Pentacle and Religion

Although the pentacle is most commonly associated with being part of the Wiccan religion, there are many religions that have used the pentacle in the past and continue to use it today. Religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Mormonism all use the pentacle within their religions. Another common religion that uses the pentacle is Satanism, which is perhaps the most controversial use of the pentacle.

In Christianity the pentacle is thought to represent the five different senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. When the letters, “S, A, L, V, S” are placed individually at each of the five points, this is thought to symbolize health and ancient Christians believed that this most likely represented the five wounds that Christ endured on the cross. They derived from this the concept that the pentacle could also be used to provide protection from evil such as witches and demons. In the early fourteenth century poem written by Sir Gawain entitled Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet refers to these Christian beliefs as well as a few others. He believed that the points also represented the five points of joy that Mary derived from Jesus. These were the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Assumption. Gawain also noted that the five points could also represent the five traits of a knight which were noble generosity, fellowship, purity, courtesy, and compassion.

The Mormons have also often used the sign of the pentacle, most commonly in the style of which their temples are built. The Nauvoo Illinois Temple and the Salt Lake Temple are two good examples of how the temples have incorporated the pentacle in their architecture. This is very symbolic as the Mormons believe that their temples are the most revered places on earth. In Judaism, the pentacle was used as the official seal of the city of Jerusalem. Because the two look similar, it is sometimes confused with the Star of David, although there are subtle differences between the two.

The Satanic religion is another religion that commonly uses the pentacle in its practices. Many people believe that the pentacle itself is a satanic symbol but in fact it is not. The Satanic religion uses the pentacle in its upside down form. When used this way, there are two points on the uppermost part of the pentacle, instead of just one. This is to signify, “Satan over God.”

It’s clear that the pentacle has many different uses and many different meanings to many people in many different religions. It’s important to understand that the meanings of each are very different from each other and that the meaning of the pentacle is not interchangeable when referring to it pertaining to one particular religion.