A History of Pentagrams in the Occult, and the Pentagram Window at

A History of Pentagrams in the Occult, and the Pentagram
Window at the West Virginia State Penitentiary.
By Scott Wells
Symbols are used as a sort of shorthand to convey particular meanings. In and of itself, a symbol
is fundamentally meaningless, and it is only the understanding we bring to it that actually gives it
any definition. Any given symbol may have many meanings and so in order to choose the most
accurate interpretation for it, one needs to understand the context in which the symbol was
created. Context is vitally important as the definitions of symbols vary across time, geography,
and culture.
Consider, for example, a simple sign; two lines of equal length, intersecting perpendicularly at
each other’s center point. This is known a ‘Greek Cross’, and it is used in Greek Orthodox
Christianity and, in fact, in early Christianity to represent the cross of Christ’s crucifixion.
However, make the same sign in red and it becomes the Red Cross which symbolizes emergency
medical care. Place numbers on either side of it, and it becomes a mathematical symbol meaning
‘addition’. Place it within a circle, and it takes on further connotations as a solar emblem, or a
Native American Medicine Wheel, or the sign of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Or, as another example, consider the case of the Latin cross. The Latin cross is today considered
the most recognizable and common symbol of Christianity. The Latin cross is the symbol of the
crucifixion of Christ. Modern media outlets frequently show an inverted Latin Cross as a symbol
meaning the rejection of Christianity. It is frequently portrayed as a common Satanic symbol,
which mocks the Christian faith. However, in another context, the inverted Latin cross is known
as ‘The Cross of St. Peter” and represents the martyrdom of St. Peter, as told by Origen of
Alexandria. Peter, it is said, requested to be crucified upside down, as he felt he was not worthy
to die n the same way as Christ. Consequently, The Cross of St. Peter is regarded as a symbol of
humility and unworthiness in comparison to Christ. The inverted Latin cross is sometimes used
to indicate the Papacy, as the successor to St. Peter as the Bishop of Rome. To add to the
confusion however, the Crucifix, a Latin cross with
a depiction of Christ suffering upon it, cannot be
hung upside down as it is seen as disrespectful of
Christ.
This demonstrates that even when it comes to
symbols whose meanings are ‘commonly’ regarded
as having straightforward definitions, in reality are
often much more complex. This underlines the need
to identify the context of a given symbol. Blanket
statements about the meaning of a symbol, without
regard to the purposes of its creators or the cultural
definitions of the emblem, are almost never
accurate.
An extremely apt example of this can be found in
the symbol known as the pentacle, or pentagram.
This is an ancient symbol, consisting of 5 lines connecting end to end to create a five pointedstar. Geometrically, this symbol is significant because it represents a mathematical concept
known as ‘The Golden Ratio’. The Golden Ratio is defined as a ratio where a line can be divided
into two segments, where the length of both segments is the same when compared to the first
segment of the line, when the first is compared to the second. In other words:
(A+B) is the same proportional length of A alone, as A is to the length of B.
Another way of visualizing it is through what is known as the Fibronacci sequence. In the
Fibronacci sequence, each number is added to the one in front of it, to produce a sequence that
goes like this:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…
The Fibronacci sequence can be recognized in the natural world when used as a ratio and
compared to the measurements of a variety of naturally occurring forms. Examples can be found
in seashells, flowers, pinecones, and even whirlpools. Consequently we are accustomed to seeing
the ratio and we are aesthetically drawn to it.
The Golden Ratio is commonly found in several geometric figures and was recognized as early
as the Greek mathematician Pythagoras. He and his followers used the Pentagram as a symbol
identifying themselves as members of the Pythagorean School. The pentagram was variously
referred to as ‘Hygeia’ or ‘Health’, and another variant was known as the Pentalpha. The
Pentalpha consisted of 5 overlapping capital Alphas, forming a pentagram. In this form, it
represented ‘Truth’.
The Pentagram, with its pentagon interior, represented, according to Pherecydes of Syros in his
book Pentamychos, a mystical emblem of an ordered cosmos. The recesses in the symbol were
considered more important than the points of the star, and represented certain ‘chambers’ in
which primordial chaos was sealed away before an ordered cosmos could appear. In this way it
represents the Universe and creation itself.
