May 19, 2025 • 27 mins
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Hello! In episode 7 I discuss the history of the Pentagram and how various bands have used this ancient symbol during songwriting, live performances and marketing to an audience. Believe it or not, the pentagram is not all that evil. The upright pentagram is a protective symbol of light, love and will. The top point can represent the soul or spirit, while the other 4 points relate to the 4 elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water). Come and dive into the mystery with me and don't forget to Enjoy!! ☆
"Do what though wilt shall be the whole of the law" - Aleister Crowley
"Discover that which makes you shine, always and forever into infinity"
-Joseph Matthew
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome, one and all, to the Magic Music Podcast.
I'm your host, Joseph Matthew,and in this series, we will be
discussing various occult andesoteric practices in music,
art, and culture.
So sit back, relax, and let'sexplore the unknown together.
Enjoy.
(00:26):
Hello everyone and welcome toepisode number seven.
In the previous episodes, wediscussed Carl Jung, his ideas
about dreams and the collectiveunconscious and how that can
help musicians write songs andturn dreams into songs.
(00:48):
So on this episode, I justthought we would kind of touch
on different occult symbolsthroughout time, specifically
the pentagram.
So the history of the pentagramand how it can be used as a tool
(01:10):
to create music and to createart and to send a message.
To start off, the pentagram,which is a five-pointed star
that It has a long and complexhistory.
It spans thousands of years.
It's found in many cultures.
(01:31):
The ancient origins of thepentagram.
So in Mesopotamia, around 3000BCE, one of the earliest known
uses was by the Sumerians, whoused the pentagram in cuneiform
texts, possibly as a symbol ofimperial power or direction.
(01:52):
Greece in 500 BCE, thePythagoreans saw the pentagram
as a symbol of mathematicalperfection and health, calling
it the pent-alpha because itresembles five interlocking
letter alphas.
That's pretty interesting thatit dates back that far.
(02:14):
It's a very, very common symbol,and it's often misconstrued.
People, whenever you mention theword pentagram to them, I think
they immediately think of theinverted pentagram, which is the
devil's symbol, which isbasically if you take a
(02:36):
five-pointed star and you flipit upside down, that has very
evil and negative connotations.
And just in popular culture, inmovies and...
We're going to touch ondifferent genres of music that
use pentagrams, either in theartwork or in live shows.
(02:59):
So it's a very common symbol anda very misunderstood symbol.
So hopefully in this episode wecan kind of make the distinction
between the pentagram and theinverted pentagram.
regular pentagram thefive-pointed star is one of my
favorite symbols i just love howit looks let's see so to
(03:24):
continue on early christianityso the pentagram symbolized the
five wounds of christ and wasused as a protective symbol
that's basically what i use itfor i have a pentagram ring that
i wear occasionally and i have anecklace i just use it as a form
(03:48):
of protection how some peoplehave um you know wooden crosses
over their doors to ward offevil spirits it's something
similar so not everyone's gonnareally understand or they might
look at it the wrong way and godo you worship satan do you
worship the devil and evil shitand i have to explain to them
like well no you know it's notreally like that at all it's
(04:13):
quite the opposite actually umso if i were to explain that to
somebody hopefully i can kind ofopen their minds open their mind
broaden their horizons a bit andkind of take you know those um
those negative connotations awayfrom the symbol and hopefully
teach them something new becausethey've been bombarded their
(04:36):
entire lives with like all thisnegative surrounding the
pentagram and what it representsso let's see it was not seen as
evil or demonic rather it wassacred and often worn or
inscribed for spiritualprotection yes yes that's what
(04:57):
we should be teaching otherpeople not that it's like an
evil symbol but that it's a formof protection and love
positivity and wisdom all thegood aspects of of humanity can
be inscribed within that symbolall right so medieval and
(05:20):
renaissance occultism thepentagram was used in alchemy
magic and kabbalah to representelements earth air fire water
and spirit and also harmony sothe elements and harmony and
(05:41):
that's very interesting becauseif you are someone that is that
loves nature like myself i lovehiking i like biking i love
being outside then it candefinitely resonate with you
because i think that there's ahigher a higher plane of
existence you know maybe humanbeings have maybe we're either
(06:04):
the same thing experiencingourselves through different
viewpoints and different bodiesor we're all different different
spirits that can kind of liketransmutate and become another
thing after we pass away if youbelieve in reincarnation or just
(06:26):
some kind of you know this ideathat you know carl jung touched
on the collective unconscious oflike maybe there's just a pool
of like souls uh somewhere thatkind of are yearning to to just
be to be alive to be in like aphysical body let's see um yeah
(06:48):
so the pentagram enclosed in acircle which is called a
pentacle became a symbol ofunity and wholeness that's
beautiful i love that so 19ththrough 20th century occult
revival Eliphas Levi, a 19thcentury occultist who we'll
(07:09):
touch on later, I'm probablygoing to dedicate an episode to
him specifically.
