Reason Number Four: Freemasonry teaches that the pentagram is the most powerful symbol, not the cross

In our culture, we often observe the pentagram used as a symbol of decoration or achievement.  It can adorn children’s papers, or represent celebrity status in Hollywood.  But for Masonry, the pentagram is more than a decorative symbol.  It is an emblem of spiritual power.  The pentagram is used in many degrees, and is seen in many associated Masonic bodies.  It also is found in non-Masonic secret societies.  In Masonry, it may be called The Blazing Star, an image of deity or even humanity as a reflection of the divine.  It can suggest a human figure, with four limbs and a head.

 Freemasonry and its associated orders are not alone in their use of the pentagram.  Masonry finds itself in league with most esoteric groups in its adoption of the pentagram.  The Scottish Rite cites some of these groups for us.  In the Knight of the Sun we read:

“All the mysteries of Magism, all the symbols of gnosis, all the figures of the occult philosophy, all the kabalistic keys of prophesy, are summed up in the sign of the Pentagram, the greatest and most potent of all signs.”  (Book of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry, McCleanachan, 1885, p. 413)

Freemasonry states in this degree that the pentagram is "the greatest and most potent of all signs."  The mysteries of magic are contained in the sign.  Gnostic belief, a Christian heresy, is centralized in the symbol.  The world of occult philosophy is said to be understood by this symbol.  The Kabbalah, an immense esoteric work of the Renaissance, finds its core beliefs summarized in the emblem.

Masonic apologists seek to defend their use of the pentagram by suggesting that Christian groups occasionally use the five-pointed star.  If Christian groups occasionally use a five pointed star, it is not is the occult sense of the symbol.  It is merely a decoration.  The above listed groups use the pentagram is very specific ways.

Freemasonry shares this symbol with the rebirth of Wicca and the Neo-Pagan movement.  These current movements can be identified within the referenced term mysteries of magism.  Have you ever noticed that Wiccans and Neo-Pagans wear pentagrams?  Magic seeks to fathom the interplay of the unseen world with the visible, and the pentagram becomes a tool to connect them. 

“…it is a sign as ancient as history and more than history; and the complete understanding of it is the key to the two worlds.”  (Book of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry, McCleanachan, 1885, p. 413)

The pentagram as a symbol of magic and the occult has been used for millennia.  Beginning in the 12th century, the pentagram became linked to western esoterism, or the occult.  (The Triumph of the Moon, Ronald Hutton, Oxford Press, 1999, p. 67)

As a symbol of the occult, it is considered to be the most powerful symbol of what is called sacred geometry.  In sacred geometry, it is believed that drawing certain figures attract unseen powers.  It is the philosophical basis of Pennsylvania Hex figures.  The concept of magic and sacred geometry is to fathom the interplay of the invisible and visible worlds, and the pentagram becomes one tool to make it happen.

“The Pentagram, the sign of the Microcosm, was held to be the most powerful means of conjuration in any rite.  It may represent evil as well as good…”  (Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology,  p. 552) 

The classic 16th century literary work on the occult, Agrippa’s De Occulta Philosophia, described the pentagram and taught that drawing it focuses spiritual powers.  Today, modern day Wiccans and Neo-pagans draw the pentagram as part of many of their rituals.

In the 19th century, the work of Eliaphas Zahed Levi touched off a revival of the occult throughout Europe.  He explained that the pentagram represented the microcosm of the universe.  He stated that each point summoned and controlled spirit entities, or elementals.  Until this time, the pentagram was merely used to ward off bad spirits; now it would be used to call spirits.  He clarified, for the first time, the different positions of the central ray.  He stated that a pentagram using one point up referred to deity, and that with two points up and one down it referred to the devil.  This corresponds with the views espoused in Freemasonry.  In the book, History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders, Freemasonry affirms Levi’s convictions on the matter.

The following illustration is from the book, History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders, which highlights the Masonic use of this symbol.

Not only can the pentagram refer to apparent good or evil depending upon its positioning, it also can refer to a specific god or goddess.  It also carries a message relating to the four cardinal points.  Some Wiccans and Neo-Pagans believe the pentagram also relates to the four elements, with the fifth ray signifying spirit.  As to a specific deity, the pentagram has long been associated with the pagan goddess Venus.

Venus is a deity and today is deeply venerated as the goddess in the occult.  The star Venus happens to trace a pentagram in the sky every 8 years, and thus the pentagram has historically been associated with her.  When a pentagram is drawn with unicursal lines it may refer to Venus. Sometimes a pentagram has a circle around it, and sometimes it does not.  When it has a circle, it generally refers to the power being contained and without the circle the power is released.

Obviously, the pentagram has many meanings within the world of the occult.  The shared belief is that it is, indeed, sacred geometry and refers to the occult powers of deity.  It has been a symbol shared in paganism and the occult for over two thousand years.  Freemasonry has already suggested in the Scottish Rite that it is not using the star in a Christian sense, but has identified it with a list of esoteric traditions.  It is clearly not a decoration; it is a symbol with meaning.  It is considered holy and mysterious.

“In the West, over the Warden, you behold the holy and mysterious pentagram, the sign of the microcosm, or universe, called in the Gnostic schools 'the blazing star,' the sign of intellectual omnipotence and autocracy, which has been partially explained to you heretofore.  It represents what is called in the Kabala microprosopos, being in some sort a human figure, with the four limbs, and a point representing the head.  It is the universe contained within the Deity.”  (Book of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, McCleanachan, 1885, p. 413)

The inverted pentagram can be found in other degrees of freemasonry.  The following illustration below and to the left contains an apparent second inverted pentagram found in the monitors of Freemasonry.  It is from the McCleanachan monitor illustrating the degree Secret Master.

In some occult circles, the inverted pentagram, with one ray down, makes reference to the pagan hunter deities.  These deities include Pan, Bacchus, among others.  They are associated with masculinity and a sense of the wild.  It is deity, but deity in a masculine and more elemental sense.

The book of Amos makes an interesting allusion to idolatry and the image of a star.

"You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god - which you made for yourself."  Amos 5:26-27

The image of the pentagram was known to be associated with pagan deities at the time of Amos.  In this passage, God rebukes a people for their association with pagan idolatry, and in particular for the star of their god.  This may easily have been a pentagram.

In summary, Christians do not believe that the pentagram is the greatest and most powerful sign.  They do not affirm its usage to reference deity.  They have been told in the Bible to stay clear of magic and divination.  They are to be free of paganism.  Freemasonry believes the pentagram is the most powerful sign.  Christians believe the cross is the most powerful sign.  The two do not match.