The Greeks were certainly not the first to recognize the symbol of the
pentagram, and they certainly were not the last. Archaeologically speaking,
the pentagram has appeared in ancient Babylon, where, according to
symbologist and Sumerian historian Rene Labat, the symbol probably had
some directional and astronomical meanings to them. The inverted
pentagram was found on seals in the city of Jerusalem for a time, surrounded
by the letters YRSLM in Hebrew.
The Pentagram has a long history of Christian associations as well. According to scholars, the
pentagram was used to represent the five senses, and each point was assigned a letter S A L V S.
Additionally, because the sign could be drawn with a single stroke of the pen, it was said to
represent the Alpha and Omega, or Christ himself.
It was used, according to some scholars, to represent the
Star of Bethlehem, which guided the magi west to find the
birth of Jesus. In this form it meant divine incarnation,
salvation, and the Holy Spirit descending to Earth. In
some icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the inverted
pentagram is used to indicate the Mount of
Transfiguration, where Christ spoke with Elijah and
Moses, and was elevated above them as the Son of God.
The inverted Pentagram appears next to the Chi Rho sign
of Christ on the seal of Constantine the Great. Constantine
was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity,
and he legalized the practice of the religion in the Roman Empire.
Scholars indicate that the pentagram was a lesser used Christian symbol
in this time. The Pentagram was sometimes used by Greek Christians in
lieu of a cross when beginning inscriptions.
In the medieval era, it was said to
represent the 5 Wounds of Christ, and in
the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight, the symbol is used on the
shield of the hero, to remind him of the
Five knightly virtues (noble generosity,
fellowship, purity, courtesy, and
compassion) and the 5 Joys Mary had of
Christ (typically The Annunciation, The
Nativity, The Resurrection, the
Ascension, and the Assumption). It is
also mentioned in this context as representing the five wounds of Christ, the 5 senses and the five
fingers of the hand.
Popularly, the symbol was used as a sign of protection, and was thought to ward off both
Witches and devils. It was used as such from the middle ages into the 20th century. It was
sometimes found carved above doors and windows, or on cribs, to protect the infant from harm.
It was frequently mistakenly called the Seal of Solomon when it was used like this, in reference
to the tales that King Solomon could rebuke and command demons. It is worth noting that the
‘inverted’ pentagram, with two points up, is more often seen than the single point up during this
time.
The mathematical properties of the pentagram, noted by the Pythagoreans, and many later
cultures, continued to influence artwork and architecture for centuries. It is thought that the floor
plans of several Gothic Cathedrals were actually designed according to the aesthetics of the
Golden Ratio, and by plotting various points on the floor plans, perfect pentagrams can be
discovered. More overtly, many churches incorporated pentagrams into their outward designs.
The Beautiful north facing rose window of the Cathedral at Amiens, in France, features a large
inverted pentagram. The Marktkirche in Hannover Germany has a prominent inverted pentagram
on the side of its clock tower. The Church of All Saints at Kilham, Humberside, Yorkshire,
England displays these on columns that support the Norman doorway
of the place.
The aesthetics of the Golden Ratio, and the pentagram
became of prime interest to artists during the Renaissance,
and they began to incorporate the ratio into their artwork.
The relation of the Golden Ratio and the Pentacle in
particular to the human body is first seen in the 1551 book
Heiroglyphica, by Valeriano Bolzani, largely considered
one of the first and most influential dictionaries of
symbols ever produced. In it he displayed a picture of
Christ superimposed over a pentagram. This depiction of the
pentagram recalls that shown in Henry Cornelius Agrippa’s
Three Books of Occult Philosophy, first published in 1531.