So Eliphas drew attention to theupright versus inverted
pentagram, claiming the invertedversion, which the one that
points downward, representedmatter over spirit and was
associated with darker forces.
(07:32):
So that is where...
that whole idea kind of stemsfrom that since it's pointing
down it's pointing down towardshell and darkness and things
that you don't really want to bea part of maybe some people do
(07:52):
some sick fox out there but thevast majority of people i feel
like they're going to resonatemore with the the upright
pentagram as i do the invertedpentagram was later adopted by
some satanic groups especiallyby the church of satan founded
in 1966 who used it with thegoat head which is called
(08:17):
baphomet so you've probably seenthe inverted pentagram and then
a goat's head in that that's avery very common occult symbol
it's probably one of the firstoccult symbols that people see
and they're like oh man that'sthat's really disturbing but
it's much more than that Ifyou're looking at it just from
the vantage point of like, oh,everything's going to be evil,
(08:40):
then you're not going to findwisdom or some kind of higher
knowledge within the realm ofthe occult.
There's dark things everywhere.
You just have to try to findones that are going to resonate
with you.
Some people believe tarot cardsare evil and psychics and
(09:00):
mystics and palm readers, allthat stuff, like all that stuff
that you can't really explain.
It's because we can't explainit, that no one has concrete,
solid evidence for it.
They can't see it.
It's almost like you have tofeel it.
So I understand why people kindof push that stuff away, because
they want to be...
(09:21):
You know, they just don't likethings that they can't explain.
So modern use...
The upright pentagram is oftenused by Wiccans and Neopagans as
a symbol of protection, balance,and connection to the natural
elements.
So it's almost like a groundingsymbol that they use.
(09:48):
And the inverted pentagramcontinues to be associated with
Satanism and anti-establishmentmovements, kind of like
counterculture stuff.
You know, if you want to goagainst the grain, just throw on
a t-shirt with an invertedpentagram.
And yeah, actually, speaking ofshirts or tattoos, in a later
(10:09):
episode, I'm going to betouching on Richard Ramirez, who
was the Night Stalker.
He was a very famous serialkiller who basically broke into
people's homes at night whenthey were sleeping and and
killed them.
It was random killings, justabsolutely horrific and
(10:29):
terrifying.
I think that happened in thelate 80s, like maybe mid to late
80s and early 90s.
And he was actually influencedby the band ACDC, which I'll
touch on in a later episode, butit's kind of odd how these
(10:49):
people kind of gravitate towardsthese darker themes but the band
is just using it for you knowmaybe just to sell records or
just to kind of get attentionbut it's misconstrued and that's
been and that's happenedthroughout throughout history
throughout you know when metalmusic was kind of becoming
(11:09):
popular um the whole parentaladvisory thing in the 80s with
tipper gore and you know dsnyder of twisted sister all
that stuff we'll probably touchon that as well.
You can look up images of thepentagram and the pentacle, the
(11:30):
inverted pentagram.
I know I have a bunch for the AIart that I basically use for the
episodes.
There's a bunch of pentagrams inthere and other cool stuff.
To distinguish the pentacle fromthe pentagram...
A pentacle is a magical orsymbolic object that typically
(11:53):
features a pentagram enclosedwithin a circle, but the term
can refer more broadly to anytalisman or disc used in ritual
magic, so it doesn't have tolook like a star.
The key characteristics, theshape, it's usually a flat
circular object, often a disc ora plate.
(12:15):
The design, it commonly bears apentagram, but can include other
occult symbols, words, orsigils.
Material, traditionally made ofwood, metal, clay, or parchment.
Occult and magical uses.
So in Wicca and paganism, inmodern Wicca, the pentacle
represents the five elements.
(12:37):
Ritual tool, often one of thekey ritual tools like the wand,
the anthem, the chalice, and thepentacle, and ceremonial magic
in Wiccan traditions, like onthe tarot cards.
And symbol of earth, in Wicca'selemental correspondences, the
pentacle is associated with theelement of earth, representing
(12:59):
grounding, stability, andmaterial reality.
That's pretty cool.
