Lesson #3

Wiccan Pentacle & Grounding:
part 1

Merry Meet! Welcome to Lesson #3!

How did you do with your Elements and Directions from Lesson #2? Hopefully you had some opportunities to connect with the natural world, since then. That's a really vital part of Wicca — how can we be part of a Nature Religion if we aren't engaging with Nature in some form?

The Elements are going to show up in today's lesson as well, in a symbol that encompasses much of the wisdom of Wicca.

This is a two-part lesson. After learning about the Pentacle, you’ll learn about the Wiccan practice of Grounding.

Part 1: The Pentacle¹

This is, along with a Book of Shadows, one of the most easily identifiable Wiccan signifiers.

The Pentacle is such a rich symbol it’s difficult to explain it briefly. It’s the key symbol in Wicca, encompassing everything in Wiccan philosophy: the Elements, the Body, the Wheel of the Year, etc.

It's like a hologram of all the Elemental energies, the facets of being human, the aspects of the universe... if you look deeply enough you can find everything within the symbol of the Pentacle.

This is why no Wiccan altar or Wiccan ritual is complete without a Pentacle of some form. It’s also the reason that Pentacles are the only really necessary ritual tool, whether they’re scratched out in the dirt, created in stained class, cast in precious metals, or invisibly drawn by the movement of energy through your finger.

What It Is

A Pentacle is a five-pointed unicursal star, enclosed within a circle. ²

Unicursal means it's drawn entirely in one line, without lifting the pen (or other implement). The point of this is that there are no breaks anywhere in the line — even energetic breaks.

This becomes important when you consider that the Pentacle is a container for energy (don't want leaks!) and a protective shield (don't want gaps!).

A Pentacle is the embodiment of all Nature's Elements balanced in harmony: a physical mirror of the Wheel of the Year. Yet in particular Pentacles symbolize the Element Earth, and thus are situated in the North quadrant of most altars.³

Because they represent Earth, they are most often done in black and/or on Earth-associated materials like rock or clay. But sometimes they're done in silver or white, representing the Light and protection of the Divine that's coming through this potent symbol. These days, of course, you can find Pentacles of all sorts, which is handy for particular magick or ritual purposes. As your basic altar tool, however, a black Pentacle is best.

What It Does

The primary purpose of a Pentacle is to invoke the Divine and all the Elements, and to contain energy (holding good energy in and bad energy out).

This is what makes it a most powerful and ancient symbol of protection. It was once so common that all protective amulets came to be called Pentacles, even if they weren't inscribed with 5-pointed stars at all. They were as popular with Christians as Pagans. ⁵

While the history of the word Pentacle is lost in time, the word is mostly likely to have derived from the Greek penta- (which means five) combined with the Latin suffix -culum (a diminutive, essentially meaning small or dear, as we would use "y" in doggy).

History and Hidden Powers of the Pentacle

Where did the Pentacle come from?

There are various theories on this.

Some believe that it was inspired by the planet Venus, which inscribes a Pentacle in the sky over the course of time.

Since Venus is one aspect of the Goddess, this could be interpreted as a mystical blessing from the Divine Mother. So if we wanted to invoke Her blessings (the thought may have been) we could make the same mystical symbol.

According to Barbara Walker's The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, the Pentacle was based on the symbol of the Goddess Kore (Ceres) that is hidden in the heart of an apple — her sacred fruit. If you cut an apple in half, not along the stem but across the middle, you will find a 5-pointed star within the circle of the apple. (This is called the Star of Wisdom.)

Apples have always been associated with the Goddess, and considered very holy. They're also associated with wisdom and knowledge. Whether its religious value arose because it can boast a Pentacle, or whether the Pentacle has religious value because it is found in apples, we will never know.

Rowan seeds also have a little pentacle on them, which likely accounts for this tree's reputation as a powerful protector.

