Pentagram Wearers ..... Sur5r

A LOOK SEE AT WHAT WE ARE SYMBOLIZING WHEN WEARING A PENTAGRAM:



THE PENTAGRAM has existed for thousands of years. Its first usage has been dated back to about 3500 B.C.E. in Ancient Mesopotamia where it was used by rulers as a symbol indicating that their power spread to the Four Corners of the World. 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 center.



THE PENTAGRAM is a very widespread sacred symbol used since ancient times in many areas including Egypt, India, Persia and Greece. Almost all cultures had a five-fold symbol, which was very important to their religious and spiritual life. The sacred nature of five, the important nature of "five-ness" is amply attested to in Celtic Tradition from which much of modern Paganism is derived. Five appears in numerous Celtic Contexts: Ireland had five great roads, five provinces and five paths of the law. The fairy folk counted by fives, and the mythological figures wore five fold cloaks.



IN SPITE OF THIS difficult history, the symbol has survived, and continues to be used by those who uphold the search for Divine Knowledge. The sacred pentagram maintains its many wonderful and magickal ancient attributes and is still the symbol of life it has always been. The origins of the pentagram go back to remotest historical antiquity. As far back as pre-Babylonian Sumer, it has been venerated by many civilizations.

~~ It was used by the Hebrews, being ascribed to Truth and to the five books of the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses. It has survived under a variety of titles, such as "The Druid's Root" and "The Witches Star". It is sometimes called the Seal of Solomon (although the Star of David is more usually called this.)

~~ It was a very important symbol to the followers of Pythagoras (586-506 BC) in ancient Greece.

~~ Early Christians attributed the pentagram to the Five Wounds of Christ and from then until medieval times, it was a lesser-used Christian symbol. For example, the Emperor Constantine I, after gaining the help of the Christian church in his military and religious takeover of the Roman Empire in 312 AD, used the pentagram, together with the chi-rho symbol, in his seal and amulet. Prior to the time of the Inquisition, there were no 'evil' associations to the pentagram.

~~ In Medieval times, the 'Endless Knot' was a symbol of Truth and was a protection against demons. It was used as an amulet of personal protection and to guard windows and doors.



THE PENTAGRAM IS A SYMBOL of 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 necklace or other form of jewelry, is to say you feel the connection with the elements and respect the earth.



THE NUMBER FIVE 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.

~~ 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 symbolized 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.



HERE ARE FIVE ELEMENTS, four of matter (earth, air, fire and water) and THE quintessential - spirit. These may be arrayed around the pentagram 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. 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.

~~ EARTH: (lower left hand corner) represents stability and physical endurance.

~~ FIRE: (lower right hand corner) represents courage and daring.

~~ WATER: (upper right hand corner) represents emotions and intuition.

~~ AIR: (upper left hand corner) represents intelligence and the arts.

~~ SPIRIT: (at the topmost point) represents the All and the Divine.



OPEN PENTAGRAM:

A pentagram may be open, without a surrounding circle. This is the active form symbolizing 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 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:

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 center 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 Eastern Star uses the pentagram as it's symbol, and up-side down. The Eastern Star are not devil worshipers, either. They're the women's group/reflection of the Masons, which require a belief in God, etc. They're international and are known for their humanitarianism.



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 as a Christian symbol gradually ceased.

"Christian mystics made the pentagram an emblem of Jesus, who divided five loaves to feed five thousand people and who represents the archepytal man (with five senses and five fingers to each hand.) Its esoteric connection with the crucified man is given further point by the fact that the square on the height of a five pointed star, contained in a pentagon with side measuring one unit, is equal to 2.368 square units. 2368 being the number of Jesus Christ." (The Dimensions of Paradise, John Michell.)



Information gathered from Books of Shadows in My Ancestral Tradition, and from other resource books of an historical events found at Public Libraries.

Show all stories by   Author:  3835 ( Click here )