Not sure if using inverted pentagram is a good idea.

[Theweirdtophat]

I always hear so much about what this symbol is supposed to really mean. Some say it is evil, others say it is not. Sect. I know that john Michael Greer a druid other talks about using it for ritual and has an oak and heather pentagram for ritual. I find it strange. People say it is an evil symbol and Christians say that yet I hear the inverted pentagram existed long before Christianity. Greer talks of it but also says it is bad to uses curses or to take advantage. If it was an evil symbol wouldn't the wizard use it to practice evil spells.

I sometimes find it unnerving to use it since some people I personally know who are unethical sorcerers that use it and I am a druid so I don't want to have anything to do with them. What do you think?

 

[crossfire]

If you are unsure about it, then don't use it.

 

[allfoak]

I always hear so much about what this symbol is supposed to really mean. Some say it is evil, others say it is not. Sect. I know that john Michael Greer a druid other talks about using it for ritual and has an oak and heather pentagram for ritual. I find it strange. People say it is an evil symbol and Christians say that yet I hear the inverted pentagram existed long before Christianity. Greer talks of it but also says it is bad to uses curses or to take advantage. If it was an evil symbol wouldn't the wizard use it to practice evil spells.

I sometimes find it unnerving to use it since some people I personally know who are unethical sorcerers that use it and I am a druid so I don't want to have anything to do with them. What do you think?

Seems like it has gotten a bad rap like the swastika.
The pentagram is a classic symbol of gender,the gender being decided by the way it is turned.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I always hear so much about what this symbol is supposed to really mean. Some say it is evil, others say it is not. Sect. I know that john Michael Greer a druid other talks about using it for ritual and has an oak and heather pentagram for ritual. I find it strange. People say it is an evil symbol and Christians say that yet I hear the inverted pentagram existed long before Christianity. Greer talks of it but also says it is bad to uses curses or to take advantage. If it was an evil symbol wouldn't the wizard use it to practice evil spells.

I sometimes find it unnerving to use it since some people I personally know who are unethical sorcerers that use it and I am a druid so I don't want to have anything to do with them. What do you think?

Nothing is evil in and of itself. It's how one uses it (weapon, symbol, words, actions, etc) is when we consider something "evil" and something a "blessing."

I read about the history of the pentacle years ago; and, this is what I found. It isn't a historical document since on the internet it would take me hours to cross check. The only thing on this site below that I see wrong in my knowledge is the Jews (unless corrected) use the Star of David not the Pentacle to represent the Torah.

This is just brush over opinion: http://paganandproudofit.com/The-Pentagram-its-real-history.html Take it at your own risk

 

[Papoon]

If you can see a non- inverted pentagram, is it dangerous to do a headstand ?

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Nothing is evil in and of itself. It's how one uses it (weapon, symbol, words, actions, etc) is when we consider something "evil" and something a "blessing."

I read about the history of the pentacle years ago; and, this is what I found. It isn't a historical document since on the internet it would take me hours to cross check. The only thing on this site below that I see wrong in my knowledge is the Jews (unless corrected) use the Star of David not the Pentacle to represent the Torah.

This is just brush over opinion: http://paganandproudofit.com/The-Pentagram-its-real-history.html Take it at your own risk

I do wonder because some say the upward pentagram is good while the inverted one is evil though. I have a hard time telling which is true as some will say they are symbols. I have seen non satanists use the inverted pentagram despite people saying it is a satanic symbol. i wasn't sure if it was a good idea to use in rituals. I don't want to have anything to do with evil magic

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I do wonder because some say the upward pentagram is good while the inverted one is evil though. I have a hard time telling which is true as some will say they are symbols. I have seen non satanists use the inverted pentagram despite people saying it is a satanic symbol. i wasn't sure if it was a good idea to use in rituals. I don't want to have anything to do with evil magic

That's understandable. Symbols can't harm you unless you use it for harm. I honestly think it may benefit you to find what the symbol means to you. For example, there is a lot of history behind it but that doesn't define what it means to me. My mother has it on her pinky and when she practiced, she always kept it. Cant remember if she bought it or someone gave it to her. It's just a regular silver medal star with a circle around it. I got the same so I am connected to her. My turning a piece of medal upside down and right side up has nothing to do with how I am a "twin" to my mother based on the same jewelry we wear and beliefs we share.

It was usd a lot for geometic uses (numbers used in occult, I assume, You can ask the Left-Hand Path folks?). I mean, my grandmother had a horse shoe that she placed over our door because when my mother group they had spirits in the house. So she turned the hourshoe around and nailed it up top of every door leading into our home.

I wouldn't be suprised if "Christians" and other people online got everything backwards. Maybe having it upside down is protection and right side up is not, who knows.

It's just five lines made into a star. Even when turned upside down, it doesnt look like it should mean anything unless going by the gender post. So, how would you (and any person or that matter) may or does associate the pentacle with evil upside down or not?

