What does the pagan star mean?

Answer 1

The pagan star, called the Pentacle, is symbolic. Each point represents the five elements: (going clockwise starting at the top) Spirit, Earth, Fire, Water, Air. The Pentacle is often mistaken for a symbol of devil worship. However, the dominant point of the Pentacle points upwards, showing faith in powers above. If the dominant point faces downward, making the star inside inverted, the symbol becomes the Pentagram, a Satanic symbol.

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A five pointed star, pentacle or pentagram with a dominant point facing downward may have nothing whatever to do with Satanism. The Star of Bethlehem, which pointed to the birthplace of Christ, may be depicted as a 5 pointed star with the dominant point directed downward toward the Child in the manger.

Pentagrams & PentaclesI'm Wiccan and have been taught that the pentagram is a symbol of both humanity and spirituality. As stated in the first answer, the pentagram describes the five elements that make up a person starting clockwise with earth then air, fire, water and with spirit at the top. The shape is similar to Leonardo da vinci's "Vitruvian Man" and, like that, represents the shape of man(kind).

I was also taught that the enclosed pentagram is called a pentacle and represents the cycles of life and the connections of the elements; it also shows the nature of Wicca as a personal, self-contained belief.

This is an excellent page that the questioner might find handy:

http://www.angelfire.com/id/robpurvis/pentagram.html

Answer 2

The five pointed Pentagram is thought to have originated more than 2,500 years ago as a symbol of the Goddess Kore, who was worshipped from present-day England to Egypt and beyond. The sacred fruit of Kore is held to be an apple, which when cut in half reveals a five pointed star.

Within Paganism, the Pentagram symbolises the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, with the upright point representing Spirit.

There is a long history to the Pentagram and Pentacle, which you can begin to explore via the website linked below.