Agrippa shows a man superimposed over a pentagram, surrounded by astronomical symbols. In
describing the symbol himself, he states:
Geometricall Figures also arising from numbers, are conceived to be of no less power. Of
these first of all, a Circle doth answer to Unity, and the number ten; for Unity is the
Center, and circumference of all things; and the number ten being heaped together
retuens into a Unity from whence it had its beginning, being the end, and complements of
all numbers. A circle is called an infinite line in which there is no Terminus a quo, nor
Terminus ad quem, whose beginning and end is in every point, whence also a circular
motion is called infinite, not according to time, but according to place; hence a circular
being the largest and perfectest of all is judged to be the most fit for bindings and
conjurations; Whence they who adjure evil spirits, are wont to environ themselves about
with a circle. A Pentangle also, as with the vertue of the number five hath a very great
command over evil spirits, so by its lineature, by which it hath within five obtuse angles,
and without five acutes, five double triangles by which it is surrounded. The interior
pentangle containes in it great mysteries, which also is so to be enquired after, and
understood; of the other figures, viz. triangle, quadrangle, sexangle, septangle, octangle,
and the rest, of which many, as they are made of many and divers insections
[intersections], obtain divres significations and vertues according to the divers manner of
draeing, and proportions of lines, and numbers.
To Agrippa, the pentagram was a sign of man as a microcosm of the Universe. It represented the
four elements in balance, and derived its power from the number 5. In writing of the number 5
and its virtues, he notes:
Also this number hath great power in expiations: For in holy things it drives away Divels
[devils]. In naturall things, it expels poysons [poisons]. It is also called the number of
fortunateness, and favour, and it is the Seale of the Holy Ghost, and a bond that binds all
things, and the number of the cross, yea eminent with the principall wounds of Christ,
whereof he vouchsafed to keep the scars in his glorifyed body. The heathen Philosophers
did dedicate it as sacred to Mercury, esteeming the vertue of it to be so much more
excellent then the number four, by how much a living thing is more excellent then a thing
without life. For in this number the Father Noah found favour with God, and was preserved
in the floud [flood] of waters. In the vertue of this number Abraham, being an hundred
years old, begat a Son of Sarah, being ninety years old, and a barren Woman, and past
child bearing, and grew up to be a great people. Hence in time of grace the name of divine
omnipotency is called upon with five letters. For in time of nature the name of God was
called upon with three letters. éãù Sadai: in time of the Law, the ineffable name of God
was expressed with four letters äåäé insteed of which the Hebrews express éðãà
Adonai: in time of grace the ineffable name of God was with five letters äåùäé Ihesu,
which is called upon with no less mysterie then that of three letters åùé.
The pentagram is also discussed in the works of Paracelsus. In an English translation of his
Archidoxes of Magic in 1655 entitled ‘Of the Supreme Mysteries of Nature’, Paracelsus
describes it:
There is another which excelleth the former in power and virtue, and this hath three Hooks
cutting one another through by a cross, and are so delineated, that by their mutual
intersection they include six spaces, and outwardly five angles, wherein are written five
syllables of the supream name of God; to wit, Tetragrammaton, also according to their true
order.
And then goes on to describe its great powers:
I would gladly knowe, where and in what place in all the Books of the Nigromancers may be
found any other, wherein there is made the like against malignant Spirits, Devils, &
Inchantments of the Magitians, by all the deceits and devices of the Sorcerers. For they do
deliver him that is already inchanted either in his minde or understanding, so that he is
forced or compelled to act against his own natural will or nature; or if he suffer any loss or
hurt in his body, by the administration of these, made in their just and due time and hour,
and being taken in his mouth with a Wafer, Pancake, ot such-like thing, in four and twenty
hours he shall be free from the Inchantment.
And later still he notes, regarding the pentagram and the hexagram:
Truly those, which we have spoken of, are the true Pentacles to be had and used against all
unclean Spirits, which they do all fear, even they, which wander in the Elements.
As intriguing as it is to see where pentagrams are found, it is also interesting to note where the
pentagram is NOT found. The pentagram seldom makes any appearances in the medieval and
renaissance era grimoires of magic that were popular during the time. In the few cases they
appear, they are used exclusively as protective devices, frequently surrounded with one of
the Hebrew names for God (either the Tetragrammaton or the Pentagrammaton, depending on
the number of letters used.). One such example of this is found in perhaps the most famous book
of magic that came out of the 14th and 15th centuries, called The Key of Solomon. The pentagram
is described in detail within the book Ars Goetia in the Lesser Key as ‘The Pentagram of
Solomon’ and it is specified as being a protective symbol, saying:
THIS is the Form of Pentagram of Solomon, the figure whereof is to be made in Sol or
Luna (Gold or Silver), and worn upon thy breast; having the Seal of the Spirit required
on the other side thereof. It is to preserve thee from danger, and to command the Spirits
by.
