Online Reference For Body, Mind & Spirit

Term: Pentagram

DEFINITION:
A star drawn with five points. This image can be drawn without lifting the drawing tool from the paper. Also known as the Star or Seal of Solomon, it was a symbol for Judaism (as was a seven-branched candelabra) until replaced by the hexagram starting around 1800 C.E.

The five points are said to represent the five elements: earth, fire, water, and spirit, and because the image can be drawn without lifting the drawing tool, it indicates their interconnection. Today, the pentagram is symbolic of occultism in general and Wicca or Witchcraft in particular.

When drawn or worn with one point (spirit) up, it is said to represent positive concepts. This is also an image of a human standing upright, with the head at the top point, the hands at the next two highest points, and the feet at the lower points. If the pentagram is drawn or worn with two points up (frequently called “inverted”), it is said to represent negativity with the feet above the head. It is also used in this mode to represent Satanism, as the two upper points are like the horns in the popular image of Satan.