So now we'll touch on severalfamous occultists that have
utilized the pentagram in theirrituals, their writings, and
their philosophies.
So we're going to start withEliphas Levy.
(13:21):
He was born in 1810, died in1875.
He was a key figure in the 19thcentury Western occult revival.
He popularized the upright andinverted pentagram as a symbol
of good and evil, respectively.
You always have to have thatbalance, you know, good and
(13:45):
evil.
One cannot exist without theother.
It's almost like they'reintertwined together.
So his drawing of Baphometfeatures an inverted pentagram
linking it to satanicinterpretations.
And in Transcendental Magic,Levy wrote that the pentagram is
a symbol of human will in divineharmony.
(14:07):
I have not read TranscendentalMagic yet.
I've been meaning to for awhile, so I'm probably going to
read that at some point and thenwe will discuss it.
Next up is Alistair Crowley, whowe've discussed many times
before.
He was born in 1875 and passedaway in 1947.
(14:31):
the founder of Thelema and oneof the most notorious occultists
in history.
He used the unicursal hexagrammore prominently, but also
integrated the pentagram intoceremonial rituals.
The unicursal hexagram, Ibelieve, is...
You can look it up online, thepictures that they have, but I
(14:55):
think it's kind of the mergingof opposites, masculine and
feminine.
good and evil, you know,everything like as above, so
below, as below, so above.
You have to have that balance.
It's just a universal, naturallaw, I feel.
In his adaptation of golden dawnrituals, like the lesser
(15:20):
banishing ritual of thepentagram, the pentagram is key
for invoking or banishingelemental forces.
So it's used as basically atalisman to unlock mystical
doors if you will you need thepentagram for that it's like
almost like a a skeleton key tothe unknown that's been used
(15:42):
throughout time he also wroteabout its symbolic power in the
book of lies and other thelemictexts i've read a few of his
books i've read the book of thelaw cocaine um the lesser
banishing ritual of thepentagram Yeah, there's a bunch
(16:03):
of books I've read by him.
I just find him veryfascinating, whether he was, you
know, legit into this stuff orif he was a narcissist.
It doesn't really matter.
You know, I just find it cool.
So I'm going to keep readingthis stuff.
So, all right, let's see.
Next up is Members of theHermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, which was founded in 1888.
(16:28):
This influential occult societyused the pentagram extensively
in its ritual magic, especiallyin the lesser and greater
rituals of the pentagram.
Founders like MacGregor Mathersand William Wynne Westcott saw
it as a tool for controllingelemental spirits and
establishing sacred space.
Personally, I have not usedreally any talismans or occult
(16:56):
symbols in any ritual magic.
Personally, I don't reallypractice ritual magic.
I may at some point just to see,just to try it out, maybe have a
little fun with it, but nothingcrazy.
You know, I'm not trying tosummon a spirit or demon or open
a door that I can't closebecause that's fucking
(17:17):
terrifying.
I can't even imagine.
You know, I kind of believe inthat, in curses and you got to
be really careful.
with what you invoke and theintentions behind what you're
trying to invoke.
I think it's always for the bestto invoke positivity and love.
(17:37):
And if you're trying to invokesomething else, then it's
probably going to not be sogreat in the future.
It's probably not going to workin your favor.
All right, Gerald Gardner,1884-1964.
He was the founder of Wicca,which is a modern pagan
(17:58):
religion.
He reclaimed the pentacle andpentagram as symbols of
protection, balance, and nature,removing their negative
connotations.
In Wicca, the pentagram within acircle represents harmony of
spirit and the elements.
Yeah, we will definitely touchon Wicca at some point.
I'm not a Wiccan, but Ireally...
(18:22):
I really want to explore thattopic a little bit more.
I feel like Wiccans, they haveit figured out, just in touch
with nature and a higher self, ahigher power.
All right, Anton LaVey is born1930 and died in 1997.
He was the founder of the Churchof Satan and author of the
(18:43):
Satanic Bible.
He adopted the invertedpentagram with a goat head,
which is the sigil of Baphomet.
as the official symbol of modernSatanism.
So that's used today in 2025.
He used this symbol, symbolizesrebellion, materialism, and
rejection of spiritual dogma.
(19:07):
Yeah, I mean, there's different,so many different ways to look
at it.
You know, I have to make thedistinction between, you know,
the church of Satan and And Ibelieve it's the temple of
Satan, don't quote me.
But there's one that's actuallynot really satanic.
(19:28):
They actually do a lot ofcharity work and stuff, which I
find hilarious.
But it's with anything.
