Did you know Christian used to use the pentacle?

Question

It was a symbol of the five wounds of Christ. An emperor was partial to the cross at one point so it shifted to the cross and the symbol of Christ. I just thought that was interesting. :)

LOL yes I knew there were a lot of pagan overlays. The penacle is found all over the world in religions as a symbol of truth not just magic. I just thought it was neat since it usually passed off as a symbol of the devil. Its not. :)

Answer 1

Yes but the pentacle is much older than that. Like most symbols, different groups pick them up and use them for their purpose. So symbols are recycled through time.

Answer 2

It was brought to my attention that Venus was tracked across the sky of the Earth, and the interest of the pentacle was born. Since the ancients put a lot of emphasis on the 'heavenly bodies' as being prophetic or mystical, the mysticism centered around the pentacle was also stressed.

Below I have an except from a source that gives a reference to that phenomenon. I have no doubt that those who would tie in the geometry of the crucifixion had similar interests.

excerpt:
"Langdon decided not to share the pentacle's most astonishing property — the graphic origin of its ties to Venus. As a young astronomy student, Langdon had been stunned to learn the planet Venus traced a perfect pentacle across the ecliptic sky every four years. So astonished were the ancients to observe this phenomenon, that Venus and her pentacle became symbols of perfection, beauty, and the cyclic qualities of sexual love. As a tribute to the magic of Venus, the Greeks used her four-year cycle to organize their Olympiads. Nowadays, few people realized that the four-year schedule of modern Olympic Games still followed the cycles of Venus. Even fewer people knew that the five-pointed star had almost become the official Olympic seal but was modified at the last moment — its five points exchanged for five intersecting rings to better reflect the games' spirit of inclusion and harmony. "

Answer 3

I know it was used by *some* Christians, but it was never adopted by the Apostles or the early Church fathers as an official symbol. You have to remember that many of the early Christians (even through Medieval times) were pagans and they had a special affinity for "magical" symbols.

Answer 4

Yes I did know this and from what I understand they switched to the 3 stations of the cross because it was less confusing during blessings etc..
Isn't it funny though how when they stopped using it it suddenly became a bad thing?

Answer 5

Well it is not the ONLY pagan symbol or practice co-opted for their own use. We have candles, incense and all the pagan celebrations of the Spring Equinox- which became Easter and the Winter Solstice- Which became Christmas. The Virgin Goddess became Mary and so on and so on.

Answer 6

Yes, funny how it was turned into a symbol of evil. That's people for ya.

Answer 7

i thought it was interesting when i found out all this religion stuff is a myth.

Answer 8

I did know that, actually.

Did you also know that the first 'Christians' did not call themselves as such? They called themselves, "Followers of the Way."

Modern Christianity has absolutely nothing in common with the teachings of the Followers of the Way, which is quite sad really, as it was a rather beautiful way of living that his Disciples founded.

Answer 9

I didn't know that..interesting.