Walker also writes,

"...The pentacle or pentagram was worshipped by Pythagorean mystics who called it Pentalpha: the birth-letter interlaced five times. Its meaning was given as 'life' or 'health.'"

She goes on to say,

"Some called it the star of Ishtar or of Isis, or of Isis's underworld twin, Nephthys. In Egypt the five-pointed star represented the underground womb."

Whatever its origins, it is obvious that the Pentacle has a long and intricate association with Divine Power, especially the power of the Goddess. ⁶

The Pentagram and the Circle

A pentagram is a 5-pointed unicursal star (that is, a star with the lines inside it) without the enclosing circle. ⁷ It's often used as a mystical and magickal symbol as well.

The pentagram represents the 5 Elements. The circle that surrounds it, making a Pentacle, is a symbol of the Goddess, as well as unity, infinity, and wholeness.

This means that the spiritual power of the Circle surmounts and binds the earthly powers of the Elements. It touches each point, holding them in balance and relationship with each other.

The harmony and blending of the earthly and the spiritual is at the core of Wicca, as this prime Wiccan symbol illustrates so well!

The circle is also a symbol of protection, and represents the Circle of Life and the cyclical nature of the universe.

It brings the power of the Infinite to the work that you do, within the shelter of the Pentacle.

The Meaning of the Pentacle

Many of the core Wiccan teachings are embodied by the Pentacle. That's why it's considered one of the most important Wiccan tools — even the only necessary one (if anything outside yourself is necessary).

This doesn't mean you have to buy one, though. You can draw your own Pentacle with anything from a pencil on paper or a bit of wood, to a stick in the dirt. When you cast a Circle, you will be drawing them in pure energy. When you "run the Pentacle," you'll be drawing it within your own body. ⁸

The Pentacle is a symbol of the most important elements of Wiccan teaching. For example, the five points of the Pentacle stand for the five Directions and five Elements, and everything associated with them, as we covered in the previous lesson. The Pentacle unifies of these; all parts of the world are coalesced into one expression of the Divine In Earthly Life. It contains, in essence, the entire Universe within it.

This is why the Pentacle is the prime energy-containing symbol used in Wicca.

The Pentacle represents the human body as well. When you stand with feet apart and arms outstretched to the sides, you make a rudimentary star shape. (This is called Pentacle Position.) Include your aura as the circle around you, and you are a living Pentacle.

This comes in handy — just by standing a certain way, you always have a Pentacle with you!

The Points of the Pentacle

Here you can see which point is associated with which Element.

I've also listed which part of the body each point/Element relates to. It may seem a little confusing at first, because the Earth Point, for instance, is on the left side of the diagram, yet it relates to your right foot.

It's easy to understand, though, when you realise that when you're looking at the Pentacle from the outside, as if standing in front of it, it's pointing to the left. But from the inside, with the Pentacle within you, the point is on your own right side.

Earth Point

The point on the lower left represents the Element of Earth. It's represented on the body by your Right Foot.

Air Point

The point on the upper left represents the Element of Air. It's represented on the body by your Right Hand.

Fire Point

F The point on the lower right represents the Element of Fire. It's represented on the body by your Left Foot.

Water Point

The point on the upper left represents the Element of Water. It's represented on the body by your Left Hand.

Spirit/Aether Point

The point on the lower left represents the Element of Aether or Spirit.

It's represented on the body by your Head.

Qualities of the Pentacle

As you saw in the lesson on the Wheel of the Year, Wiccans have ritual tools⁹ associated with each Element.

The Pentacle is the ritual tool associated with the Earth (because, like the Earth, it encompasses it everything in life).

So the Pentacle as a whole represents Earth-energies:

	stability
	strength
	endurance
	perseverance
	loyalty
	physicality
	hedonism
	pragmatism
	experience
	natural law
	and so on

Continue with Wiccan Pentacles
& Grounding, part 2:

Drawing A Wiccan Pentacle

&

Ways to Use a Pentacle

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