The history of the pentacle
The history of the pentacle
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Firstly, before we get into the pentacle, it should be noted that the pentagram will be mentioned quite a bit in the history as it is the base for the pentacle. The difference is that the pentacle is a five-pointed star with a circle around it, while the pentagram is simply a five-pointed star. A good way to remember the difference is that the pentacle is spelled with a C, as is circle, so the word spelled with a C is the one with the circle around it. PentalCe/pentagram. It took me a few years to really stop mixing the two up, and honestly, the constant back-and-forth in books and on social media didn’t help. The terms get used interchangeably far more often than they should. That said, now that we’ve cleared that up, we can move forward without the confusion.
For many, many moons, the pentacle has been associated with satan, evil, devil worship, and the dark arts, all the way around to the point that for years it was banned in school. It wasn’t until 2007 that the US government finally allowed the pentacle to be carved into veterans' headstones. It took several lawsuits before the US government made this change. And sure, it is viewed as a “Wiccan” symbol in this case, but it is still a win for the true history and those who choose to honor it.
So, where does this magical five-pointed star come from?
Before the pentagram was a popular occult witch symbol, its history goes much further back. It has been found in ancient Sumeria, Babylonia, and Egypt. It is believed that the pentagram is one of the oldest markings known to humankind!
Discovered as far back as 6000 BCE by research in the Tigris-Euphrates region of the Middle East, and even making an appearance on coins of Greece.
In a rare case, pentagrams were found dating back to 4000 BCE in what is now Israel.
photo credit: summerlandspirits.com
There are several theories about what this symbol meant to the ancient people who carved, etched, and stamped it into their world. As with most things this old, we are left piecing together intent from fragments rather than clear explanations.
One commonly repeated theory is that the five points represented the four cardinal directions, with the upper point symbolizing a “vault of heaven”. Some people dismiss this as far-fetched, and to be fair, I am one of those. It feels far too close to Christian frameworks to comfortably apply to cultures that existed thousands of years before those ideas took shape. In my opinion, that explanation reads more like a retroactive overlay than an authentic ancient belief.
A second theory, and one that carries far more weight for me, is that the five points represented the five visible planets in the night sky: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These celestial bodies were not abstract concepts to ancient peoples; they were living presences in the sky. Long before telescopes or modern astronomy, humans were already mapping meaning onto the heavens, and the regular movement of these five wandering stars would have been impossible to ignore. Of course, the truth is that without written records or direct explanations, we may never truly know what those ancient souls believed when they carved the five-pointed star. What we do know is that the symbol endured, which suggests it held power, meaning, or utility strong enough to be passed down again and again across cultures and centuries. And symbols do not survive that long without reason.
It wouldn't be until about 400 BCE, with the rise of Pythagorean mysticism, that we get better documentation that helps us understand what this ancient symbol meant to some of these people.
Pythagoras and his disciples were also big fans of the pentagram, which they called ὑγίεια (Hygieia)—meaning “health,” and conveniently also the name of the Greek goddess of health. They likely used it as a kind of spiritual password, a way to recognize one another once their society got pushed underground. Because of course it did. History is basically a riddle with groups being told to stay quiet. For them, the symbol wasn’t some abstract cosmic mystery. The five points were mapped directly onto the human body: head, two hands, and two feet. Simple. Physical. Human. No angels, no heavens, no dramatic flair, just the body as a living symbol. Which honestly feels very on-brand for a group obsessed with math, proportion, and proving that everything could be explained if you just stared at it long enough. The Pythagoreans considered the pentagram to be perfect, and they meant that in the mathematical sense. Embedded within the shape is what would later be called the golden ratio, a proportion they believed reflected the underlying order of the universe. To them, this wasn’t just clever geometry; it was proof of cosmic harmony. Because of this, the pentagram became a symbol of health and knowledge. At times, they even inscribed the Greek letters spelling ὑγίεια (Hygieia) at its points, reinforcing the idea that balance, proportion, and the human body itself were expressions of a deeper universal truth.
The pentagram was used by many groups in ancient Greece as a protective symbol and has even been found on ancient Judean pottery. What we know with relative confidence, however, is that the official seal of Jerusalem used the pentagram as its emblem between 300–150 BCE. In Jewish Kabbalistic thought, the pentagram is connected to justice, mercy, wisdom, understanding, and a higher, radiant spiritual harmony.
