What does it mean to you?

[taijiya]

I had a weird encounter over the weekend (this is long, so bear with me).

I was at the renaissance faire, dressed in gypsy-wench attire and wearing a pentagram pendant. My husband and I were talking with someone when another guy came up and joined in the conversation. During a pause he looked at me, asked if I'd made the pendant, and then asked--in what I took to be an off-puttingly challenging tone--"what does that symbol mean to YOU?"

My brain went on immediate lockdown, primarily because I was offended that a complete stranger would come up, insinuate himself into an existing conversation, and then ask me something in what I took to be a confrontational manner (I'm told I'm a wee bit too sensitive :awilly: ). I made it clear that I wasn't going there and the conversation steered elsewhere. But the encounter left me feeling stupid and exposed and irritated for hours until I realised why I really hadn't answered the question:

I couldn't.

Had I been wearing my ankh pendant, or my sistrum pendant, the answers would have been immediate, eloquent, and easy; ditto for my Nepalese mala ring, or any number of other objects. Why, then, did I go all deer-in-headlights over a simple pentagram? The usual explanations--oh, it represents the four elements, yadda yadda and such--flashed through my mind but were immediately discarded; the truth is, I wore the pentagram as a kind of signal to other paganfolk at the faire that I was OK, I'm "one too." This faire is set in a very rural area not known for religious tolerance; it's in its second weekend and they've already had problems with people from the local pentacostal church removing and destroying their signs. Also, most of the answers/explanations I could give for a pentagram could mislead the listener into thinking I'm a practicing Wiccan, which I'm not. By the time I got home I felt like I was guilty of false advertising! :lol:

Heh. Baka no taijiya goes to the ren faire wearing her Default Pagan Symbol so she doesn't get called on to explain anything exotic--and gets called on nonetheless. Does this stuff happen to other people, or is it just me?

[CelticMoon11]

I understand where you are coming from. I usually go into shut down mode if someone asks me questions in a confrontational manner I get very defensive and just go into lock down, sheilds go up and I turn into an impenetrable fortress :lol:

For me however the pentacle means more than just a default symbol. If it isn't you then don't feel the need to wear it just to 'fit in' with the pagan crowd, wear what reflects you not a collective identity. Otherwise, try and meditate on the symbol if you'd like, feel and 'relate' and get to know what it does mean for you.

Where do you want to go from here having had this experience? :):hugz:

Blessings to you

[Greyharp]

I love it when people ask me about my pentagram ring, sadly it's only happened a couple of times during the last few years. I love the opportunity to freely discuss my thoughts and beliefs. It doesn't make me feel defensive in any way.

I wear the pentagram because it reflects both who I feel I am and what I believe. I must admit I would never wear any symbol that I didn't feel a strong association to, or that didn't represent me in some definitive sense. And lets be honest, a pentagram can be a red rag to a bull, to some people.

[Nitefalle]

That's why I don't wear a pentacle; I am not a Wiccan and I don't like to be put on the spot for *any* reason, religious or otherwise (I don't do very well under pressure).

[Tanya]

I think lots of people are threatened by a penticle because they think it is a satanism symbol. Pick it up with one hand, spread your fingers with the other.... "This is a symbol of five.. all that is human....the hand, a human standing, arms out stretched, 2 legs, 2 arms, and a head. This is a circle around it. The earth,, the womb. This is a symbol of man in life. Living completely and wholly in the world, divinely in the momment of the now."

or you could just say "Piss off"

[Tanya]

This all said, usually when people ask me about the penticles,spirals or knotwork I wear and I say "Its about my religion" they drop the subject like a hot potato.

I was once asked about my handfast ring and I said "Its a handfast ring." The subject is dropped, no one wants to admit they are ignorant and say ..."What the heck does that mean?"

