| Universally
respected, feared and especially misunderstood, the pentagram is a very
ancient symbol of harmony, health and mystical powers and still considered
to be one of the most potent. A common and unfortunate misconception,
especially more recently, is that the pentagram has an inherently negative
or offensive meaning, representing evil, especially being portrayed
by the popular media in association with ‘black magic’.
The Pentagram, an astro-alchemical hieroglyph,
is a geometric, five-pointed star with interwoven
bars that can appear either isolated or within a
circle, usually with one point uppermost,
imbued with many esoteric qualities. Some
commonly used alternative names for the
pentagram include pentacle, pentangle,
and
pentalpha. It is believed to have originated over
5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, as a graphic
description of the astronomical movements
observed in the conjunctions between the planet
Venus and the Sun. Representing Venus, the
pentagram is also known as the morning star.
 Passing
through Sumerian and then Egyptian cultures
the pentagram is argued as being the original
device central to the Seal of Solomon as
well as serving as the ancient seal of Jerusalem
for 150 years.
Many
interpretations exist for the meaning of this mystical star, reaching
across many cultures, religions and ages, mostly being of a positive
or ‘good’ nature. Pythagorean mystics in ancient Greece interpreted
the symbol as being the sum of the numbers two, (representing feminine/terrestrial),
and three, (representing masculine/celestial), making five, the microcosm
of the human mind and spirit. From that time, the symbol increasingly
took on greater occult and religious significance. The five points came
to represent, for Christians, the protective power of the Five Wounds
of Christ; for alchemists and Gnostics, the five elements of spirit,
air, fire, water, and earth; for medieval sorcerers and magicians, the
force of Solomon over nature and the spirit world.
The upright pentagram, as the human microcosm.
Like the circle, the ‘endless’ attribute of the pentagram represents
perfection, continuity and eternity, with the power of binding evil
forces and elements and therefore denoting good luck. As illustrated
by Leonardo, the symbol is an allegory of the outstretched figure, the
microcosm of man reflecting his integral personality and potential perfection.
Talismans and amulets were frequently created using the pentacle as
their focal point, often with the addition of Latin or Cabalistic Hebrew
characters and within a protective circle. These could be drawn on virgin
calfskin or chalked onto doors and floors, or fashioned from metals,
ivory, etc as rings and amulets and inscribed in wood, rock or bone.
As with other emotively meaningful symbols, the pentacle’s inversion
is usually, though not exclusively, used to mean the ‘Goat’s foot’,
or Devil’s Goat, representing Satan, and the ‘black hand’ in medieval
magic.
Inverted, as the Devil's goat.
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