Sacred Pentagram

The following article appeared in Vol. 1, No. 1 of NightScapes (a journal of Magick, Paganism and the Occult).

The Pentagram, the five pointed star, is an icon of Magick and the Occult. It is a powerful symbol, and one held sacred by many.

The Pentagram is comprised by a proportional formula called "The Golden Mean." This rule states that an intersection which divides a line, makes the two parts proportionately the same length. To clarify, a line is divided by another line, making two parts. These two
segments will be the same proportional size to one-another as the greater part is to the whole. The Golden Mean is called "The Divine Proportion." It is this rule that provides much fascination to Occultists who revere the Pentagram.

There are two types of Pentagrams: The Upright and the Inverted. Both symbols are sacred, and both have been maligned by the ignorant. The Upright Pentagram traditionally symbolizes mankind. It is the figure of a man (or woman) standing with arms and legs spread, representing the Microcosm. Man and woman are tiny universes within themselves, and are representative of the Macrocosm (the greater Universe, in which we live).

Each point of the Pentagram stands for one of the elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The uppermost point represents Spirit. So, therefore, the traditional interpretation of the Upright Pentacle is "Spirit over matter."

The Pentagram is sacred to many religions and cultures. It is a positive symbol. Unfortunately, for those who are ignorant about the Occult, and who are especially biased against it, the symbol means "evil." The other type of Pentagram is the Inverted, sometimes
called "The Pentamorph." This symbol is regarded as representing evil to both the Occultist and the non- Occultist. The reason for this is that many people, seeing that the symbol is now reversed, automatically assume that "Spirit," at the top in the Upright, is now at the bottom, with the other elements reigning above it (matter over Spirit). This interpretation is purely subjective on the individual's part. The symbology of one does not necessarily apply to the other. An alternate interpretation suggests that the Inverted displays "power being poured back into the Earth."

Another aspect of the Inverted is the depiction of the "Sabbatic Goat of Mendes." Mendes is a city where ancient Egyptians worshipped the Goat, which symbolizes fertility. By having the Pentagram in the Inverted position, one can inscribe a goat's head in its outline, with the uppermost points being the horns, the lower two points being the ears, and the lowest representing the beard.

Neither of the above representations of the Pentagram appear in an "evil" context by themselves. Originally, Wiccans (and many still do) used the Inverted to symbolize the 2nd degree of the Craft (while the Upright symbolizes the Craft itself). Due to the rise of modern Satanism, via Anton La Vey, and others, who have adopted the Inverted Pentagram as their symbol, it has now taken on a more sinister aspect. What is interesting about non-Occultists is their inability to discern the difference between either symbol.
To the mundane, both represent "Satan" or evil, whether Upright or Inverted. It's as if they are "blind" to the perception of whether the symbol is Upright or not. All they see is the "evil" star, and that automatically conjures up all the other connotations along with it.

It's unfortunate that due to the rise of Satanism, Wiccans are hesitant to use the Inverted Pentagram, in fear of being identified with that religion. The Inverted Pentagram is a sacred symbol, representing fertility, and being a fertility religion, Wicca is being persuaded not to use a pertinent icon.

Another revelation that may prove surprising to some is the supposition that the Inverted Pentagram is actually the proper "banishing" Pentagram. If the Upright is used to "Invoke", wouldn't it make sense that its counterpart be used to "banish?"

Yes, the Pentagram is a sacred symbol. It represents power, protection, mankind, and a host of other definitions. If someone has a doubt to the legitimacy of the Pentacle as a symbol to revere, then look to the American flag. There are fifty of them on it! (By Jay Barrymore)

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Closing The Circle

By the earth that is her body
And by the air that is her breath
And by the fire of her bright spirit,
And by the living waters of her womb,
The circle is open, but unbroken
May the joy of the Goddess live in our hearts
Merry meet, and merry part
And merry meet again.

Adaption of Starhawk's The Spiral Dance.

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The Typical Near Death Experience

Dr. Moody's research describes the results of more than 11 years of inquiry into the near-death experience. He outlines nine elements that generally occur during their experience: A buzzing or ringing noise, while having a sense of being dead.

Peace and painlessness. While people are dying, they may be in intense pain, but as soon as they leave the body the pain vanishes and they experience peace.

Out-of-body experience. The dying often have the sensation of rising up and floating above their own body while surrounded by a medical team and watching it down below, feeling comfortable. They experience the feeling of being in a spiritual body that looks like a sort of living energy field.

The tunnel experience. The next experience is that of being drawn into darkness through a tunnel, at an extremely high speed, until reaching a realm of radiant golden-white light.

Rising rapidly into the heavens. Instead of a tunnel, some people report rising suddenly into the heavens and seeing the earth and the celestial sphere as they would be seen by astronauts in space.

People of light. Once on the other side of the tunnel, or after they have risen into the heavens, the dying meet people who glow with an inner light. Often they find that friends and relatives who have already died are there to greet them.

The being of light. After meeting the people of light, the dying often meet a powerful spiritual being whom some have called God, Jesus, or an angel. Also, although they sometimes report feeling scared, they do not sense that they were on the way to hell or that they fell into it.

The life review. The being of light presents the dying with a panoramic review of everything they have done. In particular, they relive every act they have ever done to other people and come away feeling that love is the most important thing in life.

Reluctance to return. The being of light sometimes tells the dying that they must return to life. Other times, they are given a choice of staying or returning. In either case, they are reluctant to return. The people who choose to return do so only because of loved ones they do not wish to leave behind.

