pentagrams

The word pentagram comes from the Greek: "Pente which denote five (as in Pentagon). Gamma means a letter. Thus, pentagram refers to a five pointed star, or "any figure of five lines." It is most often used to refer to a symmetrical, five pointed star, with equal sides, drawn either with a single line or with two closely spaced parallel lines. Their overall shape is like the decoration on the top of many Christmas trees.An upright pentagram is a 5 pointed star with one point aligned upwards. An inverted pentagram is a 5 pointed star with one point aligned downwards as we will cover. An upright pentacle is generally defined as an upright pentagram surrounded by a circle, as is shown in the following icon. A pentacle is without the circle as shown below. Expressing the saying Every man and every woman is a star, we can juxtapose Man on a pentagram with head and four limbs at the points and the genitalia exactly central. This is Man in microcosm, symbolising our place in the Macrocosm or universe. Other names for the pentagram include: The Devil's Star, The Witches Foot, and The Goblins Cross and the one on the end is the covofgodess.

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Upright Pentacle/Pentagram

Upright pentacles and pentagrams are among the most widely used religious symbols. They have been used in many eras and by many cultures and religions of the world: by ancient Pagans, ancient Israelites, Professing Christians, magicians, Wiccans and others.

This symbol apparently originated as the symbol of a Goddess who was worshiped over an area, which extends from present-day England to Egypt and beyond. Her name was Kore (a.k.a. Car, Cara, Carnac, Ceres, Core, Kar, Karnak, Kaur, Kauri, Ker, Kerma, Kher, Kore, Q're, etc.). As Carmenta she was said to have invented the Roman alphabet. From her alternate Roman name Ceres have evolved many English words: cardiac, carnal, cereal, core, corn, and kernel. The port of Caraalis, (now Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia), was named after her. Kore's sacred fruit is the apple, and when an apple is cut through its equator, both halves will reveal a near-perfect pentagram shape at the core, with each point on the star containing a seed. Many Wiccans, other Neopagans and Roma (Gypsies) continue to cut apples in this way. The Roma (Areas in The Sudan, northeast Africa, and what is now Zimbabwe.) refer to the core as the Star of Knowledge. Thus the custom in America of the student giving the teacher an apple.

Pythagoras (582?-500? BC), Greek philosopher and mathematician, whose doctrines strongly influenced Plato. Born on the island of Sámos, Pythagoras was instructed in the teachings of the early Ionian philosophers Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. Pythagoras is said to have been driven from Sámos by his disgust for the tyranny of Polycrates. About 530 BC Pythagoras settled in Crotona, a Greek colony in southern Italy, where he founded a movement with religious, political, and philosophical aims, known as Pythagoreanism. The philosophy of Pythagoras is known only through the work of his disciples. Basic Doctrines The Pythagoreans adhered to certain mysteries, similar in many respects to the Orphic mysteries (see Mysteries; Orphism). Obedience and silence, abstinence from food, simplicity in dress and possessions, and the habit of frequent self-examination were prescribed. The Pythagoreans believed in immortality and in the transmigration of souls. Pythagoras himself was said to have claimed that he had been Euphorbus, a warrior in the Trojan War, and that he had been permitted to bring into his earthly life the memory of all his previous existences. "Pythagoras," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

It is said that after the Pythagoreans were driven underground, his followers used the pentagram as a secret sign to identify themselves to each other. The Masonic Order has traditionally traced its origins back 2,500 years to the Pythagoreans. During the times of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), the pentacle was the first and most important of the Seven Seals - an amulet whose seals represented the seven secret names of God. It was inscribed on King Solomon's ring, which is often called Solomon's Seal in error as the real seal of Solomon is in fact what is called the Star of David today. Each point of the pentagram was also interpreted as referring to the five books of the Pentateuch - the first five books in the Hebrew Scriptures; the Torah.

Magicians also use the pentagram as a part of the Solomon Lamen (Seal of Solomon), which is composed of three sigils: the Pentagram, the Hexagram and the Secret Seal (a Mercurial symbol). In this lamen, worn as a necklace by the magician when invoking spirits, the pentagram is used to open a doorway to spiritual forces. The words on the seal have the following meaning: Abdia - I conjure thee in secret, O Spirit! Ballaton - Come forth from thy abode and speak clearly in my speech. Bellony - Put forth thy might and discover unto me the knowledge and power in thy keep. Halliy - Answer in the inward silence all of my questions without fail. Halliza - Assume and show forth unto me thy form of divine perfection. Soluzen - Open unto me thy secret door and fulfill me of my purpose!