You can put all of your faith ina deity, whether that's God or
whether that's Satan.
And Satan is actually a fallenangel.
He was God's first angel.
So the story of him, the storyof Lucifer and him being thrown
(19:53):
out of heaven for the defianceof God, I don't know the true
backstory to that, but he wascast out of heaven, ascended
straight to hell.
That was his prison.
So I don't know what he did topiss God off, but it must have
(20:16):
been pretty bad.
alrighty so now we're going totie this into music so many
bands and artists especially inmetal rock and industrial genres
have used pentagrams in theirbranding album art stage design
(20:39):
or lyrical themes so i'll justgo through some of the most
notable some of you guys mayknow these bands are pretty
popular Number one is Slayer.
Slayer.
Gotta throw up the devil hornsfor that one.
Genre.
Thrash metal.
Known for using invertedpentagrams in artwork and stage
(21:00):
designs.
Their imagery and lyrics oftenexplore satanic, anti-religious,
and dark occult themes.
I really enjoy Slayer's music.
Their album Seasons in the Abyssis fucking impeccable.
Raining Blood, obviously, Imean, even their earlier stuff,
(21:21):
their entire discography isgreat, but they've really just
pushed the boundaries of what'saccepted in society and what's
normal.
And people just don't want to betold what to believe in or what
to do.
So I think they look forsomething else in bands and they
(21:41):
see, wow, I can totally relateto that.
I can relate to those lyrics.
I feel that way.
Number two is Venom.
So they're a black metal slashthrash metal band.
And they were one of the firstbands to fully embrace satanic
imagery.
Albums like Welcome to Hell andBlack Metal were foundational to
(22:02):
the genre's aesthetic.
It's been a while since I'velistened to Venom.
When I was about 13 through like18, those were pivotal years for
my musical development.
I love Metallica.
Megadeth, Slayer, punk rock,industrial, a ton of stuff.
(22:24):
Mostly rock music, but that'swhen I was super into metal
music.
Three is Marilyn Manson, genreindustrial rock and shock rock.
So he frequently used pentagramsin the 1990s to provoke and
challenge religious norms.
symbolized rebellion andcritique of societal hypocrisy
(22:48):
so again pushing back on whatyou're expected to do in society
to not follow the rules to breakthem number four is ghost heavy
metal slash hard rock they usesacred and occult sacred and
occult symbolism In theatrical,ritualistic stage shows, they
(23:12):
blend satanic imagery withmelodic music and religious
parody.
I like Ghost.
I've heard a couple other songs,but I don't really listen to
them too much.
I really respect what they do,though.
Five is Black Sabbath.
Hell yeah.
Genre is doom, heavy metal.
(23:36):
They're not always using thepentagram directly, Their
occult-influenced themes set thestage for a later use of such
symbols in metal.
Sabbath was a pivotal bandbecause it introduced the world
to heavy metal, along withZeppelin and Deep Purple, a lot
of the classic rock bands fromthe late 60s, early 70s.
(23:59):
Sabbath was probably one of thedarker bands and darker themes.
Their first album, BlackSabbath, The song Black Sabbath,
which a lot of people point toas that song that kind of helped
the genre grow.
And War Pigs and Paranoid, theywere just very, very
(24:25):
influential.
Six is Cradle of Filth.
They're extreme symphonic blackmetal.
They embrace dark, blasphemous,and occult visuals, often with
pentagrams, sigils, and baphometimagery.
I gotta check those guys out.
I've heard about them.
Behemoth genre is blackeneddeath metal.
(24:49):
Use pentagrams in album art,live shows, and music videos.
Often tied to themes ofanti-Christianity.
So again, pushing back on theculture.
Typo Negative, I love TypoNegative.
So those guys are consideredgothic metal.
They were from like early 90s.
Occasionally used pentagram-likevisuals, especially when
(25:13):
parodying or playing withsatanic tropes.
They did use it as parody a lotof the times.
They really...
they kind of like messed withit's like hey don't take this
too seriously you know it's justit's just a fucking shape like
we're not we're not sacrificinganimals like we're just we're
grabbing the attention of peopleand danzig glenn danzig um the
(25:38):
original singer for the misfitshis solo music it's considered
doom rock heavy metal horrorpunk frequently associated with
the horned skull logo that's onhis first album, but also used
pentagrams in his early solowork.
Yeah, those are just someexamples of the pentagram being
(26:01):
used for malicious purposes tograb people's attention.
But bands use the five-pointedstar Other bands use the
five-pointed star a lot in theirmusic as well.
