[meteorite-list] OT: five-pointed stars vs six-pointed stars

From: chris aubeck <caubeck_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Sep 12 12:27:35 2005
Message-ID: <3a5693b305091209272fabbcba_at_mail.gmail.com>

[Oops, our mails crossed simultaneously - mine offlist to you and
yours on the list saying the same basic thing. For the record, though,
the supposition that the direction a pentagram points means anything
particular is erroneous. I looked into this topic last year when I
began studying shields and regional symbols in Spain where stars often
appear - Chris]


Hi,

I don't think the pentagram symbol necessarily depicted a star in all
cultures. We're just so used to associating it with stars that it's
hard for us to relate it to anything else.

The Greeks visualised the human body as having five points (head,
hands and feet), which came to represent the five elements of man.
Pentagrams entered Christianity from this tradition, long before the
sign was linked with popular occultism.

This doesn't mean that no ancient culture used pentagrams to represent
the stars in the night sky, but "star" of witchcraft and Satanism was
not originally supposed to depict a heavenly body.

So I'd say this invalidates your first question just a little, about
whether the choice between six or five pointed stars was a meaningful
one.

Best,

Chris

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Received on Mon 12 Sep 2005 12:27:32 PM PDT