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In which I educate someone.
Nov. 6th, 2012 04:39 pmasitlisidik asked: "i thought that star with circle is symbol of satanism :S"
The pentagram is an ancient symbol dating back thousands and thousands of years, and has been used by old pagans, by Christians, and is now primarily associated in modern times with the religion called Wicca, which is a neo-pagan religion. It represents the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, and spirit). Wiccan pentagrams are usually point-up, but sometimes the point-down variety is used.
The point-down, or "inverted" pentagram is often associated with modern Satanism, especially the versions with a goat's head drawn on them, but the inverted pentagram is, just as the regular pentagram, an extremely ancient symbol. Since Wiccans generally claim that the point-up position means the superiority of spirit over the mundane, modern Satanists tend to prefer the point-down pentagram to indicate a preference for the earthly world over spiritual pipe dreams.
The association of the inverted pentagram with Satanism is an odd one. The pentagram was widely used in earlier Christian times as a Christian symbol, just as the crucifix symbol was also stolen from the pagans. (The Romans made ill use of the crucifix as a method of torture and execution; Christians using it as their symbol is a bit like having an electric chair or noose as their religious symbol.) At some point in history, someone began using the pentagram in "Satanic" rituals, and suddenly it fell out of favor. But some modern Christians still use it. This is similar to the way the swastika, AKA the Fylfot Cross, AKA the Sun Cross - a nearly universal symbol of peace - was perverted by the Nazi party into a symbol of hatred.
Another popular modern Satanism symbol, that of the inverted crucifix, makes even less sense as a Satanic symbol than the inverted pentagram, seeing as the inverted crucifix is the Saint Peter's Cross. Saint Peter felt he was unworthy to die using the same Roman torture method that had been used on Jesus, and so he turned his crucifix upside down and martyred himself on his head. This sounds like something an insane Discordian with a death wish would do, but it was an insane Christian instead, and bizarrely, he started a fad, because Catholicism was uber-goth before goth was even a thing.
You can see a proper Satanic Cross here: http://burningonyx.tumblr.com/post/26961660460/of-course-the-cross-is-older-than-christianity
The pentagram is an ancient symbol dating back thousands and thousands of years, and has been used by old pagans, by Christians, and is now primarily associated in modern times with the religion called Wicca, which is a neo-pagan religion. It represents the five elements (earth, air, fire, water, and spirit). Wiccan pentagrams are usually point-up, but sometimes the point-down variety is used.
The point-down, or "inverted" pentagram is often associated with modern Satanism, especially the versions with a goat's head drawn on them, but the inverted pentagram is, just as the regular pentagram, an extremely ancient symbol. Since Wiccans generally claim that the point-up position means the superiority of spirit over the mundane, modern Satanists tend to prefer the point-down pentagram to indicate a preference for the earthly world over spiritual pipe dreams.
The association of the inverted pentagram with Satanism is an odd one. The pentagram was widely used in earlier Christian times as a Christian symbol, just as the crucifix symbol was also stolen from the pagans. (The Romans made ill use of the crucifix as a method of torture and execution; Christians using it as their symbol is a bit like having an electric chair or noose as their religious symbol.) At some point in history, someone began using the pentagram in "Satanic" rituals, and suddenly it fell out of favor. But some modern Christians still use it. This is similar to the way the swastika, AKA the Fylfot Cross, AKA the Sun Cross - a nearly universal symbol of peace - was perverted by the Nazi party into a symbol of hatred.
Another popular modern Satanism symbol, that of the inverted crucifix, makes even less sense as a Satanic symbol than the inverted pentagram, seeing as the inverted crucifix is the Saint Peter's Cross. Saint Peter felt he was unworthy to die using the same Roman torture method that had been used on Jesus, and so he turned his crucifix upside down and martyred himself on his head. This sounds like something an insane Discordian with a death wish would do, but it was an insane Christian instead, and bizarrely, he started a fad, because Catholicism was uber-goth before goth was even a thing.
You can see a proper Satanic Cross here: http://burningonyx.tumblr.com/post/26961660460/of-course-the-cross-is-older-than-christianity