None of the books used by witch-hunters during the time of the Great Witch-Hunts (roughly
1450-1700) to identify witches and their practices make mention of the pentagram in relation to
witches or Satanism. Books such as the Malleus Maleficarum or the Compendium Maleficarum
do not mention the sign despite their in-depth descriptions of Witches’ Sabbaths and the worship
of the Devil. King James’ Demonologie also does not make mention of it. Neither does it appear
in the skeptical works of Reginald Scott or Johann Weyer. Likewise, the dozens of broadsides
and chapbooks published during the time, outlining discoveries of witchcraft and sorcery and
their trials also never mentioned the pentagram.
In his 1808 play Faust, Goethe continues the
Renaissance magic representation of the
pentagram as a symbol of protection, but further
goes on to suggest that only perfectly drawn
pentagrams might be effective.
Mephistopheles: I must confess, my
stepping o’er Thy threshold a slight
hinderance foth impede; The wizard-foot
doth me retain.
Faust: The pentagram they peace doth
mar?
To me, thou son of hell, explain, How
camest thou in, if this thine exit bar?
Could such a spirit aught ensnare?
Mephistopheles: Observe it well, it is
not drawn with care, One of the angles,
that which points without, Is, as thou
seest, not quite closed.
Curiously, the surviving Grimoires attributed to
Faust (who was an actual historical figure, living
in 16th Century Germany) do not mention the
pentagram at all. Small pentagrams can be seen
in the summoning circle found in the Praxis Magica Fausti, published in 1571, however.
Secularly, both the inverted star or pentagram and the upright star are frequently seen, especially
in the mid 19th century. Several American flags used by both the Navy and other key government
locations. One such was the ‘Great Star Flag’ of 1837, which consisted of 26 upright stars
arranged in the pattern of an inverted pentacle. The badge of the Texas Rangers, and other law
enforcement agencies of the Old West often used pentagrams in their badges. Moreover, in 1862,
the Medal of Honor was introduced as the highest military honor one could receive, and
consisted then, as it does today, of an inverted pentagram suspended from a ribbon.
It is significant that no work, religious, occult, or popular, ascribed anything negative to the
pentagram until 1855. In 1855, a French priest and occultist named Alphonse Constant, writing
under the name Eliphas Levi, published a pair of books called ‘The Dogma and Ritual of
Transcendental Magic’ in which he becomes the first person to assign a negative connotation to
the inverted pentagram. He cites no source for this statement, and it comes as something of a
surprise to students of the occult up to this point.
Levi writes:
The Pentagram, which in Gnostic schools is called the Blazing Star, is the sign of
intellectual omnipotence and autocracy. It is the Star of the Magi; it is the sign of the
Word made flesh; and, according to the direction of its points, this absolute magical
symbol represents order or confusion, the Divine Lamb of Ormuz and St. John, or
the accursed goat of Mendes. It is initiation or profanation; it is Lucifer or Vesper,
the star of morning or evening. It is Mary or Lilith, victory or death, day or night.
The Pentagram with two points in the ascendant represents Satan as the goat of
the Sabbath; when one point is in the ascendant, it is the sign of the Saviour. The
Pentagram is the figure of the human body, having the four limbs and a single
point representing the head. A human figurehead downwards naturally represents
a demon that is, intellectual subversion, disorder or madness.
There seems to be little proof of this in folk traditions and magic. The inverted pentagram
continued to be used as a sign of protection almost universally. For example, the inverted
pentagram appears in the hex signs of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
It is also worth noting that Levi incorrectly identifies the animal used in the rituals of the city of
Mendes with a goat. In fact, in the descriptions of the rituals used by Herodotus specifically
mentions that the people of Mendes would NOT sacrifice a goat, and instead would use a ram in
their sacrifices. The God of Mendes was known as Banebdjed, or The Ba of Djet, and was
depicted as a ram headed man draped in the fleece of a ram.
