neptunesdolphins | PENTACLE, PANTACLE, PENTAGRAM

Before understanding what a panticle (Note 1) is, several terms need to be explained. “Pentacle” and “pentagram” are often confused since Gerald Manley, one of the founders of modern witchcraft, used these terms interchangeably. Another term, “panticle” is used more sparingly but is important to know about.

“Pentagram” refers to the five-pointed star, which consists of a triple triangle that forms an interior pentagon. This geometric figure has a long history of magical use. For example, Christians believed that it represented the Five Wounds of Christ. Meanwhile the Pythagoreans of Ancient Greece regarded it to be a sign of perfection. Eliphas Levi called the pentagram, a “sign of intellectual omnipotence and autocracy.”

“Pentacle” refers to a magical disk that is used to summon spirits. The pentacle that most people are familiar with is the one with a pentagram in a circle. However, the symbol on the disk need not be a pentagram; it can be a seven-point star or a magical sigil. The pentacle, as a tool, acts as the threshold between the worlds. People will often place one in the center of their altar and use it for charging other magical tools.

In “The Witch’s Altar,” Jason Mankey defines a pantacle as the personal tool of the magician. He writes, “It’s designed to represent how the individual magician understands the entire universe and their place within it.” This differs from what Oberon Zell-Ravenhart writes in “Grimoire For the Apprentice Wizard.” For him, “the panticle is used in Ceremonial Magick as an instrument of protection, or as a tool to evoke spirits.” They both agree that the tool is the foundation from which magical working is built.

Zell-Ravenhart describes the panticle as a “disc engraved with a five-pointed star, or pentagram, and may also include other symbols relating to the Earth….” He stresses that the tool is called “panticle,” which means “all angles.” Zell-Ravenhart writes that it is “commonly misnamed pentacle, a synonym for pentangle, which means five angles.” Since the sources I have used refer to the panticle as pantacle, I will quote them as such.

Heron Michelle of Modern Witchcraft offers a nuanced point of view. In “Elemental Witchcraft,” she refers to the panticle is a “magickal hotplate because it focuses elemental energy into manifestation… This is a gateway to all the realms and so forms a focus of power there.” Michelle calls it is a “paten or peyton, which is a flat disk or plate with the pentacle symbol fashioned into the material.” According to her, the pentacle (the symbol) (Note 2) represents the interwoven elements of the physical earth. Because it anchors the elemental energies, the pentacle (the disk) is a gateway to all of the realms by forming a focus of power.

Notes.

Note 1. The “panticle” is also referred to as “pantacle.”

Note 2. The symbol is the pentagram in a circle.

Works Used.

Greer, John Michael, “The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2003.

Mankey, Jason and Laura Tempest Zakroff, “The Witch’s Altar.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Michelle, Heron, “Elemental Witchcraft.” Woodbury (MN): Llewellyn. 2021.

Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.” Franklin Lakes (NJ): New Page Books. 2004.