10/30/2009 5:23 PM
Posted by Whitetigress
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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 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 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 and the Hermetic / Tantric philosophy of
associativity as above, so below.
The Golden Proportion
The
geometric proportions of the regular pentagram are those of the Golden
Section. The Golden Proportion is one beloved of artists since Renaissance
times and also to be found in post-Hellenic art and in the geomantic planning
of Templar sites, being those proportions of a rectangle considered most
pleasing to the eye. Here, the ratio of the lengths 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.
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 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
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 as a Christian symbol gradually
ceased.