So it's not just all dark andevil, but that's kind of where
(26:24):
the road goes down, you know?
So yeah, we'll definitely touchon specific individuals that
helped popularize the pentagram.
And yeah, that's all I have foryou guys today.
(26:45):
Thank you so much for checkingout episode seven, and I will
see you guys next time.
Have a good one.
Welcome, one and all, to the Magic Music Podcast.
I'm your host, Joseph Matthew,and in this series, we will be
discussing various occult andesoteric practices in music,
art, and culture.
So sit back, relax, and let'sexplore the unknown together.
Enjoy.
(00:26):
Hello everyone and welcome toepisode number seven.
In the previous episodes, wediscussed Carl Jung, his ideas
about dreams and the collectiveunconscious and how that can
help musicians write songs andturn dreams into songs.
(00:48):
So on this episode, I justthought we would kind of touch
on different occult symbolsthroughout time, specifically
the pentagram.
So the history of the pentagramand how it can be used as a tool
(01:10):
to create music and to createart and to send a message.
To start off, the pentagram,which is a five-pointed star
that It has a long and complexhistory.
It spans thousands of years.
It's found in many cultures.
(01:31):
The ancient origins of thepentagram.
So in Mesopotamia, around 3000BCE, one of the earliest known
uses was by the Sumerians, whoused the pentagram in cuneiform
texts, possibly as a symbol ofimperial power or direction.
(01:52):
Greece in 500 BCE, thePythagoreans saw the pentagram
as a symbol of mathematicalperfection and health, calling
it the pent-alpha because itresembles five interlocking
letter alphas.
That's pretty interesting thatit dates back that far.
(02:14):
It's a very, very common symbol,and it's often misconstrued.
People, whenever you mention theword pentagram to them, I think
they immediately think of theinverted pentagram, which is the
devil's symbol, which isbasically if you take a
(02:36):
five-pointed star and you flipit upside down, that has very
evil and negative connotations.
And just in popular culture, inmovies and...
We're going to touch ondifferent genres of music that
use pentagrams, either in theartwork or in live shows.
(02:59):
So it's a very common symbol anda very misunderstood symbol.
So hopefully in this episode wecan kind of make the distinction
between the pentagram and theinverted pentagram.
regular pentagram thefive-pointed star is one of my
favorite symbols i just love howit looks let's see so to
(03:24):
continue on early christianityso the pentagram symbolized the
five wounds of christ and wasused as a protective symbol
that's basically what i use itfor i have a pentagram ring that
i wear occasionally and i have anecklace i just use it as a form
(03:48):
of protection how some peoplehave um you know wooden crosses
over their doors to ward offevil spirits it's something
similar so not everyone's gonnareally understand or they might
look at it the wrong way and godo you worship satan do you
worship the devil and evil shitand i have to explain to them
like well no you know it's notreally like that at all it's
(04:13):
quite the opposite actually umso if i were to explain that to
somebody hopefully i can kind ofopen their minds open their mind
broaden their horizons a bit andkind of take you know those um
those negative connotations awayfrom the symbol and hopefully
teach them something new becausethey've been bombarded their
(04:36):
entire lives with like all thisnegative surrounding the
pentagram and what it representsso let's see it was not seen as
evil or demonic rather it wassacred and often worn or
inscribed for spiritualprotection yes yes that's what
(04:57):
we should be teaching otherpeople not that it's like an
evil symbol but that it's a formof protection and love
positivity and wisdom all thegood aspects of of humanity can
be inscribed within that symbolall right so medieval and
(05:20):
renaissance occultism thepentagram was used in alchemy
magic and kabbalah to representelements earth air fire water
and spirit and also harmony sothe elements and harmony and
(05:41):
that's very interesting becauseif you are someone that is that
loves nature like myself i lovehiking i like biking i love
being outside then it candefinitely resonate with you
because i think that there's ahigher a higher plane of
existence you know maybe humanbeings have maybe we're either
(06:04):
the same thing experiencingourselves through different
viewpoints and different bodiesor we're all different different
spirits that can kind of liketransmutate and become another
thing after we pass away if youbelieve in reincarnation or just
(06:26):
some kind of you know this ideathat you know carl jung touched
on the collective unconscious oflike maybe there's just a pool
of like souls uh somewhere thatkind of are yearning to to just
be to be alive to be in like aphysical body let's see um yeah
(06:48):
so the pentagram enclosed in acircle which is called a
pentacle became a symbol ofunity and wholeness that's
beautiful i love that so 19ththrough 20th century occult
revival Eliphas Levi, a 19thcentury occultist who we'll
(07:09):
touch on later, I'm probablygoing to dedicate an episode to
him specifically.
