The five pointed star, or Pentagram is one of the most potent, powerful, and persistant symbols in human history. It's been an important symbol to many in ancient culture, from the Mayans of Latin America, to China, Greece, India and Egypt. It has been found scratched on the walls of Neolithic caves, and in Babylonian drawings, where it marks the pattern the planet Venus makes on it's travels- a secret symbol of the Goddess Ishtar. Scriptures, especially Hebrew, are abundant with references to pentagrams. It's probably one of the oldest in the Craft, in history it's been suspected that the Sumerians used the Pentagram in their rituals, and was kept as a sacred object. It's for this reason that the Pentagram has survived into Wicca as an object to encompass our belief system. The pentagram, however, is not simply
just a decoration or a pretty symbol. It has very deep meanings, although it means different things to different witches. The earliest Pentagrams were rough diagrams scratched into stone age caves. While they are believed to have some spiritual significance, the meaning of the star - shape to early humans is a mystery. In the civilizations that followed, it held various of meanings, usually astronomical and religious. Commonly today' the religions using the Pentagram the most are by Wiccan, Neopagan, and Satanic groups. In most Wiccan and Neopagan traditions, it's symbolic meaning is derived from ceremonial magick and nineteenth centuary occultisn- the four elements ruled by the Spirit- although as these theologies mature, they have added to it's meaning.
