Pentagrams vs Pentacles

[Mystic Wolf]

Pentagrams vs Pentacles
https://modernmythology.net/realpentagramhistory-64fdc64866a5

A pentagram can be — and is often used — as a pentacle. But not all pentacles contain pentagrams.

A group of pentacles from the Hebrew manuscript, Key of Solomon, (BL Oriental 14759, fol. 35a)

The earliest English usage of the word “pentacle” comes to us in two books, both written in the 16th century, The Heptameron by Pietro d’Abano, and The Key of Solomon, (falsely attributed to King Solomon, as was common practice, most likely written by an unnamed occultist of the time).

Both refer to symbols of a magical nature, but neither book identifies pentacles as intrinsically being pentagrams, or containing pentagrams.

n the 15–16th-century occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa popularized the idea that the pentagram was a magical symbol, attributing to it the Neo-Platonic five elements — that is, fire, water, air, earth, and idea— to the five points of the star.

If you look at the etymology of the word ‘pentacle’, you will find similar words in Latin, Italian, French, and so on. In Latin, you have “pentaculum,” which comes from the prefix “Penta-” meaning “five,” and “-culum” which refers to instrumentality. In Italian, you have pentacolo, which means “anything with five points”. In French you have the 14th-century word “pentacol,” which comes from the prefix “pend-” meaning “to hang-,” and “-col” meaning “-from neck,” which referred to various kinds of magical or apotropaic charms hung on necklaces or similar devices.

In the 19th century, “pentacle” gained popularity in the verbiage of Western occultism through French occultist Éliphas Lévi (1810–1875), in his book “Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie”. Lévi coincidentally spelled it “pantacle”, reflecting the slippery nature of language and various permutations of the word throughout cultures and time. But we should not get hung up too much on such variances, as such is natural through the course of language.

In Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, he does include a representation of a pentacle that contains a pentagram and explains it several times.

As will be seen, all mysteries of magic, all symbols of the gnosis, all figures of occultism, all Kabbalistic keys of prophecy, are summed up in the sign of the pentagram, which Paracelsus proclaims to be the greatest and most potent of all signs. — Éliphas Lévi, “Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie”

And,

The empire of the will over the astral light, which is the physical soul of the four elements, is represented in magic by the pentagram, which we have set at the head of this chapter. The elementary spirits are subservient to this sign when employed with understanding, and, by placing it in the circle or on the table of evocations, they can be rendered tractable, which is magically called to imprison them. — Éliphas Lévi, “Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie”

Lévi would become a major influence on 20th century English occultist Aleister Crowley, who would even go so far as to claim to be a reincarnation of Éliphas Lévi, in addition to using the “pantacle” spelling in varied works.

Crowley himself would go on to influence Gerald Gardener, founder of modern Wicca. Though the influence should not be overstated, it is worth mentioning. Crowley had a massive influence on Western occultism at the time, especially that of the English-speaking world. Dissecting the indirect and direct influence he had on Gardener’s conception of magical practice is hard to pin down due to this fact, and not the focus of this article anyway. (There are many articles and books that discuss the subject in-depth, though their sentiments vary.)

Gardner would be influenced by the occult tropes of his time, including the depiction of the pentacles suit of Tarot cards in the Rider-Waite as disks inscribed with a pentagram. The Rider-Waite tarot deck was printed in 1910, and Gardener would have certainly come into contact with them. Additionally, Gardner knew about the Key of Solomon text and probably did know the term “pentacle” referred to all sorts of magical symbols, not only pentagrams, so the intention behind his choice to define pentacle as containing pentagrams is unknown.

To boil it down: Pentagrams are often incorporated into pentacles, but not all pentacles contain pentagrams. The pentacles of modern Wicca are indeed pentacles, that happen to contain a symbol considered holy and magical by many Wiccans, the pentagram.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa associated the five points of the pentagram not only with the five Neo-Platonist elements, but can also be seen to associate them with five classical planets. Shown below is a figure of the ‘human body’ pentagram, with Mars, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury. These five planets would also have had alchemical associations.

 

 

 

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

Thank you for the information.