Saturday, April 18, 2015

A to Z Challenge -- P -- DOLLS, HAND, AND FIVE POINTS



PAGAN --  I looked up pagan on a couple of dictionaries online.  What struck me as funny (and I'm weird and so is my sense of whimsy and humor) is that it says --- well, let me copy and paste it from dictionary.com from the British Dictionary entry:

         noun -- 1. a member of a group professing a polytheistic religion or any religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.

Okay, I agree with that since that is the modern day meaning of the word, but back in the day (as in the ancient Romans), it was Christianity that was the pagan religion.  I think the irony of the shoe being on the other foot amusing me.  Also, what is even more hilarious is that pagan used to be a term for country folk, villagers, non-combatants, and a few other not-so-nice terms with the modern meaning of redneck and hick.  It had nothing to do with religion whatsoever.  The word was corrupted over time when things were translated.

So, now that's out of the way, you're probably wondering why I bothered with this at all.  Well, it's because I just wanted to point out the fact that the terms Pagan, Wiccan, and witch can be mutually exclusive.  A person can have pagan beliefs but not be a witch or Wiccan.  Some practice the Craft without being Pagan or Wiccan.  Wiccans are not necessarily Pagan or witches, even though it's more than likely that they are inclusive.


PENTACLE -- A pentagram encompassed by a circle.  Can be made of some Earthly material (like clay) to represent the element of Earth on the altar.

It is also one of the more common suits in a tarot deck.

The inverted pentacle/pentagram has had a bad rap since it has been used as official Satanic symbol but it has a deeper history.

The Sigil of Baphomet (the inverted pentacle with a goat's head) has roots to the Knights Templar and even farther back. Some suggest it has to do with the Goat of Mendes. Others have taken the ATBASH encryption cipher (basically a substitution cipher. Z = A) to the word Baphomet. It becomes the Greek word Sophia. Sophia is the Goddess of Wisdom and referred to as the Bride of God (Yes, as in the biblical God) in Gnostic texts. So maybe the Templars were just giving the divinity back the feminine. (I'm having a Da Vinci Code déjà vu moment here.)

The Congressional Medal of Honor it bears a inverted pentacle. This medal of valor is the highest honor a member of the armed forces can receive.


PENTAGRAM -- A five-pointed star that resembles the elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit.

It is a symbol that has a extremely long history.  From Sumeria to Greece to modern day, this symbol as well as the pentacle has laced itself into many cultures with a multitude of meanings.

Modern day flags have the Seal of Solomon (aka a pentagram) as a part of them.

At one time, it represented the wounds of Christ at his crucifixion.


POPPET -- Poppets are dolls that represent a person for use in sympathetic magic like healing.They can be made out just about anything like cotton, clay, sticks, or whatever. They are NOT Voodoo dolls!

PROJECTIVE HAND --  Hand that sends out personal power. Personal power being that which is your energy.  For right-handed people, it would be the right hand since it is the dominate hand.  For lefties, the left.




Disclaimer: None of these pictures belong to me.  I found them on Google..

19 comments:

  1. I didn't know the original meaning of pagan meaning redneck :)

    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
    FB3X
    Wittegen Press

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    1. Yep. Those crazy Romans used as slang term that basically meant that. When looking at it etymologically, it has to do with pastoral country more than with anything else.

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  2. Pagan has a convoluted history. So does the pentacle. I used to call myself a pagan because I wasn't Christian. I thought it meant non-religious and I basically thought it sounded cool. Now I realise I'm an atheist. I'm not sure Buddhists would agree with the definition - there are more religions than those three!

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    1. I have no idea if Buddhism is polytheistic or monotheistic. it maybe Poly for all I know.

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  3. That is funny and true about the Christian faith. I always liked the pentagram image and I knew it wasn;t always considered satanic. I learn something when I visit here

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    1. It's surprising what else came from non-Christain faiths that I didn't cover. It was amazing.

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  4. A very educational entry for letter "P"!

    Ten letters to go before we finish the alphabet! all the best with the remaining letters.

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  5. So every world religion other than the Abrahamic religions is pagan. Fun :/ It's like when I looked up the definition of "hero" and it started with "a hero is a man admired for his bravery and honor..." :D

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

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    1. I thought it was hilarious. I suppose I could have used a different definition from the page, but this one was smaller than the others. And maybe a tiny bit controversial.

      At least the have online definitions posted to it. I think I linked the page to the entry.

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  6. I didn't know that about Pagan. Cool.

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    1. I didn't know the etymology either. The way things change through mistakes and time.

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    2. Interesting history. I didn't know much of that. I think of Pagan and having to do with astrology.
      Play off the Page

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  7. Would love to buy a British dictionary. It would be interesting to compare words and usage. I like your layout and your colorful blog.

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    1. Dictionary.com has multiple entries for each word. I just chose the British one.

      Thank you.

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  8. I've always thought Gnostic Christianity seemed fascinating, and have been meaning to read more about it for years. Your post reminds me to get on that. A bride of God sounds interesting, and certainly throws a wrench in the whole celibacy thing. ;)

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    1. It was one of the texts not approved for the official bible. so it was tossed aside along with other texts.

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  9. I didn't know that about the word pagan - isn't it strange how words change over time :)
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    1. Like doom. That is a fun word doomsday used to mean census day. The book was just the record. Now it's end of the world stuff.

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