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The following posts will be the entirity of two articles on the Pentacle. I hope people enjoy them.

The Witches Pentacle
by Sharynne NicMacha

The Pentacle, the symbol of Witchcraft, is a bold and fascinating statement about our place in the Universe. The pentagram represents an ancient concept that can be found in philosophical thought in both East and West. Although over 8,000 years old, the image of the pentagram is applicable in our modern world. The pentagram tells us that we have the ability to bring Spirit to Earth; this applies to every area of practical day-to-day living, as well as spiritual thought. The ability of bringing Spirit to Earth is what makes us whole.

THE STAR OF LIFE


A Historical and spiritual history of the Pentagram
by Sharynne NicMacha

Imagine the perfect apple, ripe and bursting with life. Sliced in half, it reveals a beautiful five-point symmetry-a star formed by the seeds inside. In fact, each of these five seeds may be seen to contain a symbolism of its own mirroring the spiritual aspects of this universal symbol: idea, sustenance, life, secret knowledge and the hidden mysteries within the earth. Why has this beautiful and potent emblem, the five-pointed star or pentagram, become such a misunderstood and stigmatized symbol in these times of re-emerging enlightenment?

In the tale of Adam and Eve, the apple signified hidden knowledge which was forbidden to human kind. Other early cultures encouraged holy and learned persons in their search for divine wisdom. For example, the Vedas state that the universe and ourselves are One, and that by realizing this and tapping into that Universal energy and state, we achieve wholeness and bliss. These concepts were known to many ancient civilizations. For most of the western culture, sacred knowledge was designated as the right of the One Deity only., It was considered heretical to study the Divine workings of the Universe. The apple signified that which we should not attempt to know, and many attempts over the centuries to obtain knowledge of the Universe (and therefore, ourselves) were suppressed. The pentagram in its modern guise as the pentacle was also a target of this subjugation.

For modern-day Pagans, the Pentacle contains many wonderful layers of symbolism. The five points symbolize the four directions with the fifth point as the sanctity of Spirit, within and without. The circle around the star symbolizes unity and wholeness. It represents the quest for Divine Knowledge, a concept which is ancient in origin and universal in scope from the earliest written ritual texts in Babylonia, to the Celts, to the Native American traditions. Similar to other figures which are made of a single unbroken line, this symbol is used to mark off magical enclosures or ritual areas, especially when used for invocation of deities or spirit.

The pentagram is one of the most powerful and popular symbols used by many Neo-Pagans, including those involved in Wicca and Ceremonial Magic. In working magic, Pagans may draw the shape of the pentagram in the air with the athame, or sacred blade, sometimes in the four directions as part of the ritual. A physical pentacle in the form of a flat disc is often the a main feature of the altar and is a widely used ritual tool. The symbol is used to decorate magickal tools or items such as a chalice, cauldron, or the handle of the athame itself. For some it represents feminine energy relating to the Goddess and may be used to bind elemental spirits of the earth as well as to hold consecrated objects such as herbs, amulets and crystals. The spoken or chanted text of a spell or invocation may be repeated five times to help insure its effectiveness. (3, 5, 7, 9 and 13 being some of the most commonly used repetitions in this context). The pentacle is worn both ornamentally and symbolically by many Pagans for protection and to signify that they are involved in the world of magick and divine wisdom.

It is interesting to note that five-fold symmetries are rarely found in non-organic life forms but are uniquely inherent to life, as in the form of the human hand, a starfish, flowers, plants and many other living things. This pattern of five exists even down to a molecular level. Five, therefore, embodies the form and formation of life, the very essence of life.

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 the ancient Irish tale, "Cormac's Cup of Gold", the hero "saw a royal fortress with four houses in it, and a bright well with nine ancient hazels growing over it. In the well, were five salmon who ate the nuts that dropped from the purple hazels, and sent the husks floating down the five streams that flowed therefrom. The sound of the streams was the sweetest music...The spring was the Well of Knowledge, and the five streams the five senses through which knowledge is obtained. No one will have knowledge who drinks not a draught out of the well itself or out of the streams. Those who are skilled in many arts drink from both the well and the streams."

In another part of the world, around 500 B.C.E.(Before Current Era) lived Pythagoras, an unparalleled scholar, teacher and leader renowned for his knowledge of arithmetic, music, government and sacred geometry. He tapped into the divine mysteries, and, like the ancient Celts, (and many Neo-Pagans) learned from and existed comfortably between both worlds.

