The Upright Pentacle
This is the most common form of the pentacle among pagans. As I said, it is a protective, positive power representative of the search for divine knowledge. A pentacle is used to invoke or banish energies, depending on how it is drawn and as a focal point for magickal works. Though it's often drawn with many decorative additions, or combined with other symbols, the pentacle itself remains the same. A five pointed star encased in a circle. 

The pentacle has many different meanings and interpretations, the most common of which is the elemental pentacle. Four points represent the four worldly elements, earth, water, fire and air, while the fifth point represents the spirit or the divine. Different traditions assign the four elements to different points, but the top point is almost always reserved for the spirit. The circle surrounding the five point star indicates continuity and the unending flow of life and energy.

Two types of pentacle can be drawn in ritual, the invoking pentacle and the banishing pentacle. Invoking pentacles are drawn to summon energies at the beginning of a ritual or magickal working. A banishing pentacle is drawn to safely disperse energies that have gathered. There's no set rule on where to start drawing and which direction to go, but many traditions draw clockwise to invoke, and counterclockwise to banish. The most common practice to all is that the drawing be done in one continuous motion.

Before I show you how I draw my pentacles, I wish to share one piece of advice. I believe that magick is a very personal thing. I believe that any ritual or spell has to have meaning to the performer in order for it to be effective. So, though I may share with you the way I do certain things, I urge you to listen to your own instincts and do things the way it feels right to you. Don't just parrot what everyone else does. Then it's just done by rote, with no true meaning behind it.

That being said, I use the elemental pentacle, with the points designated as shown below.   

As always, feel free to add your comments or questions!  Next week, we'll have a look at some other common pagan symbols, and their meanings. Goddess bless!

I mentioned in my first entry that you'd be hard pressed to find two pagans that believe the same thing but that there are common threads to many of the different traditions. Though not all pagans recognize a distinct deity, these are some of the beliefs of those that do.

Most pagans recognize a duality in the divine, honouring both the masculine and the feminine. Often there is an emphasis on the feminine, but many see them as equal and balancing. These of course are the gods and goddesses.

Some of the oldest known depictions of a goddess are the Mother goddess figures seen as a very voluptuous woman with no clear face and often only suggested arms and legs. The large belly and breasts are the primary features, suggesting fertility and bounty. The most famous of these figures is the one that has been dubbed the “Venus of Willendorf”. These figures date mostly from the upper paleolithic era, 10000-50000 years ago. This type of goddess figure was popularized in the “Earth's Children” series by Jean M. Auel. She is a creation goddess, the Mother of all things. Some pagans identify this primordial goddess by name, such as Coatlicue of Aztec legend, Gaea from Greek mythology or Tiamat from Mesopotamia. Others just refer to her as Goddess, the Mother, or the Lady.

Though the Goddess is often seen as the creator, she is not alone. Many pagans also honour the masculine divine in the form of a companion God who is both consort and son to the Goddess. The Goddess is a constant, while the God is often a changing figure, representing the change in seasons and associated with crops and the harvest. Like the Goddess, the God is given many names, Cernunnos to the Celts, Osiris in Egypt or the Green Man, a forest god thought to originate in ancient Britain.

Often this God and Goddess pair is seen as a supreme divinity, where one could be dominant, or both could be seen as equal partners.

There are also the pantheons of different cultures around the world. There are usually a great many gods and goddesses in each pantheon, and each of them are responsible for different attributes. For example, Aphrodite of the Greek pantheon is the goddess of love and fertility. The Morrigan in Celtic mythology is associated with war and death on the battlefield. The Hindu Ganesha is the god of good fortune. There are thousands more....

So a pagan may honour the God and Goddess pair or venerate a god/dess of a pantheon or the entire pantheon. But don't think that you have to pick one or the other, or stick with just the Greek pantheon, or Egyptian....there really are no limits. Some pagans, like myself, have a very eclectic view.

In my personal beliefs (which are always evolving as I learn), I honour the Lord and Lady as a Father protector and Mother creator, equal in status though with different attributes and areas of responsibility. While I consider the Lord and Lady as supreme, I also find myself drawn to many of the “lesser” gods of the Greek, Norse, Celtic and Egyptian pantheons. “Lesser” is not meant in any derogatory sense, it's just the only way I can think of to describe their place in the hierarchy.  A good analogy would be the CEO and Board of Directors of a corporation (Lady and Lord), then the VPs of the different departments ("lesser" gods).  I have called on some of these gods/goddesses in ritual and magickal works. My beliefs also include aspects of shamanism and animism.

