A pentacle or pantacle is an amulet, generally made of parchment, paper or metal (although it can be of other materials), on which the symbol of a spirit being evoked is drawn. Some people hold these amulets to be magical. It is often worn around the neck, or placed within the triangle of evocation. Protective symbols may also be included (sometimes on the reverse), a common one being the five-point Seal of Solomon. Many varieties of pentacle can be found in the grimoires of Solomonic magic; they are also used in some neopagan magical traditions, such as Wicca. An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ... German parchmenter, 1568 Parchment is a material for the pages of a book or codex, made from fine calf skin, sheep skin or goat skin. ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In Medieval Jewish, Islamic and Christian legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon (or Sulayman in the Islamic version), which variously gave him the power to command demons (or jinni), or to speak with animals. ... This design for an amulet comes from the Black Pullet grimoire. ... The Key of Solomon is a grimoire or book on magic attributed to King Solomon (as several others were). ... Magic(k) or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The term pentacle is sometimes confused with pentagram, meaning a five-point unicursal star. This is perhaps due to the fact that the five-point Seal of Solomon is a common symbol employed on pentacles, particularly as depicted in the Tarot. The pentangle otherwise known as the pentogram, first appeared in a 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green knight. It was used on Sir Gawains shield, it was a token of truth. ... In Medieval Jewish, Islamic and Christian legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon (or Sulayman in the Islamic version), which variously gave him the power to command demons (or jinni), or to speak with animals. ... Most modern Tarot sets consist of 78 cards with allegorical representations today used for divination, that first appeared in Medieval times. ...

Francis Barrett, in his influential work The Magus (Book 2, part 2) describes pentacles as follows: Francis Barrett was a 17th Century Englishman who claimed to be a student of chemistry, metaphysics and natural occult philosophy. ...

We now proceed to speak of the holy and sacred Pentacles and Seals. For these pentacles are certain holy signs and characters, preserving us from evil chances and events, helping and assisting us to bind, exterminate, and drive away evil spirits, alluring the good spirits, and reconciling them to us. These pentacles consist either of characters of good spirits of the superior order, or of sacred pictures of holy letters or revelations, with apt and proper versicles, which are composed either of geometrical figures and holy names of God, according to the course and manner of many of them, or they are compounded of all of them, or many of them mixed.

Another common design employed in pentacles is a magic square, such as the Sator-Arepo-Tenet square.^[1] In recreational mathematics, a magic square of order n is an arrangement of n² numbers, usually distinct integers, in a square, such that the n numbers in all rows, all columns, and both diagonals sum to the same constant. ...

Pentacles in the Tarot

Pentacles feature prominently in the Tarot, where they are typically depicted as coins marked with a pentagram. In this context they represent divinity manifesting in matter.^{[citation needed]}Image:Http://www.mysticconvergence.com/images/uploads/tp3275.jpg Most modern Tarot sets consist of 78 cards with allegorical representations today used for divination, that first appeared in Medieval times. ... The pentangle otherwise known as the pentogram, first appeared in a 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green knight. It was used on Sir Gawains shield, it was a token of truth. ... The concept of the divine or of The Divine, meaning matters relating to a god, forms an important ingredient in many religious faiths (but compare Buddhism, for example, or Scientology). ...

Etymology

According to the Theosophical Society's Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary^[2] a pantacle or pentacle is The Theosophical Society was the organization formed to advance the spiritual doctrines and altruistic living known as Theosophy. ...

An amulet, talisman, a geometrical figure so used. There is much confusion as to the derivation of this word, but it seems most likely that it comes through Italian and French from the root pend- "to hang," and so is equivalent to a pendant or charm hung about the neck. From the fact that one form of pentacle was the pentagram or star-pentagon, the word itself has been connected with the Greek pente (five).

In Latin translations (many grimoires first appeared in Latin) the word is pentaculum, which does not refer to five, since the Latin root for five is quinqu-; the words pentacle and pentagram are not from the same language root. Latin pend-, however, is the root to hang, as in suspend, pendulum, appendix. Talisman can refer to: An amulet sometimes believed to have mystical, and amazing powers The Talisman board game from Games Workshop Talisman - Sacred Cities, Secret Faith by Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval Talisman (band) - a hard rock band. ... A pendant (from Old French) is a hanging object, generally attached to a necklace or an earring. ... Look up charm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This design for an amulet comes from the Black Pullet grimoire. ...

Pentacle in mathematics

The term pentacle is used in Tilings and Patterns by Grumbaum and Shepard to indicate a five-pointed star composed of ten line-segments, similar to a pentagram but containing no interior lines. Shepard can be: A misspelling of shepherd A Shepard tone, a sound consisting of a superposition of tones separated by octaves Shepard Settlement, New York, a hamlet The last name of several notable people, including: Alan Shepard, a U.S. astronaut Curtis Sheppard, a boxer (note difference in spelling) David...

References

1. ^ As described in Mathers' introduction to Abramelin.
2. ^ The Theosophical Society's Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary accessed 20 March 2006.