Levi worked with English occultists, who eventually went on to form what was known as the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Despite this, Levi’s work was not translated and published
in English until 1896. It is curious however that even members of the Golden Dawn do not
necessarily agree with the Levi’s claim that the inverted pentagram represents evil. His
translator, Arthur Edward Waite, repeated this belief in his own works. However, perhaps the
most famous member of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, explained that he believed the
inverted pentagram represented spirit manifesting into the material. In this he echoes the
medieval ideas that the symbol represented the Star of Bethlehem, and represented the
incarnation of God on earth, through Christ.
The representation of the inverted pentagram as connoting something evil is also denied in the
foundations of Wicca. Gerald Gardiner, founder of the modern Wicca movement used
pentagrams as symbols to indicate the level of instruction a person had received in the craft. The
first degree was a simply pentagram with a single point up, the second degree was an inverted
pentagram, and the third degree of initiation was represented as an upward pointed pentagram
with a triangle superimposed over the upper-most ray. He did not assign any particular meaning
to it, other than to note that the points of the pentagram were a reminder and indicator of the 5
elements; Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Spirit. Gardiner’s interpretation has proved popular not
only with Wiccans, but with other neo-pagan religions that have since developed.
In the 1960s, Anton Szandor LaVey founded the
‘Church of Satan’ in the United States, and needed a
recognizable symbol to use as a logo. He trademarked
the now infamous inverted pentagram superimposed
with a goat’s head, surrounded by the Hebrew letters for
‘Leviathan’ as the official logo of the Church of Satan.
LaVey used the inversion to represent the suppression of
the spiritual in favor of the carnal. At this point, the
inverted pentagram was linked with Satan and Satanism
in the popular imagination, largely due to the
flamboyant and charismatic LaVey’s promotion of his
Church during the 1960s and 1970s.
Media outlets, such as television, Hollywood, and record
companies, were quick to capitalize on the association with the imagery for their own benefit.
The inverted pentagram began to appear in Hollywood horror movies, television programs, and
on heavy metal album covers. With each appearance, the connection between the pentagram and
Satanism grew.
During the 1980s, there was a wave of hysteria that passed through the United States, called ‘The
Satanic Panic’. People began to report ‘repressed memories’ of abuse at the hands of satanic
cults that their families were involved in. In the end, once the FBI investigated these reports, it
was discovered there was no truth to them. But the belief that there was a massive Satanic
Conspiracy throughout the United States was a popular one among conservative and
fundamentalist Christians. They began to promote the idea that the pentagram was always a sign
of Satan Worship, and used it to ‘prove’ satanic conspiracies in such unlikely places as The US
Government, the Freemasons, and even the Mormons.
The ‘Pentagram Window’ at the West Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville gained
notoriety when it was featured on the television show ‘Paranormal State’. In the show, Ryan
Buell tells the audience that ‘most’ groups that utilize the inverted pentagrams are Satanists and
Satan worshipers. This is supposedly corroborated by guest and author Michelle Belanger.
The problem is that not only is this is simply untrue; it was absolutely not true at the time the
window was constructed in the late 19th Century.
Construction on the West Virginia Penitentiary was begun in 1866. It was completed in phases
over the next hundred years, with prisoners doing the bulk of the work. The so-called ‘Warden’s
Tower was built in the second phase of the construction, and was in completed in 1876. The
‘Wheel’ which separated the main entrance, the administrative offices, and the prison proper was
installed in 1902, and was one of only 2 in the world at the time. The building would necessarily
have had to have been completed by the time this was installed.
The prison is built in the Gothic Revival style. Gothic Revival was intended to convey a sense of
conservatism and stern morality, recalling the architecture of Medieval Europe. Architect
A.W.N. Pugin, who worked primarily in the Gothic Revival style and is credited with
popularizing it in England, considered the Gothic Style to be the product of ‘true Christian’
principles and beliefs. This attitude was typical of architects working in this style, and was a
reaction to the more ‘liberal’ Classical and republican styles of architecture that had been popular
in the 18th and early 19th Century.