Pythagoras set up a school where he taught many people, both male and female, who flocked to him in pursuit of divine knowledge. Unfortunately, the school was suppressed in a brutal fashion for political reasons. After this, his followers and the knowledge itself were forced underground, Pythagoreans considered the five-pointed star to be a symbol of life and of the divine human. Therefore, it became the secret sign of the pythagorean followers, "so that they may know each other,"

The Pythagorean schools continued on in secret and from this line of descent came the Gnostic and Hermetic Mystery Schools (which contained both men and women and were Christian to varying degrees), as well as the Masonic Guilds, expert stone-masons initiated into Mystery Schools learning which included sacred geometry. Even though the Church considered the Masons to be quite heretical, they hired them to build the most sacred structures in Europe- the great cathedrals-many of which contained pentagonal or five-fold symmetries. Parallel with Masonic culture were the alchemists of medieval Europe, scientists, philosophers and magicians, both male and female, who studied the mysteries of the Universe. These societies held onto this five-fold symbol which kept its positive, ancient attributes and signified hidden, luminous knowledge.

This ancient wisdom lived on underground through the mystery schools and other sources and continued throughout the Middle Ages up until modern times. However, because this Divine knowledge threatened the authority and power of the Church, those who pursued it and the symbols they used were severely persecuted.

The star of life, which had been a symbol of divine illumination, became stigmatized as a sign of heretical thought and eventually as something evil. These negative attributes were further reinforced by the use of the upside down pentagram by some satanic cults who are probably more "Anti-Christians" than "Pagans", as their beliefs are not those of most Neo-Pagan groups. Modern media continues to distort the meaning of the pentagram by showing it in both its upright and inverted position, yet portraying all who use it as evil.

In spite of this difficulty 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.

Sharynne NicMacha is a Pagan of Celtic descent and teaches workshops in beginning and Celtic paganism and music. She sings with the Moors, a pagan rock duo.

Note: Special thanks to Scott Dakota for his input and assistance in areas oif his expertise, including Pythagoras, sacred geometry, music of the spheres and Ancient Sumeria. Beannachdan!

The Witches Pentacle (Part II)
by Apollo's Follower

The Pentacle, the symbol of Witchcraft, is a bold and fascinating statement about our place in the Universe. The pentagram represents an ancient concept that can be found in philosophical thought in both East and West. Although over 8,000 years old, the image of the pentagram is applicable in our modern world. The pentagram tells us that we have the ability to bring Spirit to Earth; this applies to every area of practical day-to-day living, as well as spiritual thought. The ability of bringing Spirit to Earth is what makes us whole.


Greetings to all Wiccan friends, and "blessed be", as you say!

Good manners insist that first I should introduce myself; well I am a Greek, a male Taurus (born on 1st May - as far as I know, on the very day of the greatest Witches' feast!: ), and what we might call an erudite person. I'm not Wiccan, but try to revive and follow the ancient Greek tradition, the way I perceive it.

During the late years, I am mostly interested in inter-cultural links between peoples, mostly the religion- and Mysteries-related ones. So, it was only reasonable that I perused through Sharynne NicMacha's article on the Pentacle, on which I 'd like to comment on, and tell you about some striking discoveries I made! But, let's put first things first - not necessarily in the order Humanity evolved; the best idea would be to follow the evolution of my thoughts, along with the mainstream narrative of Sharynne's.

*"Imagine the perfect apple." Hmmm... During all my life, I ate tons of apples (Taureans are equipped with a natural gluttony, y' know!), but I don't remember having ever shaken hands (or jaws!) with a "perfect" one. (Former apples don't remember such an encounter, either! ; ) Nope! Nowhere within the - literally - dozens of apple pure and hybrid sorts we have down here, in Greece! What I think Sharynne would exactly like to say, is that, indeed, the Pentacle can be found in many a Mother Nature's manifestation. Such as various animals' shells; flowers; even geological rocks.

It is most possible that our instinct (or our genomes, or whatever - choose the one you like) dictates that there is a (most times hidden) beauty in these shapes. Perhaps other species (such as, say, ants) could and would not perceive such shapes as "beautiful", but humans do. In fact, there is indeed the "golden proportion" (the well-known mathematical ratio of two lengths, which is said to form the most beautiful frames for the human eye to see) hidden both in shapes natural AND in the Pentacle (a fact I shall refer to later on), which leads the human mind to the formation of (deep-rooted and not always utterable) "links", joining the Pentacle to Nature.


