PENTAGRAM

[noun]

sometimes known as a pentalpha or pentangle or a star pentagon - the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes. It is a regular polygon. The word pentagram comes from the Greek word πεντάγραμμον (pentagrammon), a noun form of πεντάγραμμος (pentagrammos) or πεντέγραμμος (pentegrammos), a word meaning roughly “five-lined” or “five lines”, from πέντε (pente), “five” + γραμμή (grammē), “line”.

Pentagrams were used as an important religious symbol by the Babylonians and by the Pythagoreans in ancient Greece. Pentagrams are used today as a symbol of faith by many Neopagans, akin to the use of the cross by Christians and the Star of David by Jews. The pentagram has magical associations and is utilised by other belief systems including but not limited to Freemasonry. Christians also once commonly used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Jesus. The word pentagram (Greek roots) is more or less synonymous with the word pentacle (Latin roots) aside from a few circumstances, such as the pentacle occasionally being defined as a pentagram enclosed in a circle.