The pentacle is a feminine symbol?

[sybba_leigh]

I'm reading the Da Vinci Code (it's *really* interesting btw) and it's explaining what the pentacle means. It says it's a goddess symbol. "It's representative of the female half of all things... The pentacle symbolizes Venus- the goddess of female sexual love and beauty."

Is that TRUE? I've never heard that before in my life. I was taught that the pentacle represents the four elements and the god AND goddess.

[Paracelsus]

Like all symbols, there is no such thing as "the one meaning" of the Pentacle - it's interpretation can be very personal or vary from culture to culture. IN the Medieval church the pentacle symbolise the five wounds of Christ. Remember to take the Da Vinci Code with a pretty big pinch of salt!

[sybba_leigh]

Why, what's wrong with the Da Vinci Code? I know it's catogorized as fiction, but I heard that was just to get the catholic church off the author's back. *shrugs* i dunno.

Anyway, yeah, it says that the pentacle is venus's symbol because the planet venus makes a perfect pentalce shape across the sky every 8 years.

It ALSO says that the pentacle is the us military's symbol for war.

[Jolixte]

Why, what's wrong with the Da Vinci Code? I know it's catogorized as fiction, but I heard that was just to get the catholic church off the author's back. *shrugs* i dunno.

No, it's catagorized as fiction because it is fiction. Most of what he says just isn't true or is a manipulation of the truth.

[sybba_leigh]

How do you know?

No, it's catagorized as fiction because it is fiction. Most of what he says just isn't true or is a manipulation of the truth.

[Theres]

Anyway, yeah, it says that the pentacle is venus's symbol because the planet venus makes a perfect pentalce shape across the sky every 8 years.

i don't think so. celestial bodies do not naturally make a 5 pointed star, but rather an even numbered one (usually 6, but i think it depends upon atmospheric conditions).

It ALSO says that the pentacle is the us military's symbol for war.

the 5 pointed star in a circle is used by some branches of the military, but that doesn't make it a symbol of war per se. in fact i'm not sure it even makes it a "pentacle" in the sense you're thinking... just a geometric shape.

[Jolixte]

How do you know?
Because Catholicism and Art are two areas that I spend a great deal of my time studying.

[Njorun Alma]

The Da Vinci Code is a blend between interesting information and fiction. I wouldn't trust everything that is in it, but I wouldn't say that everything is fiction either.

http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/bizarre_facts/davinci_code.html

[sybba_leigh]

The Da Vinci Code is a blend between interesting information and fiction. I wouldn't trust everything that is in it, but I wouldn't say that everything is fiction either.

http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/bizarre_facts/davinci_code.html

those are the ONLY true things in the book?

[Akhkharu Asgard]

I have never read the book, but couldn't it be classified as "Historical Fiction" or "Religious Fiction." ? Just because a book has been written does not necessarily mean it's true. I remember Michael Chrichton made the quantum physics in his book "Timeline" seem almost half way plausable, didn't mean I believed that people really did travel back to a medieval time to make a crappy ass movie version of the book...

[Njorun Alma]

those are the ONLY true things in the book?

As far as I can remember all information about the paintings and such are as true as they can get, I'm sure there are more sites regarding what is true in the book and what is not, sadly i don't have the time right now to find any more.

[Seshata]

I found the Da Vinci Code to be just a waste of time. Pick up Holy Blood, Holy Grail and you'll get the same stuff. That's why there was/is a court case going on.. I was recommended reading it and I was hoping for something of the level of at least Umberto Eco and was sorely dissapointed.

BB

Seshata

[Aidron]

1.) The Da'Vinci code is fiction. Like all fiction it has a basis in reality, but even LOTR or Star Wars had this. For example, gravity exists, which is based upon reality, but does not make gravity itself fiction because it is part of the world the story takes place in. The book in its entirety though, is fiction.

2.) Venus actually does trace the shape of a five-pointed star, but it is far from perfectly shaped. No doubt the ancient Hellenes and Romans were aware of this to some degree.