So Eliphas drew attention to theupright versus inverted
pentagram, claiming the invertedversion, which the one that
points downward, representedmatter over spirit and was
associated with darker forces.
(07:32):
So that is where...
that whole idea kind of stemsfrom that since it's pointing
down it's pointing down towardshell and darkness and things
that you don't really want to bea part of maybe some people do
(07:52):
some sick fox out there but thevast majority of people i feel
like they're going to resonatemore with the the upright
pentagram as i do the invertedpentagram was later adopted by
some satanic groups especiallyby the church of satan founded
in 1966 who used it with thegoat head which is called
(08:17):
baphomet so you've probably seenthe inverted pentagram and then
a goat's head in that that's avery very common occult symbol
it's probably one of the firstoccult symbols that people see
and they're like oh man that'sthat's really disturbing but
it's much more than that Ifyou're looking at it just from
the vantage point of like, oh,everything's going to be evil,
(08:40):
then you're not going to findwisdom or some kind of higher
knowledge within the realm ofthe occult.
There's dark things everywhere.
You just have to try to findones that are going to resonate
with you.
Some people believe tarot cardsare evil and psychics and
(09:00):
mystics and palm readers, allthat stuff, like all that stuff
that you can't really explain.
It's because we can't explainit, that no one has concrete,
solid evidence for it.
They can't see it.
It's almost like you have tofeel it.
So I understand why people kindof push that stuff away, because
they want to be...
(09:21):
You know, they just don't likethings that they can't explain.
So modern use...
The upright pentagram is oftenused by Wiccans and Neopagans as
a symbol of protection, balance,and connection to the natural
elements.
So it's almost like a groundingsymbol that they use.
(09:48):
And the inverted pentagramcontinues to be associated with
Satanism and anti-establishmentmovements, kind of like
counterculture stuff.
You know, if you want to goagainst the grain, just throw on
a t-shirt with an invertedpentagram.
And yeah, actually, speaking ofshirts or tattoos, in a later
(10:09):
episode, I'm going to betouching on Richard Ramirez, who
was the Night Stalker.
He was a very famous serialkiller who basically broke into
people's homes at night whenthey were sleeping and and
killed them.
It was random killings, justabsolutely horrific and
(10:29):
terrifying.
I think that happened in thelate 80s, like maybe mid to late
80s and early 90s.
And he was actually influencedby the band ACDC, which I'll
touch on in a later episode, butit's kind of odd how these
(10:49):
people kind of gravitate towardsthese darker themes but the band
is just using it for you knowmaybe just to sell records or
just to kind of get attentionbut it's misconstrued and that's
been and that's happenedthroughout throughout history
throughout you know when metalmusic was kind of becoming
(11:09):
popular um the whole parentaladvisory thing in the 80s with
tipper gore and you know dsnyder of twisted sister all
that stuff we'll probably touchon that as well.
You can look up images of thepentagram and the pentacle, the
(11:30):
inverted pentagram.
I know I have a bunch for the AIart that I basically use for the
episodes.
There's a bunch of pentagrams inthere and other cool stuff.
To distinguish the pentacle fromthe pentagram...
A pentacle is a magical orsymbolic object that typically
(11:53):
features a pentagram enclosedwithin a circle, but the term
can refer more broadly to anytalisman or disc used in ritual
magic, so it doesn't have tolook like a star.
The key characteristics, theshape, it's usually a flat
circular object, often a disc ora plate.
(12:15):
The design, it commonly bears apentagram, but can include other
occult symbols, words, orsigils.
Material, traditionally made ofwood, metal, clay, or parchment.
Occult and magical uses.
So in Wicca and paganism, inmodern Wicca, the pentacle
represents the five elements.
(12:37):
Ritual tool, often one of thekey ritual tools like the wand,
the anthem, the chalice, and thepentacle, and ceremonial magic
in Wiccan traditions, like onthe tarot cards.
And symbol of earth, in Wicca'selemental correspondences, the
pentacle is associated with theelement of earth, representing
(12:59):
grounding, stability, andmaterial reality.
That's pretty cool.
So now we'll touch on severalfamous occultists that have
utilized the pentagram in theirrituals, their writings, and
their philosophies.
So we're going to start withEliphas Levy.
(13:21):
He was born in 1810, died in1875.
He was a key figure in the 19thcentury Western occult revival.
He popularized the upright andinverted pentagram as a symbol
of good and evil, respectively.
