On the Fifth day of Winter Solstice…

… witch named brandee gave to me

The Five-Pointed Pentagram

Pagan Solstice Traditions, throughout Europe especially, are often about celebrating the sun’s return. To offer thanks, they would decorate by bringing light inside — including candles, Yule logs, suns, and stars. Since this time also came after the fall harvest, sticks were the perfect thing to use to make pentagrams to represent this light. Bring light in during this dark time by lighting candles and fires, or bring it in symbolically by making pentagrams.

Pentagram vs Pentacle

The pentagram is a five-pointed star made with one continuous line. The pentagram symbol has been widely used by different cultures, just like many other simple geometric symbols. Even though they came from different cultures, and times, and are used for different purposes, many of these ancient cultures used the pentagram to represent the interconnectedness of all things.

A pentacle, instead, is the pentagram inside a circle and it has been used for various purposes across the globe. It has been used to mark tombs, decorate pottery, and stamp money in addition to the magic and spiritual uses.

Isn’t that sign evil??

Short answer: no.

Many pagan traditions get condemned as “evil” and I would ask you to question anything getting such a violent response.

Some do associate the inverted pentagram with evil or satan, and there are a few reasons for that. There certainly are witches who use pentagrams to invoke or banish beings, but they would certainly be in the minority. The Church of Satan uses the inverted pentagram as a symbol for the devil and Baphomet. However, Satanists do not recognize a literal Satan and are instead an atheistic religion. Many of the religious and occult symbols adopted by the Church of Satan come from poking fun at the moral panic so prevalent through other religions. I would also argue that many things in witchcraft, spell casting included, are very similar to more accepted religious practices. What are you doing when praying to God if not invoking a deity? Even though the symbol today is associated with witchcraft, it was used in the Middle Ages pentacles by Christian Knights to ward against witches and evil spirits. The truth of the symbol is much more tame and largely used for holistic purposes. Pay attention to what is being deemed evil, it’s likely there’s more nuance.