elements - inverted silver plated necklace

The pentagram is a powerful iconic symbol that is recognized by cultures around the world. Very few symbols are as old or as common today as the pentagram, and there is probaly no symbol that has had more different meanings to more people throughout its long existence. In fact, the pentagram may mean something slightly different to everyone that looks at it depending on their own life experience and perspective. I know that this is the case for me. The characteristics of the pentagram resonate with me in a very special way. It illustrates an important truth that I will try and convey here with this mandala. Over several millenia the pentagram has built up an impressive resume as a symbol. As a representation of a star the pentagram can be found in cave paintings from the neolithic period. Its first known use in writing was around 3000 BCE in Mesopotamia. The Babylonians used it to represent the five planets Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Venus. It also represented Ishtar the "Queen of Heaven". Some ancient cultures also used the pentagram as a symbol for Venus because it is the pattern of that planets travels through the heavens. The great Greek mathematician, mystic and scientist Pythagoras saw the pentagram as a represntation of man and the five elements fire, water, earth, air and psyche. The pentagrams association with the number five and as a symbol of man also helped it become a symbol for the early christians. For them it represented the five wounds of Jesus those in his hands, feet and side. It was not until the time of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in the sixteenth century that we see writings that link the pentagram to magic and the occult sciences, and in the the nineteenth century Eliphas Levi is considered the first to propose the idea that the pentagram with a single point pointing down is evil. Today the pentagram has been embraced by Pagans and Wiccans as well as the Masons and even Satanists making it one of the most eclectic symbols around. For me the pentagram does not have a positive or negative connotation regardless of whether it is pointing up or down. However, I do think that the pentagrams ability to change its meaning by being inverted is one of its most dynamic qualities. "Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled." The Kybalion. For me the pentagram representes the law of dichotomy. A dichotomy is a pair of opposites that cannot exist without eachother, such as light and dark. Darkness is defined as the absence of light and the condition of light could not be percieved if there were no absence of light to compare it to. Dichotomies are really opposite extremes of the same continuum. Every point on the continuum represents a certain mixture of the presence of one extreme and the lack of the other. All the dynamic energies within us like, love and fear exist on such a continuum. Neither extreme of an energy can ever be completely absent but whichever energy has the lesser presence is considered latent while the other is the manifest energy. The pentagram represents this because whenever a pentagram is created the corners of the pentagon in the center create the points of another pentagram pointed in the opposite direction. The outer pentagram represtents the manifest energy and the inner represents the latent energy. When the pentagram is being used to show where one is on the continuum of spirituality with one extreme being entirely focused in spirit and the other extreme entirely focused in the material world then the outer pentagram pointing up represents a manifest energy that is more spiritual in focus while the inner pentagram represents a material energy that is latent. If the outer pentagram is pointed down then it is the material energy that is manifest and the spiritual that is latent. As long as we exist on this material plane we will always need to balance the influences of these two exremes in our lives. Most often we become so embroiled in the demands and influences of the physical reality around us that we need to reconnect with our spiritual selves. At such times it is helpful to meditate on the pentagram in its' manifest spirit form. At other times, however, we may find ourselves in need of grounding so that we can better deal with the physical reality and then it is better to meditate on the pentagram in its' material manifest form until we have regained a good balance for the moment. Life is a state of constant change and flux. The perfect balance of energy for us changes from moment to moment as well. Balance is not static but rather fluid moving with the ebb and flow of life. By meditating with this mandala we can learn to ride the wave of balanced energy.