You always have to have thatbalance, you know, good and
(13:45):
evil.
One cannot exist without theother.
It's almost like they'reintertwined together.
So his drawing of Baphometfeatures an inverted pentagram
linking it to satanicinterpretations.
And in Transcendental Magic,Levy wrote that the pentagram is
a symbol of human will in divineharmony.
(14:07):
I have not read TranscendentalMagic yet.
I've been meaning to for awhile, so I'm probably going to
read that at some point and thenwe will discuss it.
Next up is Alistair Crowley, whowe've discussed many times
before.
He was born in 1875 and passedaway in 1947.
(14:31):
the founder of Thelema and oneof the most notorious occultists
in history.
He used the unicursal hexagrammore prominently, but also
integrated the pentagram intoceremonial rituals.
The unicursal hexagram, Ibelieve, is...
You can look it up online, thepictures that they have, but I
(14:55):
think it's kind of the mergingof opposites, masculine and
feminine.
good and evil, you know,everything like as above, so
below, as below, so above.
You have to have that balance.
It's just a universal, naturallaw, I feel.
In his adaptation of golden dawnrituals, like the lesser
(15:20):
banishing ritual of thepentagram, the pentagram is key
for invoking or banishingelemental forces.
So it's used as basically atalisman to unlock mystical
doors if you will you need thepentagram for that it's like
almost like a a skeleton key tothe unknown that's been used
(15:42):
throughout time he also wroteabout its symbolic power in the
book of lies and other thelemictexts i've read a few of his
books i've read the book of thelaw cocaine um the lesser
banishing ritual of thepentagram Yeah, there's a bunch
(16:03):
of books I've read by him.
I just find him veryfascinating, whether he was, you
know, legit into this stuff orif he was a narcissist.
It doesn't really matter.
You know, I just find it cool.
So I'm going to keep readingthis stuff.
So, all right, let's see.
Next up is Members of theHermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, which was founded in 1888.
(16:28):
This influential occult societyused the pentagram extensively
in its ritual magic, especiallyin the lesser and greater
rituals of the pentagram.
Founders like MacGregor Mathersand William Wynne Westcott saw
it as a tool for controllingelemental spirits and
establishing sacred space.
Personally, I have not usedreally any talismans or occult
(16:56):
symbols in any ritual magic.
Personally, I don't reallypractice ritual magic.
I may at some point just to see,just to try it out, maybe have a
little fun with it, but nothingcrazy.
You know, I'm not trying tosummon a spirit or demon or open
a door that I can't closebecause that's fucking
(17:17):
terrifying.
I can't even imagine.
You know, I kind of believe inthat, in curses and you got to
be really careful.
with what you invoke and theintentions behind what you're
trying to invoke.
I think it's always for the bestto invoke positivity and love.
(17:37):
And if you're trying to invokesomething else, then it's
probably going to not be sogreat in the future.
It's probably not going to workin your favor.
All right, Gerald Gardner,1884-1964.
He was the founder of Wicca,which is a modern pagan
(17:58):
religion.
He reclaimed the pentacle andpentagram as symbols of
protection, balance, and nature,removing their negative
connotations.
In Wicca, the pentagram within acircle represents harmony of
spirit and the elements.
Yeah, we will definitely touchon Wicca at some point.
I'm not a Wiccan, but Ireally...
(18:22):
I really want to explore thattopic a little bit more.
I feel like Wiccans, they haveit figured out, just in touch
with nature and a higher self, ahigher power.
All right, Anton LaVey is born1930 and died in 1997.
He was the founder of the Churchof Satan and author of the
(18:43):
Satanic Bible.
He adopted the invertedpentagram with a goat head,
which is the sigil of Baphomet.
as the official symbol of modernSatanism.
So that's used today in 2025.
He used this symbol, symbolizesrebellion, materialism, and
rejection of spiritual dogma.
(19:07):
Yeah, I mean, there's different,so many different ways to look
at it.
You know, I have to make thedistinction between, you know,
the church of Satan and And Ibelieve it's the temple of
Satan, don't quote me.
But there's one that's actuallynot really satanic.
(19:28):
They actually do a lot ofcharity work and stuff, which I
find hilarious.
But it's with anything.
You can put all of your faith ina deity, whether that's God or
whether that's Satan.
And Satan is actually a fallenangel.
He was God's first angel.
So the story of him, the storyof Lucifer and him being thrown
(19:53):
out of heaven for the defianceof God, I don't know the true
backstory to that, but he wascast out of heaven, ascended
straight to hell.