First, let's discuss “magic” and “magick”.

Magic is a term that brings to mind classic stage tricks like pulling a rabbit from a hat, right up to the mind boggling illusions of David Copperfield and the death defying escapes of Harry Houdini.  Magic is primarily a form of entertainment.  When the word is given its archaic spelling, it produces a more visceral reaction and evokes ideas of things much older and untamed.  This is magick.

Simply put, magick is the art and science of changing the universe by an act of will.  Now, before you snort derisively and turn away, let me ask a question and I want you to really think about it:  Why is that so hard to believe?

Famous Sci-Fi writer Arthur C. Clarke said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Imagine going back in time a couple hundred years and telling tales of people flying through the air and walking on the moon.  You'd probably end up in an asylum as people of the time would think you completely mad believing in all these impossible things!

Now go back 5 centuries or so with your iPod in hand listening to your favourite music.  Like as not, you'll be arrested for consorting with demons, tortured and killed.

Go back even further, thousands of years ago, when life depended on creating and controlling fire.  Strike a match or flick your Bic and you may be worshipped as a god.

Consider then, is magick really impossible? Or is it just something that is not yet understood?

In recent times, the scientific community has done a fair amount of research into the theory that our thoughts can have an effect in the physical world.  You can read about the quantum double slit experiment, the teleportation physics study, the global consciousness experiment with random number generators, Emoto's water experiment and others that have actually produced positive results for this theory.

If you've ever read Dan Brown's book, The Lost Symbol, you may have heard of Noetic science.  This branch of science is dedicated to researching subjects that have thus far been relegated to the supernatural realm.  While it is still considered “fringe” by many in the scientific world, it is gaining credibility and has published findings that may very well change the way we perceive reality.

So, other branches of science have investigated IF our thoughts affect the physical, Noetics is trying to explain HOW it works.  I don't pretend to understand all the science behind it, but this is what I've gleaned from what I've read so far.

Relativistic physics proposes that all forms of energy have a corresponding inertial mass.  A thought is the result of a series of electrical impulses, which are a form of energy and therefore has mass.  Anything that has mass has a gravitational field, however miniscule.  Anything with a gravitational field will affect the matter surrounding it.  And therefore, our thoughts have an effect on our environment.  We could go even further into it with a look at the quantum entanglement theory, which has proven that an action performed on certain particles will also affect their twin particles no matter how much distance between the two.

But for those of you who are getting a headache trying to sort this all out (like me!), let's just say....it's magick!

Well, the word actually comes from ancient Rome. “Paganus” was a person living in a rural area or village. As Christianity became more widespread and generally accepted in the towns and cities, “paganus” became the term for a person who continued to worship the old gods. Eventually, the word crept into the English language as the word pagan. Today, a pagan is best defined as a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.
Sounds a little vague doesn't it? That's because there are so very many different traditions in modern paganism, or neopaganism, it just can't be pinned down to “a modern pagan believes _____”. Some are monotheistic (one god/dess), others are polytheistic (many god/desses). There are animists, those who believe that everything, rocks, plants, animals, all posses a spiritual essence. Pantheists don't believe in a distinct god, but that everyone and everything IS god. Shamanism teaches how to focus on our connection to nature and all of creation. The list goes on...
Because there are many different paths a pagan can follow, I can't possibly speak for all of them. I can't say that all pagans believe or don't believe in something. However, there are common threads to many of the different traditions. Many are earth based religions, meaning they honour nature and believe humans are a part of nature, rather than separate and above it. Many do have gods and goddesses that figure prominently in their beliefs, and many have a central Goddess figure, a Mother of all creation. Most pagans respect that everyone must walk their own path, and don't expect that everyone must believe the same thing that they do. You may be hard pressed to find two pagans that believe in all the same things. In fact, many pagans find their beliefs change and evolve as they grow and learn. It's actually one of the things I love about it. There's no dogma, there are no strict rules to follow and it has a fluidity many religions don't.
There is one last common thread to many of the different pagan paths that I would like to point out. Pagans are not all Satan worshippers. Quite frankly, most pagans don't even believe in the devil. He is a figure that belongs to another religion entirely. I know there are many myths and misconceptions about paganism, and I don't have time or space to dispel them all. But that one's a biggie, and I want to get it out of the way ASAP.
It is my hope that as we go along, people will come to understand more about modern pagans, and that some of the other myths will see the light of day. I don't necessarily want to change your mind, but I do want to make you think! Blessings be with you!