Let me start by clearing up a bit of confusion relating to the diffrence between a pentacle and a pentagram. A Pentagram is a five pointed. A Pentacle is a five pointed star within a circle.

A PentagramA Pentacle

Webster's Dictionary defines the word Pentagram as follows:

From the Greek word "pentagrammon".

Meaning: a figure of a 5-pointed star usually made with alternate points connected by a continuous line and used as a magic or occult symbol; also : a similar 6-pointed star (as a Solomon's seal)

It also defines the word Pentacle as follows:

From the Medieval Latin word "pentaculum" (assumed), probably from Greek "pente"

Let me start by emphasizing once again that the pentagram is not an evil satanical symbol. The origins of the pentagram date back thousands of years before the advent of Christianity, and therefore Satanism as well. (The earliest known use of it that I know of was around 3500BC in the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia)

So what does the symbol of the pentagram mean and where does it come from?

The five points of the pentagram (I have also heard it refered to as the Star of Life) represent the different elements of the universe. The bottom four represent the four elements of nature as the ancients saw them (Earth, air, fire and water). The top point represents the spiritual mind or "soul".

• Bottom left point - Earth.
• Bottom right point - Fire.
• Top left point - Air.
• Top right point - Water.
• Top point - Spirit.

Here's a few interesting things about the Pentagram and the number 5:

• Ever heard of the Fibonacci Numbers or the "Golden Ratio"? (If you haven't, try the web site at http://www.geom.umn.edu/~demo5337/s97b/fibonacci.html for an explanation.) Take the distance between two points of a pentagram and the total width of the pentagram. The ratio between these two measurements is the Golden Ratio, as is the ratio between the height above the horizontal bar and that below. If you look closely at a pentagram it seems to be made up of five triangles. The ratio between the base and one side of one of these triangles also gives us the Golden Ratio.
  
  
• The Pentagram was used by early Christians as a symbol of the five wounds of Christ on the cross.
  
  
• We have five senses.
  
  
• We have five fingers on each hand, and five toes on each foot.
  
  
• Five is a prime number (can only be divided by itself or 1)
  
  
• If the Pentagram is "Evil", Why do Christians put it on top of their Christmas trees?
  
  
• To the Jewish religion, it represented the five books of Moses.