Pentagram
Pentagram has been around for centuries.
It is used today by modern Pagan as a protection amulet against bad happenings and evil spirits.
Pentacle
The History behind Pentacle and Pentagrams..
Pente in greek means Five.. So it represent the 5 pointed star.
Pentagram is the five pointed star on its own
Pentacle is the pentagram wrapped in a circle
Now this star has been around for many many hundreds of years. It has been used by many cultures and religions.
There are many stories about its origins.
Many claim it to date back as far as 3500BC
Pagans, Ancient Israelites, Christians, Hebrew and Wiccan to name just a few use the symbol of the pentagram for various reasons.
It is said that It was the first of the ancient hebrew seven seals. The 7 names of god, the first one being the Pentagram (Torah) . The hebrew also saw this as the symbol of truth. and the 5 points representing the five books of Pentateuch.(the books of law) The five foundational books of hebrew scripture.
The fullfilment of the first seal..
Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come". I looked, and saw, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
The seals can be divided into two sets.
The Four Horsemen. These are the first four seals. These are the four horses which bring judgment from God. They are the promised blessing of the Holy Spirit and the first four curses.
The Wrath of God. These are the last three seals. They are the fifth and final curse, which is the wrath of God.
Pagans ascribe the pentagram to the goddess Morrigan also known as Morgan, the Phantom Queen or Great Queen, . She is the goddess of battle, war , strife and fertility. She can also be depicted as a crow.
The Druids ascribe the pentagram to Godhead. Godhead is also a title for God, or the Trinity. With all the material i have read on Druids, Godhead seems to refer to people they consider christian or one who believes in a God. not necessarily the bible God..
Some Medieval Christians see the pentagram as the five bleeding wounds of christ.
I have read the pentagram referred to as the blazing star of the Gnostic.. But i have researched and found this to be untrue and the blazing star is completley different to the pentagram.
shown here in this image.. Nineteenth century occult groups such as the Golden Dawn held the view that the point-up pentagram represented the rulership of Spirit over the physical elements, while a point-down pentagram represented the descent of Spirit into matter or matter subsuming Spirit.
I have read many accounts of the Christian Emporer Constantine using the pentagram in his private seal.
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."
http://www.wsu.edu/~mgorg/Heraldry/img/shield_sirgawain.gifAlso the Tarot use the Pentagram..
As shown here in the Ace of Pentacles.
Before the Tarot was associated with the Kabbalah, the suit was called coins or discs.
Now they are called Pentacles.
The Pentagram and Pentacle have been also mis-associated with Satanism.
apparently the inverted Pentagram is the symbol of the four horned Goat. representing the Bibles interpretation of the Devil
4 horned Goat.
Inverted Pentagram, also known as Baphomet
All image to my knowledge are in the public domain.
Some information is my own from memory and
the Hebrew references to the seven seals come from here.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb1.htmKabbalah references extracted from here.
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=A-0TJCd25XMC&lpg=PA93&dq=English%20Torah&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=English%20Torah&f=false
28/10/2010, 8:28 am
Calendar