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As noted above, the pentagram was used by the Hebrews, and was sometimes called the seal of Solomon. More specifically, the pentagram was used as the seal of the City of Jerusalem. The image opposite shows a fragment of a 4th Century BC jar handle with a seal impression of a pentagram with the hebrew letters YRSLM (Jerusalem). It is interesting to speculate on whether the Templars, with their intimate connection with the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, adopted the pentagram as a core symbol of their order. Roman Emperor Constantine I, after his defeat of Maxentius and the issuance of the Edict of Milan in 312CE, ascribed his success to his conversion to Christianity (The Catholic Church) and incorporated the pentagram, one point down, into his seal and amulet as you can see from the picture on the extream right above.

The Celts:
Our earliest archaeological evidence of the Celts originates from what is now France and western Germany. It dates back to the Bronze age, around 1200 BC. They probably began to settle in the British Isles during the Iron Age (8th century to 6th century BC), while between the 5th and 1st centuries BC, their influence extended from what is now Spain and the shores of the Black Sea. In the 4th century BC, the Celts invaded the lands of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and were able to conquer northern Italy, Macedonia and Thessalia.

The supreme god of the Celts was Lug, who gave his name to this city of Lyons ("Lugundum" in Latin). Taranis, or Dagada as he was known in Ireland, was the god of the spiritual world. Ogomis, the god of warriors and kingship, was said to have a face which smiled to the right but glowered on the left. Fertility gods and goddesses were abound in Celtic tradition, including Cernunos the Antlered, who was also the god of the untamed forces of nature, and Bridget, the patroness of fire. He was often depicted as being surrounded by deer, serpents and other woodland creatures. A number of animals were seen as sacred by the Celts, including the wild boar. In Gaul, the hunting and killing of the boar stood for the mortal running the spiritual to ground. The Celts believed that the pentacle was the sign of the Goddess of the Underground, who they called Morgan (a.k.a. Morrigan). The concept of five points seems to have permeated at least one of the Celtic lands. "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."

Tarot cards:
Tarot cards originally had a suit of coins or discs. These were changed in the 19^th century to pentacles when the Tarot became associated with the Kabbalah. They eventually became the suit of diamonds in modern playing cards. It has been widely used by past Christians as a protective amulet. During the burning era when the Catholic church burned alive hundreds of thousands of innocent people, the meaning of the pentagram changed. It began to symbolize a goat's head or the devil in the form of Baphomet. "The folk-symbol of security - for the first time in history - was equated with evil and was called the Witch's Foot. Many religious and spiritual groups use the pentacle or pentagram today. Check out the Tarot card titled "The Skeptic" and note what is on his head, as well as the demons around him and notice the 666 at his feet. The other two reflect the Baphomet, and notice the snakes around the post on the other. In every case there are demons around. Also notice that the card to the far right has a cross. Is this a Christian pagan card? If you would like to learn more about the true history of the cross see ...Cross

Some religious and spiritual groups have used the inverted pentacle. During the 20th century, Satanists inverted the upright pentacle and adopted it as their own symbol. However, the symbol is most commonly shown with the head of a goat within the pentagram as shown below.

The inverted pentacle with a goat's head is called the sigil of Baphomet. The term may have come from two Greek words, baphe and metis, meaning "absorption of knowledge." It has also been called the Black Goat, Devil's Goat, Goat Head, Goat of Mendes, and Judas Goat. Its first appearance appears to have been during the vicious interrogation of members of the Knights Templar by the Christian Inquisition. There was little consensus among different victims' descriptions of the Baphomet. It can probably be safely assumed that their description of the Baphomet is more a product of the Inquisition's torture methods than of any actual statue that was in use by the Knights.

"In the 20th. century Karl Kellner and other German occultists formed the secret order of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis or Order of Templars in the East). They installed the English occultist Aleister Crowley to head their British section. Crowley took Baphomet as his magical name."

Today, the Baphomet is widely used by religious Satanists. The Church of Satan also uses a second symbol which is an infinity sign (a figure 8 on its side). A Roman cross is placed on top with a second, longer cross piece added beneath the top cross piece.

Some interesting meanings of Pentacles/Pentagrams to their users

Wiccans have attempted to reconstruct a Pagan religion similar to that of the ancient Celts. They have adopted the upright pentacle/pentagram, since it was the symbol of Morgan, an ancient Celtic goddess. Many wear it as jewelry and use it on their altars. The symbol is frequently traced by hand using an athame (a ritual knife) during Wiccan rituals. It is used to cast and banish their healing circles. Some Wiccans interpret the five points as representing earth, air, fire, water, and spirit -- the five factors needed to sustain life. Others relate the points to the four directions and spirit. Some Wiccans and other Neopagans bless themselves and others with the sign of the pentagram. Their hand passes from their forehead to one hip, up to the opposite shoulder, across to the other shoulder, down to the opposite hip and back to the forehead. Some of the more highly structured Wiccan traditions have used an inverted pentagram to represent a second or third degree status. Many of these groups have since substituted a triangle form for the same degrees because they are trying to disassociate themselves with the inverted form of the pentacle with Satanism and black magic.

