I am reading the divinci code, wonderful, full of trivia, Here are the origins of the much maligned pentagram,
Here are the origins of the much maligned pentagram, amazing how much we have changed, We have a bad case of forgetting the past and that will probably be our doom. Besides historical trivia is so much fun - These books get 4 stars
Pentagram, pentacle: "The pentagram is a five pointed star commonly associated with Wicca, Ritual magick, Satanism, and Masonry. The Pentagram has a long and complex history as a religious symbol. Found scrawled in caves of ancient Babylonia, the five pointed star was copied from the star shaped pattern formed by the travels of the planet Venus in the sky. The emblem remained popular through many cultures and time periods- it was called the pentalpha by the Greeks, who believed it had magical properties. For a time, it was the official seal of the city of Jerusalem:"
For the rest of the history click on the link above
posted by Brandy at 10/13/2004 11:16:00 PM
1 Comments:
Interesting. Your comment implies that the pentagram has a bad rap. While I know it's used in B-film schlock movies to infer Satan, Satanism, etc. I didn't think this was a widely held belief - just Hollywood at its usual level of inacccuracy.
"In Christian times:
The five points of the pentagram have been interpreted as representing the five wounds of Christ (2 wrist, 2 ankle and 1 side).
The Roman Emperor Constantine used the pentagram in his seal and amulet. 14
It has been referred to as the Star of Bethlehem
It was used to symbolize the star which allegedly led three Zoroastrian astrologers to the baby Jesus; it was called the Three Kings' star.
The English warrior Sir Gawain, a nephew of King Arthur, adopted the pentagram as his personal symbol and placed it on his shield. 7 It appeared in gold on a red background. The five points symbolized "the five knightly virtues - generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry and piety." 14
Tarot cards originally had a suit of coins or discs. These were changed in the 19th century to pentacles when the Tarot became associated with the Kabbalah. They eventually became the suit of diamonds in modern playing cards.
It has been widely used by past Christians as a protective amulet.
During the burning times when the Christian church burned alive or hung hundreds of thousands of innocent people, the meaning of the pentagram changed. It began to symbolize a goat's head or the devil in the form of Baphomet. "The folk-symbol of security - for the first time in history - was equated with evil and was called the Witch's Foot."
P.S. Does this count as blogging??:-)
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