During the 14th century, the pentagram stood as the symbol of the knight's five virtues. It even made it into a poem (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight): Generosity, Friendship, Purity/Cleanliness, Courtesy, and Piety/Compassion. People could see this symbol on Sir Gawain's shawl and shield, believing at the time this symbol could also protect against witches, evil, and demons.
A few centuries later during the 16th century, we start to see the pentacle take shape. Some believe that during this time, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, along with other Renaissance occultists, helped popularize the pentacle as a protective, ceremonial, magical symbol. Agrippa published versions of the pentacle that framed the human form as a “perfect work of God,” with one head, two arms, and two legs reflected in its five points. Interesting take after so many years have passed since Pythagoras, and yet a similar thought was still had. This interpretation helped cement the idea that the pentacle represented both the human microcosm and the five elements; his teachings act as the scaffolding and concept that continues to influence occult and magical traditions today.
Then later in the 16th century, we see with the Key of Solomon, as well as the Heptameron by pseudo-Pietro d’Abano. This is important because many of the occultists from the 19th and 20th centuries gained much of their information from books such as the Key of Solomon.
For example, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) incorporated the pentagram and pentacle into his Thelemic system of magick. In his practice, the pentagram functioned as a drawn or visualized ritual tool, while the pentacle served as a physical, talismanic object, both central to Thelemic ceremonial work. Crowley inherited much of this framework from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn but reinterpreted it through his own system of elemental correspondences, deities, and symbolic associations. Within this context, an inverted pentagram represents spirit descending into matter, rather than matter being inherently evil, a view also taught by the Golden Dawn.
The Freemasons, of course, used the pentagram also! Freemasonry has also made use of the pentagram, sometimes placing a G at its center to represent gnosis, generation, or the Grand Architect. Nineteenth-century writings show the symbol carried a wide range of meanings, including protection, magic, and even associations with demons. Closely connected to this tradition, the Order of the Eastern Star—an affiliated fraternal organization to the Masons—used a point-down pentagram in its earlier emblem, with the five points colored red, blue, yellow, white, and green. In modern versions, the central pentagon is rotated by 36 degrees, meaning it is no longer a true pentagram. Also, you can find the pentacle with the colors with a pentagon circle around it.
Before the cross ever became Christianity’s main symbol, the pentacle was already in use—and Christianity has had a long, complicated relationship with it ever since. Early Christians wore it as jewelry, carried it as a protective charm, and even marked it onto battle gear. It was connected to the five wounds of Christ, but also to the way the pentagram is drawn in one continuous line, symbolizing wholeness, unity, and an unbroken spiritual cycle.
Later doctrine didn’t know what to do with all of that. Some scholars point to early Gnostic currents within Christianity—ideas that were eventually pushed out—as another layer of the pentagram’s meaning. Are we really surprised? These interpretations often tie the symbol to a suppressed feminine principle, symbolically linked to figures like Isis or Venus. If you know where to look, remnants of this symbolism still appear in Gothic church architecture. Ironically, many historic churches still display the very symbol they would later condemn.
As ceremonial magic became something to fear rather than understand, the pentagram’s meaning was steadily distorted. By the twentieth century, both pentagrams and the pentacles had been recast as sinister symbols, closely linked with Satanism, and were largely rejected by mainstream Christianity—despite their long and complex history.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also worked the pentagram/pentacle into its sacred architecture, even if that fact surprises modern audiences. The five-pointed star appears in many LDS temples, most notably at the Salt Lake, the temple in Illinois. LDS didn’t use this symbol as an occult symbol though but as a variation of “Star of the Morning" or the "Day Star," a title for Jesus.
Christianity wasn’t the only tradition working with the pentagram. In Islamic tradition, the symbol is commonly known as the Seal of Solomon and carries meanings very different from the fear-based narratives that came later. In at least one interpretation, its five points are associated with core virtues such as love, truth, peace, freedom, and justice. The pentagram also appears within the Bahāʾī Faith, where it serves as an official—though not dominant—symbol. There it is sometimes called the haykal, an Arabic word meaning “body” or “temple,” emphasizing the form as a vessel rather than something to be feared.