*About the Pentacle, as a symbol of Divine Knowledge in various civilizations:

The Pentacle is not alone to this end; there are too many similar symbols and symbol sets around the Globe, but, perhaps, the Pentacle is the most widespread of them all (so, it's a piece of cake to a Wiccan eye to recognize the symbol, even if hidden), along with the Swastika. The Pentacle is THE symbol for what number 5 represents, the Swastika for number 4, and, remember here what you might have read or heard about the "divine" interpretation of small integers.

By the way, something worth mentioning is that the Swastika is an ancient Greek symbol of utmost importance to our ancient Mysteries which Hitler's ultra-secret "advisors" (they were black magicians and no angels, these guys - and they were "ultra-secret", because they 100% avoided appearances in public) told him to paint black and use. Hitler's flag, which was not "the best artistic arrangement of contrasting colors" (like some ignorants say), was a deliberate reversal of the "ascending climax" of Hermetic colors (from "matter" to "God"), putting emphasis on black, matter's color, TREADING OVER red (human beings, life, energy, moving towards God) and - mainly - white (the spirit, God). The interpretation of the raised black Swastika on a red background and in a white circle – according to the ancient Greek Mysteries - is: "unbridled 'black' energy, supported by all people, to overturn the Good God", and the results of such "advising" we 'd better not remember for long, or live (again)!... Note also that, during the 2nd WW, the Swastika and the Pentacle "fought" each other, because the main opponents fought under these emblems!!! Well, the Pentacle "won", but initiated people know very well that the quest for power should be stopped by all means and costs, or else a "damage" of "universal" magnitudes would result. (Do you *really* want me to explain this?!) The choice of the Pentacle as the emblem of some Countries (USA, USSR, etc) was NOT due to chance, too, but this would require a whole book to reason why, not a single article! ; ) But, if you are in a hurry to learn the answer, you might search it by yourselves! It's a good exercise for the mind! ; )


*About Pythagoras:

Pythagoras was indeed a great scholar and Myst, but he never really "won his bad self"; he never really passed the worst "exam" of all three his very school imposed on his very students-to-be, namely the egoism test... Pythagoras and Pythagoreans were elitists; they could not accept other people to be so clever as they were, or so connoisseurs on any matter as they were, or so pious and advanced Mysts, as they were. Or more. They also could not accept people who had beliefs contrary to their own; the words "tolerance", "forgiveness", "humor", "love", "partying" were... Greek to them! And those guys were "a law by themselves", too: They *believed* what is usually said as a joke: "MY things are mine, and YOUR things are *ours*!", and "stole" (without flushing) some doctrines and some mathematics from other philosophers, blindly attributing these quotations to Pythagoras, but they were fast on moving the index finger against others, who might try to do the same to any "Omakoeion" (means "the place, where *we listen* - to Pythagoras - *together*"; the name of his school) beliefs. (An interesting hint to pursue: Which organizations, or teams, or whatever, do you see nowadays following these very same traits? And, I mainly mean those of a quest on power and rulership. Well, search for their *Pythagorean*-like philosophy - there is absolutely no other way round! -, and you'll have discovered why our world, Mother Earth, has turned to a s*** pit; it is because bad-smelling substances have replaced brains in some Pythagorean people's heads, long ago.)

That's why Pythagoras left his own father-land, the isle of Samos (south-eastern Greece), to start a wanderer's life when young. That's why he never really understood that the Egyptian priesthood's asceticism (he took the Egyptian initiation, too, not only the Greek one) was a tradeoff for power, and not an end in itself. The vows of chastity and poverty ancient Egyptian priests took and followed were a countermeasure against their absolute power, to attain social balance and avoid revolutions of the poor, NOT something every human should willy-nilly follow, to become "perfect in front of God's eyes". (Note also, that Byzantine Empire used to have eunuchs occupied at very high State office, for the same reasons.) (It is worth mentioning, that asceticism - mainly in the form of sexual abstinence, or Victorian-like sexual hypocrisy - is considered a "correct" attitude until today, due to continuing wrong understanding of ancient doctrines.)