The four-story administration building housed administrative offices on the third floor, and the
warden’s quarters on the 3rd and 4th floors. The main stairway to the upper levels is in the center
front of the building, directly above the main entrance. The stairwell separates the front wall of
the building from the front wall of the warden’s apartments. For a very brief time, the third floor
held female prisoners, but this was swiftly changed. The Warden was expected to live on site,
and the female prisoners were moved to another building.
The pentagram window is in the fourth floor, directly above the main stairwell. This would allow
exterior light shining through the front windows of the building to shine through into the front
hall of the Warden’s Apartments. Such a window would have been a necessary part of the
lighting of the rooms in an era before electricity. There is some evidence to suggest that the
window was covered over at some point. The panes of glass in the window were painted a
uniform shade of gray, apparently to help protect the surface of the glass from scratches and dirt
while covered. Where Paranormal State implies that it was covered for some sinister reason, such
as preventing people from knowing there were Satanists involved, the carelessness with which it
was covered, first by paint, and then by wood, suggests that it was simply covered in an attempt
to protect it from damage.
The fourth floor stopped being used as the Warden’s quarters in 1951, when a new house was
built on a lot adjacent to the prison. The upper floor, where the window could be found, was no
longer used as living quarters and became subject to deterioration. Boarding up the window is a
reasonable safety precaution, given its location over the main stairway.
The window is divided into frames emulating a leaded glass window, though the ‘cames’ of the
glass are in fact, wooden. The entire Window suggest an Italianate design, rather than Gothic
Revival, but this is hardly surprising given that this part of the prison was not intended for
prisoners, and was meant to be living quarters for the warden and his family. There is an inverted
pentagram central to the window, and above it is a second circular pane. I believe this second
pane may have held a piece of stained or painted glass, probably with a decorative pattern in it,
perhaps even the State Seal. Given the Gothic Revival style of the architecture, the pentacle was
probably chosen due to its pleasing aesthetics and possibly secondarily for its perceived
Christian meanings. The architects would not have considered it an ‘evil’ symbol, as it simply
wasn’t perceived that way at the time of its construction.
While Satanism is extremely unlikely, it is possible that Freemasonry had some influence over
the design of the window. The pentagram appears occasionally in Masonic artwork and
construction, and is itself the emblem of the Order of the Eastern Star, the women’s arm of the
Freemasons, established in 1850. It is known that several early wardens of the Prison were
freemasons, as were many of the politicians of the day, so it would not have been out of place for
a Masonic sign to appear in the a building in which they were involved. Freemasonry was
extremely common for prominent US figures during the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the
Eastern Star is usually drawn with each point in a distinctive color, and with an additional
symbol in each ray. These are said to represent 5 heroines of the Bible, consisting of Adah, Ruth,
Esther, Martha, and Electa. In recent years, the internal pentagon of the emblem has been rotated
so that it is no longer a traditional pentagram.
The proportions of the Pentagram in the window are in keeping with the Golden Ratio, and
suggest that the main reason for its presence was aesthetic. Its placement in the building is also
quite interesting. It faces west, so that the light of the setting sun would cause the window to
glow with soft golden light while the sun was setting. That it is found in the west is suggestive of
the Star of Bethlehem, which also appeared in the West and guided the Magi to the birth of
Christ. Its inverted orientation echoes the medieval symbolism of the Holy Spirit descending to
Earth offering salvation for all mankind. This also seems to be a sentiment that would make
sense in the context of a prison.
The context of the pentagram window simply does not support the idea that there were Satanists
responsible for its construction. Satanism has never been a widespread or popular belief, and it
was practically unheard of in 19th century West Virginia. We cannot assign to this symbol a
meaning it did not have when it was created, nor give it a purpose that contradicts the culture that
created it. We certainly cannot give it a connotation that did not become popular until a hundred
years after it was made.
Viewing symbols without reference to anything other than our modern age inevitably leads to
misinterpretations and misunderstanding. Misunderstanding leads to a false view of history, and
worse, a distorted picture of the modern age as well. Deliberately perpetuating falsehoods and
half-truths is deplorable. Critical thinking and informed, educated speculation is what drives us
forward and what provides a firm foundation for developing and bettering ourselves.
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