In the early 1800s, French magician Éliphas Lévi played a pivotal role in connecting the pentacle to the pentagram. In Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, he illustrated pentacles both with pentagrams inscribed on them and with other magical symbols, helping to clarify the distinction between the star as a symbol and the pentacle as a ritual object. A pentacle is a magical or ritual object, usually circular in shape, but it is defined by its use and the symbols inscribed on it, not merely by being a circle. It typically bears symbols—most commonly a pentagram—but can also include astrological symbols, divine names, or other sigils.
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Alphonse Louis Constant - Dogme et rituel de la haute magie Tome #01 et #02 by Alphonse Louis Constant
The pentagram itself is simply the five-pointed star, often inscribed on the pentacle, while the pentacle is the physical object or talisman used in ritual practice. At this point in history, as you can see, the pentacle had not taken complete shape as what we know it as today.
However, many credit Levi for “cementing” the word pentacle in the Western world occult scene. His writing fueled a fire. As mentioned earlier, Aleister Crowley drew heavily from past occultists, including Levi, later claiming a spiritual connection so strong he called himself Lévi reborn. Crowley was a bit of an eccentric if you ask me. A name you all are probably familiar with, Gerald Gardner (1884-1964), “the father of modern Wicca”, fed heavily from Crowley himself.
By the mid-19th century (1840s-1860s) , occultists were debating what the pentagram’s arrangement meant. Pointed upward, it symbolized the spirit presiding over the four elements of matter (earth, air, fire, water) a sign of balance, harmony, and protection. Turn it upside down, with two points reaching skyward, and it became a symbol of matter dominating spirit, horns thrusting toward the heavens. A darker energy tied to rebellion, inversion, and, eventually, modern Satanism.
Interestingly, some Satanists today use the pentagram pointing upward as well, highlighting the symbol’s enduring versatility and the fluidity of its interpretations across time and traditions. It's fascinating to note that going back to the Pythagoreans. The ancient Pythagoreans drew it with two points up, representing a concept called Pentemychos, meaning “five recesses” or “five chambers.” It was also called the pentagonas, the five-angle, and appeared in a work by Pherecydes of Syros, Pythagoras’s teacher and friend. Even back then, the pentagram carried layers.
Fast forward to more modern times: Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan (founded in 1966) famously uses the inverted pentagram, sometimes inscribed in a double circle with the goat’s head at the center—the Sigil of Baphomet. This iconic design most likely was inspired in part by Éliphas Lévi’s illustrations. The two upward points become horns, the three downward points an upside-down Trinity, a sharp statement of rebellion. LaVeyan Satanists often see it as a mark of identity or defiance rather than mystical power.
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Alphonse Louis Constant - Dogme et rituel de la haute magie Tome #01 et #02 by Alphonse Louis Constant
Murky as they are, some trace its roots to the brutal 14th-century Inquisition of the Knights Templar where they were accused of heresy and alleged to have worshipped an idol called Baphomet, but there is no reliable evidence that the medieval order actually used inverted pentagrams or engaged in Satanic practice; the association comes largely from later rumor and legend constructed during their suppression and subsequently popularized by 19th‑century writers.
Early still, Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891) in The Secret Doctrine described the reversed pentagram as a symbol of the Kali Yuga, the age of materialism, lust, and violence.
After all that, the pentagram isn’t inherently dark. In Nordic countries like Norway and Sweden, people drew it on doors and walls to ward off trolls and general evil.
Moving into the 1950s with Wicca…Wicca, too, favors the upright star, though some British traditions invert it to mark higher degrees of achievement in witchcraft.
It is then, in the 1950s the meaning most people are familiar with became cemented in what the pentacle/pentagram means when Gerald Gardner popularized Wicca. In this matter, the pentacle stands for the four elements and the spirit. (earth, air, fire, water). For many Wiccans today, the pentacle represents the horned god when it is inverted and the triple goddess when it is upright.
As we touched on earlier with circle casting, the pentacle has long been a tool for calling in—or banishing—spirits, a symbol of focus, protection, and power. Coming full circle, Wicca has grown tremendously since its formal creation in 1954, and today the pentacle is recognized as the official symbol of the religion—at least in the eyes of the U.S. government.
As you can see, the pentacle itself isn’t “exactly” old, but it sure does have a hell of an origin story. It is noteworthy that while researching for this section, the Pythagoras pentagram comes up quite a bit with double circles around it or a pentagon in place of the circle around it. Which begs the question, has the pentacle been being used right alongside the pentagram simply as a single symbol instead of two?
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