the Macrocosm or universe and the Hermetic /Tantric
philosophy of associativity as above, so below.
The Golden Proportion
The geometric proportions
of the regular pentagram symbol are those of the Golden Section.
The Golden Proportion is one beloved of artists sinceRenaissance
times and also to be found in post-Hellenic art and inthe
geomantic planning of Templar sites, being those proportions
of a rectangle considered most pleasing to the eye. Here,
the ratio of thelengths of the two sides is equal to the ratio
of the longer side to the sum of the two sides. Or :
a/b = b/a+b = a+b/a+2b = a+2b/2a+3b
= 2a+3b/3a+5b ....etc.
If a square is added to the
long side of a golden rectangle, a larger golden rectangle
is formed. Continuing this progression forms the basis for
a nautilus spiral. The ratio of the distance between two points
of a pentagram to its total width is in the golden proportion,
as is the ratio of the height above the horizontal bar to
that below, as is the ratio of a central part of a line to
the outer part.
This ratio forms the foundation
of the Fibonacci series of numbers 1,1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,
34, 55, 89, 144, etc. where each number is formed by adding
the previous two numbers. The Fibonacci series is much found
in nature in the pattern arrangement of flower heads and leaves
and many flower heads and fruits themselves exhibit a fivefold
symmetry.
Protection Against Evil
The pentagram has long been
believed to be a potent protection against evil, a symbol
of conflict that shields the wearer and the home. The pentagram
has five spiked wards and a womb shaped defensive, protective
pentagon at the centre.
Five Elements
Here are five elements, four
of matter (earth, air, fire and water) and THE quintessential
- spirit. These may be arrayed around the pentagrams points.
The word quintessential derives from this fifth element -
the spirit. Tracing a path around the pentagram, the elements
are placed in order of density - spirit (or aether). fire,
air, water, earth. Earth and fire are basal, fixed; air and
water are free, flowing.
The single point upwards signifies
the spirit ruling matter (mind ruling limbs); is a symbol
of rightness. With two points up and one (spirit) downwards,
subservient, the emphasis is on the carnal nature of Man.
Drawing A Pentagram Symbol
These point attributions are
used in ritually inscribing, as a flourish of the hands or
the athame, different forms of pentagram for invoking or banishing
(grounding) each of the elementals according to the nature
of the ritual. The line traces as illustrated for earth (the
last stroke is optional).
Another way of seeing this
path is as Man's spiritual journey through evolution. The
spark of Life descending from God, the divine source of life
to the simplest embryonic form (earth), rising to flow (water
- air) on our plane of existence (compare with the intonation
of the AUM mantra), then again descending to the fire of purification
before again rising as a divine spark to find again his spiritual
source.
The pentagram may be shown
as an interlaced line symbolic of the web-weaving power of
magick. The descending spirit-earth line may pass under (male)
or over (female) the water-air line to give two slightly differing
forms.
Open Pentagram
A pentagram may be open, without
a surrounding circle.This is the active form symbolising an
outgoing of oneself, prepared for conflict, aware, active.
(One wearing an open pentagram must be physically aware of
the danger of sharp points sticking in their skin from time
to time). As a pagan religious symbol, the open pentagram
represents an open, active approach.
Circled Pentagram
A circle around a pentagram
symbol contains and protects. The circle symbolises eternity
and infinity, the cycles of life and nature. The circle touching
all 5 points indicates that the spirit, earth, air, water
and fire are alll connected. The circled pentagram is the
passive form implying spiritual containment of the magic circle,
in keeping with the traditional secrecy of witchcraft, and
the personal, individual nature of the pagan religious path,
of its non-proselytising character.
Inverted Pentagram Symbol
The pentagram may be inverted
with one point down. The implication is of spirit subservient
to matter, of man subservient to his carnal desires. The inverted
pentagram has come to be seen by many pagans as representing
the dark side and it is abhored as an evil symbol. Fundamental
christians, indeed, see any form of pentagram as such. However,
these are recent developments and the inverted pentagram is
the symbol of Gardnerian second degree initiation, representing
the need of the witch to learn to face the darkness within
so that it may not later rise up to take control. The centre
of a pentagram implies a sixth formative element - love/will
which controls from within, ruling matter and spirit by Will
and the controlled magickal direction of sexual energies.
This is another lesson of initiation.
The Pentagram As A Christian
Symbol
Up until medieval times, the
five points of the pentagram represented the five wounds of
Christ on the Cross. It was a symbol of Christ the Saviour.
This is in stark contrast to today where the pentagram is
criticized by modern Fundamentalist Christians, as being a
symbol of evil.
The church eventually chose
the cross as a more significant symbol for Christianity, and
the use of the pentagram symbol as Christian, gradually ceased.
| Authors Details: Pentagram Symbol -
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Articles On The Pentagram
(Pentagram
- History)
(Pentagram
- Symbolic Meaning)
(The Pentagram
Symbol)
(The Pentacle)
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