The Fine Print: The following comments
are owned by whoever posted them.
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by Andy Christ on Friday April 27, @12:38AM
|
There was an interesting piece on the aright and averse pentagram in the band Tool's Valentine's Day Newsletter for this year available here:
http://www.toolband.com/news/letter/nl02_01.html
The newsletters in general have a lot of funny and obscure bits of Crowleyan Occultism. Funny in that most of the fans probably have no idea what the hell they're talking about. Must go. I may add some of my own thoughts later.
-Andy
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by Nexist on Friday April 27, @07:19PM
|
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by F. on Saturday May 12, @02:29AM
|
It's proper manners when evoking an 'evil spirit' to invert the pentagram so as not to inflame the spirit. (The Golden Dawn-Israel Regardie, section on the pentagram explains this further)
93 11
F.
|
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by Metu Tchetta on Friday April 27, @11:02AM
|
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Traditionally, the pentagram is considered to be the "Seal of the Microcosm," a symbol of the human being as the unity of the elements: earth, air, water, fire, and spirit.
The old Golden Dawn claimed that the point-down pentagram was evil, and their initiates were strictly discouraged against its use. They probably got this doctrine from Eliphas Levi.
But GD graduate Crowley didn't hesitate to include it in one of his most important (and effective) ceremonies, the Ritual of the Mark of the Beast, described in the Book of the Princes (Liber V vel Reguli). In Liber V, Crowley identifies the averse (apex-downward) pentagrams as "my Father's Face, the Star of Force and Fire." The reference to "my Father's Face" may be a deliberate allusion to the goat head in Levi's averse pentagram.
Other Crowley rituals that include pentagrams all have them point up. These include
- The Lesser Pentagram Ritual (in Liber O sub figura 6)
- Elemental Grade Openings (in Liber Chanokh sub figura 84)
- The Star Ruby (Liber 25)
- The Preliminary Invocation of the Goetia (Liber Samekh sub figura 800)
- The True Greater Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram
I know of two organizations that use the averse (apex-downward) pentagram for their principal insignia. The first is the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), a "ladies auxiliary" for Freemasonry. The second is the Church of Satan (COS), as promulgated by A.S. LaVey and his successors. Both groups add other symbols to the pentagram. OES adds emblems of virtues to each of the points, and five emblems of deity to the pentagonal interior, along with the letters F.A.L.T.A. (although I am unsure if that is the correct reading sequence). COS uses the goat head and Hebrew letters from Levi, which spell "Leviathan" counterclockwise from the bottom.
Levi's Baphomet unites both the averse and upright pentagrams: the goat head alludes to the averse one, but its forehead displays the upright version.
COS does identify the goat head in their pentagram with "Baphomet," but in the end there is no global consensus on who or what Baphomet might be or stand for.
The upright pentagram could be associated with the Tragedy of Man, and the LVX which is the first goal of the initiate. The averse pentagram would then be a sign of the Comedy of Pan, and the NOX under which the Masters inhabit the City of the Pyramids.
Love is the law, love under will.
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by Nekial on Friday April 27, @11:01PM
|
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.
I don't have anything to add to Crowley's comments, and those here. But, back when I had Levi's Baphomet on my wall, I used to meditate on this: The torch of light changes the averse pentagram of the goat's head into a hexagram.
For what it's worth.
Love is the law, love under will.
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by Rev. Mike Margolin on Saturday April 28, @09:55PM
|
The torch of light changes the averse pentagram of the goat's head into a hexagram.
93,
Excellent observation.
As far as up or down its not good nor evil but an allusion to the Seal of Solomen.
"As Above, So Below", The hexagram.
Also for those that know it not, the rose cross is also the symbol of Baphomet. Male and female in one symbol. The universal androgyne.
93/93/93
ISN
Mikey 666
|
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by h MacKiernan on Sunday April 29, @12:16PM
|
93
This may be in the No Value Added department, but Lon M DuQuette has a very good discussion of the averse pentagram in THE MAGICK OF THELEMA (pub. Samuel Weiser) in the section on Reguli.
The temptation to hum "second-averse, same as the first..." is nearly overwhelming.
93 93/93
-h
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by megabobby on Tuesday May 08, @10:17PM
|
i once played in a really kick ass punk puke band--we were tottally nihilist. and on new years 94-95 we played a gig---where on the flyers were upside down pentacles and symbols--plus a really cool looking image of anton lavey--all in harsh kick ass looking black and white. maybe there was a 666 on it too.
anyway--there was destruction--awesome gig--people bled--i cheated with a girl that was 'together' with a friend of mine--the party was really swinging---and i got my ass kicked by a guy cause i got out weed in the party. i wouldn't fight him back cause i thought that since he was wrong in the tao he was weaker and so no matter what he did or how much he punched me--i would just laugh at him and tell him he was wrong and basically he was a fool. until he finally just got tired of beating me and i wouldn't shut up. this was in front of like a ton of people and i think it really tripped them all out.
anyway--at this point in life i really don't know the technical aspects as far as thelemism is concerned
on what upside down pentacles really mean.
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by Savage Weapons on Sunday October 14, @12:22AM
|
By the AThBaSh cypher of Temurah Baphomet becomes Sophia, the personification of wisdom in the Gnostic religion. Also an industrial band named Epilepsy put an album called "The Revelation of Baphomet" which comes with a poster of Baphomet and a Tarot deck designed by H.R. Giger that is well worth looking at.
http://www.baphomet.com/
The site gives the lyrics to the first track on the CD, "Introitus", which is in the form of a declaration of the nature of Baphomet.
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by star_phoenix on Sunday March 31, @01:16PM
|
To unearth the source of the hysteria surrounding the averse pentagram - it may be instructive to note that it wasn't so much the Mendean horns that evoked trepidation in the heart of the Osirians and Christians, as the southward pointing arm.
The south is associated with Set and is also intimately associated with the subliminal sexual current- the coiled primal serpent. Rites associated with the god of the south, require a northward facing opening (the north is the sacred point of the Yezidis notwithstanding the identification of their god Shaitan with the south). Since sex magick and the transformational use of the obeah current as a means to transformation has long been abhorred by the devotees of of the Abrahamic faiths, not unnaturally, the averse pentagram also came to viewed by them as intrinsically evil.
LAShTal
|
|
Re: The Averse Pentagram
by star_phoenix on Thursday April 25, @02:25AM
|
To unearth the source of the hysteria surrounding the averse pentagram - it may be instructive to note that it wasn't so much the Mendean horns that evoked trepidation in the heart of the Osirians and Christians, as the southward pointing arm.
The south is associated with Set and is also intimately associated with the subliminal sexual current- the coiled primal serpent. Rites associated with the god of the south, require a northward facing opening (the north is the sacred point of the Yezidis notwithstanding the identification of their god Shaitan with the south). Since sex magick and the transformational use of the obeah current as a means to transformation has long been abhorred by the devotees of of the Abrahamic faiths, not unnaturally, the averse pentagram also came to viewed by them as intrinsically evil.
LAShTal
|
|
|
The Fine Print: The following
comments are owned by whoever posted them.
|
Posted by Xnoubis on April 26, 2001 @ 10:27 PM
Like many Thelemites, my primary acquaintance with the averse (or inverted) pentagram is through the practice of 
