Pentagram

A pentagram is a special shape made of five lines that cross each other to form a five-pointed star. It comes from connecting the corners of a regular five-sided figure, called a pentagon, in a certain way. When you draw a circle around the five points of this star, the shape is sometimes called a pentacle.

People have used the pentagram and pentacle for many years. It is an important symbol for those who follow Wiccans and other paganism beliefs. But it can also mean life and connections. There is even an upside-down version of this symbol that people use in different ways.

The name pentagram comes from ancient Greek words meaning "five lines." Sometimes the shape is also called a pentalpha, a name that dates back to the 1600s. While "pentagram" refers to just the star itself, "pentacle" usually means the star inside a circle, though the two words are used in slightly different ways.

History

Early history

Early pentagrams were found on pottery from Ur around 3500 BCE. The five-pointed star was also a symbol for Ishtar or Marduk.

Pentagram symbols from about 5,000 years ago were found in the Liangzhu culture of China. The pentagram appeared in Chinese texts about music from the Warring States period as a diagram showing musical notes.

The pentagram was known to the ancient Greeks, with drawings dating back to the 7th century BCE. It was used by Pythagoreanism as a sign of friendship and good deeds.

Western symbolism

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, the pentagram was used as a symbol for the five senses and for special Christian meanings. It appeared in old English poems and on church buildings.

Renaissance

During the Renaissance, writers like Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa used the pentagram for magical meanings. They linked its five points to different ideas.

Romanticism

By the 1800s, some writers said that the way the pentagram was pointed could change its meaning. An upright pentagram was seen as good, while an upside-down one was seen as bad.

Uses in modern times

The pentagram is used in many modern religions and cultures. It appears on flags, like those of Morocco and Ethiopia, and in groups like the Order of the Eastern Star. It is also a symbol for the Baháʼí Faith and the Serer people of West Africa.

Some groups use the upside-down pentagram as a symbol, but it is most commonly known as a sign used in many different ways around the world.

Geometry

The pentagram is the simplest regular star polygon. It has ten points and fifteen line segments. It is linked to a special number called the golden ratio, which appears in its shape and angles.

You can make a pentagram by connecting every other point of a regular pentagon. It also shows up in some three-dimensional shapes and higher-dimensional figures.

4D		5D
The regular 5-cell (4-simplex) has five vertices and 10 edges.	The rectified 5-cell has 10 vertices and 30 edges.	The rectified 5-simplex has 15 vertices, seen in this orthogonal projection as three nested pentagrams.	The birectified 5-simplex has 20 vertices, seen in this orthogonal projection as four overlapping pentagrams.

Pentagram of Venus

The pentagram of Venus shows the path of the planet Venus as seen from Earth. When Venus moves close to Earth in a certain way, called an inferior conjunction, this happens about 13 times for every eight times Earth goes around the Sun. This creates a shape with five points, like a star, showing special patterns in the way Venus moves.