And, last but not least, that's why Milon from Kroton, one of Pythagoras' beloved students led his fellow students against the inhabitants of a nearby city, Syvaris, who became very rich and enjoyed parties and sexual orgies every night. Milon with his followers slaughtered the Syvaritians that night of -510, and this was the beginning of the end of Omakoeion, which was in turn burned down by the infuriated inhabitants of other Greek cities nearby. (Pythagoras was allowed to leave with his family.) Anyway, egoism and unjustified killings put aside, Pythagoras was indeed a good mathematician and philosopher of that time. As it is well-known, he had his whole philosophy based on the small positive integers (he thought they represented the perfection of the Divine Being). So, he started calculating the reciprocal geometrical shapes, too. There is not any two-angled shape, so we start from the triangle; an equal-sided triangle can be easily calculated (sides and angles as well), as is a square. But, when it comes to a five-angled symmetric shape, oooops!, things get VERY complicated! When we try to find the mathematical relations between the lines, that form the Pentacle, we shall encounter some very special numbers (of "universal" value) with infinite decimal digits, not repeated. These numbers are pi=3.14159..., e=2.71828..., and the "Golden Proportion"=1.618... . So, when Pythagoras run through the infinite decimals, he was almost horrified. But, he remained so calm, as to realize that the "Golden Proportion" etc pop throughout the calculations on the Pentacle sides and lengths as a "natural" fact, and begun respecting the symbol. Finally, he attributed the well-known meanings of the "Origin of the Universe" and the "Perfect Human" to the Pentacle.

All this process took him many years to complete - during Pythagoras' time, calculations were made by using the tedious Greek alphabet representation of the numbers, and not the ten-digit number system of nowadays, [Note 1] so it had been far easier to make calculations through Geometry and images, than pure numbers. (Nowadays we have computers, and sometimes we have to *wait* for the result! Just imagine what calculations looked like during those times!!!) So,... that's why the Pentacle was held in high esteem by Pythagoras and the Omakoeion students: The symbol incorporated many a "divine" calculation, therefore PLUS many a Pythagorean teaching, in a strikingly simple way.


*About the evolution of Pythagorean thought:

Indeed, the Pythagorean ideas were not burned along with the Omakoeion. (*Nobody* can burn, or kill, or even fight an idea - however stupid, or evil - by weapons; ideas are fought against by other, better ideas.) The Pythagorean teachings fled eastwards and westwards, to establish the successor thought "Schools" to Omakoeion.

In Egypt, Alexander the Great founded Alexandreia about -330, one-out-of-so-many cities, named after his name, to honor him; but, one who still lives and flourishes nowadays. During ancient times (some centuries before and after the "zero year" of our dating system), Alexandreia was something like a giant cauldron (at this point, I almost can see you, Witches, smile!: ) Ok! Let me put it like his: Alexandria was a kind of a giant Kerrygwen's feast for minds!!!), where different civilizations exchanged ideas; Greeks, Egyptians, Jews, Romans, Arabs, Black, everybody would freely tell his or her tale in Forums, Municipal Baths, and Libraries, and find ears eager to listen to. (All these guys and gals spoke and wrote fluent Greek, the international language of that time.) It is exactly during these years, that the Pentacle was adopted by the Jewish world, through the Essene religious and fighting Order, through the teachings of Neo-Platonic and Neo-Pythagorean Greek philosophers. (The Essenes, who fiercely fought the Romans, founded the well-known monastery-shelter-"school" at Qumran, based on the very exact Pythagorean principles: A religious and fighting fraternity of pious, ascetic, learned men, dressed in white gowns!!!...)

In the West, the Romans set foot on the British isles, but not to the extend they wished to; the Celts fought them fiercely. But, anyway, these two peoples exchanged trade goods and ideas, among which were, of course, the Pythagorean ones. So, it is this way and about this era that the Pentacle started connecting to the British pagans. Note also that another, somewhat older and independent way the Pentacle followed to the British isles, was through the Greek merchants who used to buy tin ore there.

At this point, I should say that the above narrative is exactly what I had in my memory banks on the story of the Pentacle, and when I first read Sharynne's claim about "an 8,000 years old symbol", I frowned upon it. The only way the Pentacle would be made "holy" to people seemed to be *only* through instinct - through the "linking beauty" process I described earlier. How could illiterate people (like, say, the Aborigines of Australia) explain the delicate Mathematics on the symbol? So, Sharynne's claim seemed too unjustified and far-fetched. (I even searched *all* the Witches' Voice URL subpages, to find ancient rock drawings, or something, but in vain...) ...But, all these stood up to a few days ago. If you are curious about what changed my mind, just read on!