3.) A pentagram as a symbol of war... well, first off a pentagram is not necessarily just a five-pointed star, nor is a five-pointed star necessarily a pentagram (and don't even get me started on the pentacle not actually having a circle). A star or star-shaped symbol does not a pentagram make, so no, it is not used as a symbol of war, first because those who use it likely do not consider it a pentagram and secondly most star symbols I have seen used for government officials are not technically pentagrams due to their design.

[Theres]

Pick up Holy Blood, Holy Grail and you'll get the same stuff.

yup.

I was hoping for something of the level of at least Umberto Eco and was sorely dissapointed.

Foucault's Pendulum was an interesting book, although a bit long-winded.

[AvalonsBlueRose]

Personally, I really liked the Da Vinci Code. The writing wasn't as expressive as I usually like, but the set up, though slightly predictable, did keep me glued for an entire afternoon to read the whole thing. I think Dan Brown did a great job of weaving art and symbols into a fictional story. For the best of my knowledge, the art facts were true and much of the symbology and information on Da Vinci was also true. The rest....who knows? You got to admit it's an interesting concept and hopefully when the movie comes out they won't leave out the Goddess worship parts. The lipservice would be nice, if it's cast in a positive light, or at least enough to open up more dialouge.

[Phoenix Element]

Personally, I'd say the pentacle is a marriage of the feminine and masculine. The masculine is evident in the pointy protrusions of the star, while the feminine surrounds it in the form of the circle. Or, in the case of my pendant, the surrounding circle is formed by the cycle of the moon, which really clinches the feminine/masculine for me.

The DaVinci Code was a good read. I couldn't begin to separate 'fact" from fiction, so I just took the whole thing with a proverbial grain of salt and enjoyed myself. :) It put my mental gears in motion, at least!

[ValD]

1.)
2.) Venus actually does trace the shape of a five-pointed star, but it is far from perfectly shaped. No doubt the ancient Hellenes and Romans were aware of this to some degree.
Not literally - it cycles back and forward through the signs in an 8 eight year cycle, as seen from the earth. Trace out this cycle on a circular chart, and you can connect up the dots with lines to form a pentacle.

ETA: I found this page (http://www.zyworld.com/DrBernardSButler/Inanna.htm) that explained it pretty well. Obviously, this graphic depiction of Venus' movements is an historically recent discovery. If one knows the ecliptic and can pinpoint the present position of the planets in relation to the constellations of fixed stars in the zodiac, it is possible to mark the exact place in the 360 degrees of the zodiac where the Morning star first appears shortly before sunrise after a period of invisibility. If we do this, wait for the Morning star to appear again 584 days later (the synodic orbital time of Venus) mark its position in the zodiac, and then repeat this process until we note back on point one again (six notations on five different positions in the zodiac) as the Morning star, we will find that exactly eight years have passed. If we then draw a line from the first point marked to the second point marked, then to the third, and so on, we end up with a regular pentacle or pentagram. It was only the planet Venus that possessed the fivepointed star sign.

[LostSheep]

The Da Vinci Code? Yup, that's a reliable guide to all things related to religion ........

[LostSheep]

It ALSO says that the pentacle is the us military's symbol for war.
I've seen that mentioned before, I think it's based on the fact that the US Air Force uses a five pointed star in its emblem, though as it's just an outline I'd say it's not exactly a pentacle/gram ... but then, so does Russia. make of that what you like, i guess.

[Cain]

I've seen that mentioned before, I think it's based on the fact that the US Air Force uses a five pointed star in its emblem, though as it's just an outline I'd say it's not exactly a pentacle/gram ... but then, so does Russia. make of that what you like, i guess.

I'd just say they were idealised stars myself....

As for the Da Vinci Code, I'll say it again. Dan Brown is a hack. He writes predictable airport novels and anyone who read Holy Blood and the Holy Grail 20 years ago would have found his plot both predictable and tedious


:rant:

[Ben Gruagach]

Most of the best works of fiction blend truth in with the made-up stuff. It's what fiction authors do.

The associations of the five-pointed star with Venus and with goddess-figures has been around for quite a while.

(And regardless whether people like it or not, technically any five-pointed or five-cornered figure is considered to be a pentagram. Gram means figure, as in diagram, and penta means five.)