That was his prison.
So I don't know what he did topiss God off, but it must have
(20:16):
been pretty bad.
alrighty so now we're going totie this into music so many
bands and artists especially inmetal rock and industrial genres
have used pentagrams in theirbranding album art stage design
(20:39):
or lyrical themes so i'll justgo through some of the most
notable some of you guys mayknow these bands are pretty
popular Number one is Slayer.
Slayer.
Gotta throw up the devil hornsfor that one.
Genre.
Thrash metal.
Known for using invertedpentagrams in artwork and stage
(21:00):
designs.
Their imagery and lyrics oftenexplore satanic, anti-religious,
and dark occult themes.
I really enjoy Slayer's music.
Their album Seasons in the Abyssis fucking impeccable.
Raining Blood, obviously, Imean, even their earlier stuff,
(21:21):
their entire discography isgreat, but they've really just
pushed the boundaries of what'saccepted in society and what's
normal.
And people just don't want to betold what to believe in or what
to do.
So I think they look forsomething else in bands and they
(21:41):
see, wow, I can totally relateto that.
I can relate to those lyrics.
I feel that way.
Number two is Venom.
So they're a black metal slashthrash metal band.
And they were one of the firstbands to fully embrace satanic
imagery.
Albums like Welcome to Hell andBlack Metal were foundational to
(22:02):
the genre's aesthetic.
It's been a while since I'velistened to Venom.
When I was about 13 through like18, those were pivotal years for
my musical development.
I love Metallica.
Megadeth, Slayer, punk rock,industrial, a ton of stuff.
(22:24):
Mostly rock music, but that'swhen I was super into metal
music.
Three is Marilyn Manson, genreindustrial rock and shock rock.
So he frequently used pentagramsin the 1990s to provoke and
challenge religious norms.
symbolized rebellion andcritique of societal hypocrisy
(22:48):
so again pushing back on whatyou're expected to do in society
to not follow the rules to breakthem number four is ghost heavy
metal slash hard rock they usesacred and occult sacred and
occult symbolism In theatrical,ritualistic stage shows, they
(23:12):
blend satanic imagery withmelodic music and religious
parody.
I like Ghost.
I've heard a couple other songs,but I don't really listen to
them too much.
I really respect what they do,though.
Five is Black Sabbath.
Hell yeah.
Genre is doom, heavy metal.
(23:36):
They're not always using thepentagram directly, Their
occult-influenced themes set thestage for a later use of such
symbols in metal.
Sabbath was a pivotal bandbecause it introduced the world
to heavy metal, along withZeppelin and Deep Purple, a lot
of the classic rock bands fromthe late 60s, early 70s.
(23:59):
Sabbath was probably one of thedarker bands and darker themes.
Their first album, BlackSabbath, The song Black Sabbath,
which a lot of people point toas that song that kind of helped
the genre grow.
And War Pigs and Paranoid, theywere just very, very
(24:25):
influential.
Six is Cradle of Filth.
They're extreme symphonic blackmetal.
They embrace dark, blasphemous,and occult visuals, often with
pentagrams, sigils, and baphometimagery.
I gotta check those guys out.
I've heard about them.
Behemoth genre is blackeneddeath metal.
(24:49):
Use pentagrams in album art,live shows, and music videos.
Often tied to themes ofanti-Christianity.
So again, pushing back on theculture.
Typo Negative, I love TypoNegative.
So those guys are consideredgothic metal.
They were from like early 90s.
Occasionally used pentagram-likevisuals, especially when
(25:13):
parodying or playing withsatanic tropes.
They did use it as parody a lotof the times.
They really...
they kind of like messed withit's like hey don't take this
too seriously you know it's justit's just a fucking shape like
we're not we're not sacrificinganimals like we're just we're
grabbing the attention of peopleand danzig glenn danzig um the
(25:38):
original singer for the misfitshis solo music it's considered
doom rock heavy metal horrorpunk frequently associated with
the horned skull logo that's onhis first album, but also used
pentagrams in his early solowork.
Yeah, those are just someexamples of the pentagram being
(26:01):
used for malicious purposes tograb people's attention.
But bands use the five-pointedstar Other bands use the
five-pointed star a lot in theirmusic as well.
So it's not just all dark andevil, but that's kind of where
(26:24):
the road goes down, you know?
So yeah, we'll definitely touchon specific individuals that
helped popularize the pentagram.
And yeah, that's all I have foryou guys today.
(26:45):
Thank you so much for checkingout episode seven, and I will
see you guys next time.
Have a good one.
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