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The New Age An Exercise In Linear Thought

What is the "New Age"? We read about it in sensationalist newspapers for sale in grocery stores. Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo and others talk about it on the tube. The term is even bandied about in polite circles. Psychic Fairs are now New Age Festivals. Preachers and preacheresses, who couldn't sell their message at wholesale prices, are raking in the dough when they add "New", or "New Age" to their church's names. Even our dollar bill reflect it by declaring: "Novus Ordo Seclorum": A new order of the Ages. It seems that the dollar bill and the New Age go hand in hand.

Let us check the dictionary to see if this throws any light on the subject.

NEW

1. Not old; recent; modern
2. Different from the former
3. Recently discovered or learned about, etc.

AGE

1. A period of life
2. A great and distinct time in the history of Man; an epoch

Well, that defines the obvious, the skin. What about the mat of the subject.

There are many ideas: There are those who look for the second caning of Christ. They literally believe Jesus will soon establish his theocracy here on Earth. Sane believe in the coming of "Christ Consciousness", the realization of the "God within" or some are taking to heart the teachings of Cayce, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, David Spangler, Ram Das, etc or are becoming involved in channeling, psychic readings or spiritual study groups.

Others say that it is taking personal responsibility in life decisions, being in responsible relationships, practicing ecology, integrating body, mind and soul in the concepts of holistic health, becoming more spiritual (translated as be nice, read nice stuff, practice Yoga Asanas, give up red meat and control your animal nature), and be consciously aware of our stewardship of the planet.

All of this seems to fall perfectly in line with the New Age as would be described in traditional Patriarchal Western thought. This Western thought teaches us that everything moves linearly, in a straight line, from old (out of date) to new (up to date), from low (our old base ideas) to high ( toward spiritual heights). There is a real problem here, to quote scripture: "...there is no new thing under the sun" (Eccl 1:9). Mlle. Bertin, milliner to Marie Antoinette, put it even better, "There is nothing new except what is forgotten".
While the New Age may be new in the Patriarchal system, is it really new? Or is it old ancient ideas, layered over with a heaping helping of Patriarchy?

What are the cornerstones of Patriarchy? 1. Male dominance, 2. Hierarchal structure, 3. Power (over), 4. Control, 5. Separation.

When we study New Age ideas, do we see gurus, priests, teachers, ministers, prophets or spirits to be followed? Even though we might be told that "you can do it yourself!", what in fact is done? Rantha and Seth speaks, Shirley McLain writes books. Sun Mung Moon gives other clergy free trips to Korea to see how the reincarnated Jesus does things. Classes are formed to teach people how to channel. (Mediumship out, channeling in) Large fees are paid to learn this and other form of psychic divination. Classes are even formed to introduce people to the New Age, and to be "wise consumers of New Age goods and services. 2 hours for $17." To quote Dooreen Valiente, "The Pipes of Pan can scarcely be heard for the rustle of the dollar bills and the clang of the cash register." (ABCs of Witchcraft, page 374)

People are taught to "Do-it-yourself", but there must be an authority figure to do the teaching. A few years ago, quite a few groups held awareness sessions, psychic development classes, etc, for free or for a nominal sum. Today these sessions are being done less thoroughly, without a firm basis, for lotsa money by semi-competent people with letters behind their names.

Holistic health is touted as a new idea in healing. It is essentially the integration of body-mind-spirit or soul. if you accept this premise, then you must also accept that there is such a division that needs integration.

Dividing people up into smaller pieces such as body, mind and spirit, then reassembling them is not integration--it's repair. 1, as well as all beings, exist as a whole being. I cannot be separated and exist. Without body is death, without mind is coma.

How does your thought process work?, along the Patriarchal lines of separateness, or along the ideas of holism? Do you think of yourself as whole, or as the sun of your parts? Is your thinking possessive (my head, my finger) or non-attached (the head, the finger)? We are! We exist! We are not the sum total of parts that were assembled on a production line. We are whole.

Now what about ecology? The same argument holds true. We are not separate. We are our environment. We cannot exist without these surroundings. This is the reason that our Astronauts and Cosmonauts must be in space suits or capsules. We cannot be separate from our environment.

About 15 years ago, Akwasasne Notes, newspaper for the Mohawk Nation, had an article entitled, "Why the Indians were not Environmentalists". The jist of the article was the they could not separate themselves from the environment, because they were one and the same. They realized that whatever was done to a part affected the whole. Every action has a consequence and affects everything else. Further it is Patriarchal thought that says that we need to take care of our environment. it is a ploy for separation (us vs. them) and dominance (we...take care of). We cannot be separated.

To carry this further, we don't need to take care of our planet. We are the planet. We need to be aware of this, become responsible for our actions, accept our divinity as well as all divinity. It is not our job to be stewards, to be masters over the "lesser beings". We need rather, to learn cooperation. We as humans share this planet with other life forms and non life forms, one being no more or no less important than the other. A change in one affects all.

So what is the New Age? The New Age does not exist. it is figment of Patriarchal linear imagination. it is using new words, new phrases to try to breathe new life into a worn out philosophy. The outward signs, channeling, inspiration, holistic health, reverence for self-planet-others, etc, have been around since the first mother nurtured her child. Patriarchy is fighting for his life, and like the automobile industry is putting out a shiny new model of the sane old thing.

So now what do we do? THINK. Think clearly. Change the way that we've been taught to perceive ourselves and all around us. Trash the Patriarchal, linear model. Confront the dividers. Do not give authority to those who don't deserve it. Don't believe, know. Speak up. Realize that all things move in cycles and spirals. Realize that we are whole. Be wary of teachers who sell their knowledge for big bucks, rather than a fair price. Trust in yourself and continue to study. (by Don Wildgrube)

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