The Witching Hour

Reblogged from darkmoontarot

darkmoontarot:

The Old Burying Point is the oldest cemetery in Salem, MA. This is one of my favorite carvings that I’ve found in the cemetery.

I love the inverted pentagram carving because it gives me a chance to educate the tourists on cemetery tours about how the symbol’s meaning has changed through time. Most people commonly associate pentagrams with modern Witchcraft or even Satanic practices but it hasn’t always had those common associations.

The pentagram was used by Christians for quite some time as a symbol of the transfiguration of Christ or as a representation of the “Five Wounds/Stigmata of Christ.” An upside down pentagram has also been used as a symbol of Christ’s incarnation. During the medieval times the pentagram was used by many as a talisman to guard against evil. Pentagrams were carved into support beams or were hanged over doors and windows of homes to protect the occupants from demons, evil & sickness. The pentagram was also used to represent health, heavenly wisdom & truth during the medieval time period in Europe.

Between the period of 300-150 BCE, the inverted pentagram was used in the Seal of Jerusalem. A lot of people have also forgotten that the pentagram was considered a sacred symbol to the Pythagoreans as it was associated with the “golden ratio.” Pythagoreans also used the symbol as a password and sign of recognition amongst themselves.

Many modern Witches, Wiccans & some Pagans will often use the pentagram as a representation of the 4 elements in balance with spirit and will wear the pentagram as an amulet of protection amongst other things. The pentagram is also used in ritual and spell-work.

I believe the power of any symbol is in the intent for which it is used but it’s still interesting to look back in history at how the common associations of symbols have changed through the years. These are just a few historic uses of the pentagram, but it’s been used for different reasons in various cultures and religions all around the world.

Peace, Love & Magick

Kelly

Reblogged from darkmoontarot

darkmoontarot:

“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” John Lubbock

Photo by Kris @Dark Moon Tarot