I dont know. I dont see connection but to what you make of it. I know that doesn't help; but, I feel magic is defined by the person using the magic. We do the work. We create the ritual. We are the car even if we have different beliefs on who the motor is, what it is, or whether or not the motor runs off of all parts or one part that is the foundation of the whole. Whatever the case may be,

its up to you.....

 

[Twilight Hue]

I was curious as to why symbolic position is so important? Is the center of the earth the focal point to determine weither a symbol is actually inverted?

 

[Theweirdtophat]

I suppose it depends on how you define it. I haven't seen anyone use a cross for evil purposes however. The swastika from Jainism isn't the same as the Nazi one since the Nazi symbol is tilted a little. When was the inverted pentagram first used? I would not want to use a symbol associated with evil t some will say it's not but then I hear some say Nazism is a misunderstood and good belief so it depends on who you talk to.

 

[EtuMalku]

Wouldn't all the upright pentagrams on the other side of the world be inverted pentagrams to you and vice versa?

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Perhaps they might think it is bad like with the upside down cross which also some people say is good or bad. I know people have used the inverted pentagram for unethical purposes but never saw anyone use a cross for bad uses

 

[Mindmaster]

Does the meaning of it elementally change if you invert it? Then stop worrying about it.

 

[Theweirdtophat]

[QWellster, post: 4560453, member: 23276"]Does the meaning of it elementally change if you invert it? Then stop worrying about it.[/QUOTE]

Well symbols that have different shapes obviously mean different things. Otherwise why would people use different symbols for different occasions? it's debatable since some will say it is not an evil symbol. That of course doesn't mean that what they are saying is true. As an example i have heard some say nazism is a great idea despite the horrible ideaology behind it. I am not worried of anything i am just trying to get the truth.

I recall multiple people in the past that had an upward pentagram and has been used as a symbol for christian virtues but i have never seen any stories where the inverted pentagram was used for good.

 

[Milton Platt]

I always hear so much about what this symbol is supposed to really mean. Some say it is evil, others say it is not. Sect. I know that john Michael Greer a druid other talks about using it for ritual and has an oak and heather pentagram for ritual. I find it strange. People say it is an evil symbol and Christians say that yet I hear the inverted pentagram existed long before Christianity. Greer talks of it but also says it is bad to uses curses or to take advantage. If it was an evil symbol wouldn't the wizard use it to practice evil spells.

I sometimes find it unnerving to use it since some people I personally know who are unethical sorcerers that use it and I am a druid so I don't want to have anything to do with them. What do you think?

If you draw an inverted pentagram and then take it to the southern hemesphere, is it still inverted?

 

[Aupmanyav]

With us (Hindus) it is hexagram denoting 'Shakti' and not pentagram.

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Check the pictures I have uploaded. I am actually not even sure why some were confused over the swastikas. The Hindu one doesn't even look like the Nazi swastika. The Hindu version isn't tilted at a 45 degree angle like the Nazi one so they aren't even the same image. I have heard there were different versions of pentagrams. In the files I uploaded, John Michael Greer uses something called an oak pentagram which has the star pointing upward like the Wiccan Pentacle. except it's around a dolmen arch. He has something called a heather pentagram basically has the inverted pentagram, as in the star that points downard and is seen by many satanists though. Although I find it weird he'd even use the inverted one when there's plenty of symbols to choose from like the triskelion.

I just find it uneasy to use an inverted pentagram in ritual work. I have seen the history of the upright pentagram but I haven't seen any other society of group use an inverted one before Christianity existed. And I don't know too many nice people that use an inverted one either.

 

[Erebus]

If you are unsure about it, then don't use it.

This.

Regardless of what an inverted pentagram may or may not actually mean, if you're uncomfortable using it, just avoid it.

Unless making yourself uncomfortable is the point of course. Fear can be a useful tool at times.

 

[Mindmaster]

I personally don't find much relevance to these symbols because I grew up without them. I just have no culture with them and because of that they aren't as powerful as things I've come up with on my own. Realize that your own made up symbols are just as good as anything else. It matters only what it means to you..

 

[crossfire]

I was curious as to why symbolic position is so important? Is the center of the earth the focal point to determine weither a symbol is actually inverted?

It is from the perspective of the viewer, of course, since it your own mind you are working with. My take on it pointing downward is introversion--you are looking within, either to bring something into consciousness or to change an ingrained habit. (But I really don't use pentagrams, so moot point with me.)

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

There's no such thing as an "evil" symbol. Symbols are symbols and mean whatever you want them to mean. I always liked the "inverted" pentagram more than the other since it's aesthetically pleasing and I enjoy the personal meaning it has to me - virility, balance and individualism. It also connects to horned God imagery, which I like because I love Pan (I wear a pendant of him). I wear a pentagram ring in the "inverted" position (towards me) and have a pendant of one, too.

It was Eliphas Levi who first assigned negative connotations to the "inverted" pentagram and his reasoning was rather Christian in basis.