*The years passed by, Humanity entered the Piscean Great Month, and the Pentacle re-emerged at some time, as the ultimate pagan symbol on the British isles, and elsewhere. (This happened when Christian rulers became oppressive against the Pagans of the British isles countryside - Think: what else are Robin Hood's "merry men in green", than a guise for leprechauns?!) The story is not so simple, though; If we try to study the European and Middle East History of the last 2,000 years or so, we shall meet with a tangled ball of wool: Christians, Pagans, Moslems, "secret societies", knights, priests, kings, or the utterly poor, all of them actually didn't know what to believe and how. (I 'm over-simplifying things, for the sake of the narrative, because I don't intend to gather all Witch-ean curses upon me!!! I *know* you adhered to tradition, through secret, oral family lore, lovely Wiccan ladies!!!) All of them exchanged ideas, which at times were kept secret, but at times were so bold, as to emerge in public. For instance, the Christian Catholic Church "cursed" the Pentacle, but they also adopted the very symbol they cursed. How? By incorporating hidden Pentacle symbolism in, on, and around the churches and cathedrals!!!

Churches (as well other buildings, built by knowledgeable Architects) are indeed full of the Pentacle symbolism, which is mostly portrayed at the angles above the doors, where the door opening "naturally" converges (at 36 degrees, to represent the upper member of the Pentacle, the Spirit) and ends. Also, at opposing stairs, which intersect at an 144 degrees angle. Now, remember that we cannot actually compare ancient to modern knowledge "digit-wisely", because we have different digit sets. But, geometrical images are identical. So, openings of 36 degrees are very usual and of a clear meaning. (We can find 36 degrees openings on the entrances of older cathedrals, as well as on the bell towers of Gothic churches.) Also, openings of 72 degrees (36 x 2) and 144 (36 x 4, or 180 minus 36) degrees. The 144 degrees opening is exactly what we encounter on the roofs of ancient Greek temples.

We might as well find deviations from this rule, due to the following reasons:

(a)The real meaning of the Pentacle-like opening was forgotten, or never learned.
(b)The Architect wanted to compensate for the eye distortion of the straight lines to curves.
(c)The building style had changed. (In fact, the Renaissance starts on the buildings when straight lines become arcs, and the windows and doors end in a lower. Circular opening.)
(d)The building was so heavy, the Architect was afraid of collapse, and changed the building lines.



*So, an angular overhead opening over a door always means "Pentacle". Well, this is loud, clear, and perfectly understood. As is the fact, that all the buildings I have presented so far are more recent than the Pythagorean Omakoeion era. But, it is at exactly this point, that I remembered where else had I seen these impish 36 degrees... All my Pythagorean historical structure, which I made *some* efforts to build, nearly collapsed!

There are two more "Pythagorean" buildings, which most prominently display this architectural characteristic over their entrances: The first is the well-known Mayan "Nunnery" palace, at Uxmal. The overhead opening above the entrance is a perfect 36 degrees!!!... And, yes, somebody might say that there is indeed a reasonable solution to the traveling problem over the Atlantic (see pic legend), and the Nunnery is much newer to Pythagoras, so the Pentacle symbolism somehow made it to the Mayans. But, what can we make of an entrance to a tomb *much older* than Pythagoras?...This tomb is found at Mycenae, Peloponnesos (southern mainland Greece), is dated to ca. –1500 (according to the most moderate calculations), and the entrance overhead opening forms an almost perfect 36 degrees angle. "Almost" means that time corrosion doesn't allow for clear lines, but we should imagine the missing part.

What should we think of all these, then? That the priestly orders of many (if not all) ancient civilizations knew of each other's existence, no matter how far they were?... That they all had the Pentacle as their ultimate symbol?... That they had something on mind, about a U.N.-like organization to link all people together, since time-old eras?... Nobody knows for sure, but then we cannot but suspect things, and our minds gallop out there, in the open realms of fertile imagination!

Well, this article reached its end, but the real Quest now begins!

Blessed be!



Photis

bump

I know how you fell... stressed xd

sounds really good from what I skimed over, Im going to print it out and read it properly later.