Ceremonial magicians also use the pentagram. Its points can "represent various elemental energies, spirits or deities."

The Order of the Eastern Star is a international humanitarian organization composed of women who are wives of advanced Masons. They use an inverted pentacle as their symbol. Essentially all Eastern Star members in North America are professing Christians.

The Masonic Order associate the five points of the pentagram with "Five Points of Fellowship." However, its "use in Masonry is vestigial and peripheral." Again, almost all Masons in North America are Christians.

It may or may not be their intent but the highest decoration for valor in the United States is the Medal of Honor, which is an inverted pentagram.

The Police also use it as their badge and the very defination of a badge is..."A special or distinctive mark, or device worn as a sign of allegiance, and authority.

The Babylonians inscribed pentagrams on pots as a preservative amulet.

Five-pointed stars are found in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, and also in that of the Christian early Middle Ages. There seems to have been no single tradition concerning their meaning and use, and in many contexts they seem simply to have been decorative.

It was in the twelfth century Renaissance period that Honorius of Autun and Hildegard of Bingen asserted that the human body was constructed upon the basis of the number five and related it to a pentagram. They pointed out that the human body had five members, five senses, and five figures. This belief that the pentagram was a symbol of the micro cosmos developed into a belief that it was a magickal symbol.

The pentagram is not only found on these gravestones of the Knights Templars. The facade of the nearby Church of Santa Maria do Olival (which houses the famous pantheon where 22 Master Templars were buried) is marked by a pentagram counterpoised on an enormous rosette. In a guide book, this sign is called the "Signum Salmonis, the true mark of the Knights Templars". The pentagram is also found on other buildings of a religious or semi-religious nature in Portugal. The Pentragram and the Templars Although, as we have seen, the pentagram is a universal symbol, with many meanings and associations, it is interesting to speculate on the connections of this symbol to the Templars, their predecessors and successors. Did the Templars use it purely as a Christian symbol, or was there a more specific connection to the order? Was the Pythagorean meaning of the figure important to them? Was the connection of the symbol with Jerusalem and Solomon significant? Did the hermetic movements of the rennaisance, the freemasons and rosicrucians inherit this symbol from the Templars? We'll probably never know, but it is interesting to speculate!

The Rosicrucian movement consists of groups of Christian mystics. They frequently use a wand, sword, cup and pentagram as tools during their rituals. The pentagram represents "earth, matter and stability."

Many Professing Christians today accept the pagan Cross as well as the pagan Pentagrams. They place it on top of their pagon Christmas trees, and some even place it above what they claim to be the baby Jesus. The five points of the pentagram have been interpreted as representing the five wounds of Christ (2 wrist, 2 ankle and 1 side). It was a symbol of Christ the Savior. The Catholic church eventually chose the cross as a more significant symbol for Christianity, and the use of the pentagram as a Christian symbol gradually ceased. It has been referred to as the Star of Bethlehem. It was used to symbolize the star which allegedly led three wise men to the baby Jesus; it was called the Three Kings' star. The English warrior Sir Gawain, a nephew of King Arthur, adopted the pentagram as his personal symbol and placed it on his shield. It appeared in gold on a red background. The five points symbolized "the five knightly virtues - generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry and piety."

It would benefit all Christians to read their Bibles, and remember what the creator God, whom they profess to follow, had to say about Satan. (See Name Meanings of Satan and the Scriptures below.)

Name Meanings of Satan and the Scriptures.
Satan Adversary/ Opposer Zechariah 3:1; Matthew 4:10; Revelation 12:9, 20:2 Devil and Slanderer Matthew 4:1; Ephesians 4:27 Evil One = Intrinsically evil John 17:15; I John 5:18,19 Serpent = Craftiness Genesis 3:1, 2 Corinthians 11:3 Dragon = Fierce nature Revelation 12:3,7,9 Apollyon = Destroyer Revelation 9:11 Enemy = Opponent I Peter 5:8 Accuser of the Brothers = Opposes believers before God Revelation 12:10 Tempter = Entices people to sin Matthew 4:3; I Thessalonians 3:5 Prince of this World = Rules in world system John 12:31 Beelzebub = Chief of the demons Luke 11:15 Belial = Worthlessness/Wickedness 2 Corinthians 6:15 God of the Age = Controls philosophy of world 2 Corinthians 4:4 Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air = Control of unbelievers by brodcasting thoughts. Ephesians 2:2 Father of Lies = Perverts the truth John 8:44 Murderer = Leads people to eternal death John 8:44 Angel of Light, means Satan's ministers appears as a Christian but leads people into a false church, and pagan rituals. 2 Corinthians 11:14