[Invidosa]

Yeah, I both love and hate the question about the pentacle, usually it starts out with someone asking if I am Jewish, and we go from there. Love it because, approximately one third of the time, the questioner is truly interested, open minded and curious about this symbol. Hate it because the other two thirds of questioners are either:

A) Narrow minded folks who follow up by telling me that it’s a symbol of devil worshippers. Then proceed to eye me askance as if I am going to suddenly turn into a snarling baby killer

B) Narrow minded pagans who get haughty with me at my explanation, and proceed to sneer slightly while explaining what it really means. (this is actually a very small percentage of my personal experience, but it has been a personal experience nonetheless)

C) Folks who are just weirded out enough to not be entirely comfortable at having any sort of in depth conversation with me anymore, but not freaked out enough to warrant rudeness (the majority falls into this category)

When asked I usually explain how the pentacle represents oneness, protection and balance. To me it is a part of my identity in a way. I love that I have a way to declare my faith openly, and I love when other pagans recognize it and I get a nod or a hug for no other reason then our shared faith. I love feeling part of that community. :)

[BlackMagicalCat]

Well,I was asked by a young lady to do something magic,all I wanted was a KCF dinner,,,but I tell whoever asks me,it means I belong to the Goddess,she put it in my heart to wear it,so I would not forget who I belong too.

So i tell them its the Goddess symbol,and they ask me,which one?

I tell them Ostara.

They say ,,Ohh.


I never take mine off,except to swim and shower.

[KylalaKitty]

I think lots of people are threatened by a penticle because they think it is a satanism symbol. Pick it up with one hand, spread your fingers with the other.... "This is a symbol of five.. all that is human....the hand, a human standing, arms out stretched, 2 legs, 2 arms, and a head. This is a circle around it. The earth,, the womb. This is a symbol of man in life. Living completely and wholly in the world, divinely in the momment of the now."

or you could just say "Piss off"

:lol: I totally agree.

[Baye]

The Pentacle itself has bee ued and worn by many. It's not exclusivly a "Wiccan" symbol.
Even early Christians used it.
I wear a beeded necklace representing the Vodun Loa. Most haveno idea what it is they just think it's a decortive peice of jewlery.
I can see how some may be taken back by seing a pentacle. Media has often used it in the negitive sense and that's only one version of it :-)

Baye

[Nitefalle]

Well so here's a question that's related to this topic. About a year ago, I started at a new job and noticed that another girl was wearing a bracelet with a pentacle on it. I was excited at the prospect of working with another pagan, but got hung up on how exactly to broach the subject. I didn't want to just blurt something out, such as "Hey, you're Pagan?? Me too!!!" What if she just happened to like stars and thought the bracelet was pretty? I felt awkward dropping hints.....what if I said something like "Gee, I can't wait until Beltane!" ? There's only a 50% chance she wouldn't eye me like I just told her I ate live toads for breakfast.

So....if you see someone in a public place that is a stranger to you and they are sporting "paraphernalia" and you would like to get to know them better (or at least introduce yourself as another pagan), what do you say? How do you handle it?

[BohemianMare]

So....if you see someone in a public place that is a stranger to you and they are sporting "paraphernalia" and you would like to get to know them better (or at least introduce yourself as another pagan), what do you say? How do you handle it?

Usually when I see someone wearing a pentacle/ankh/etc. I just say to them "Is that a Pentacle?" and if they say yes, I go from there.

As for wearing a Pentacle, I couldn't live in the house with my parents if I did. They know I'm Pagan, my father gets it, but my Mother doesn't like it...not for religous reasons, because she's afraid other people won't accept me. Whatever. So instead I wear a celtic cross, symbolizing the four elements, with a ring around it that symbolizes the connection all things have in Spirit, and a three-fold knot in the center to the threefold nature of the Divine...Maiden/Mother/Crone for the Goddess and Hunter/Father/Sage for the God.

I love what someone said about it meaning you belong to the Goddess. I would like to get a tiny crescent tattooed on my forehead, as a mark of the Goddess. Yes, I'm really into "The Mists of Avalon" and I would say it was the final step into bringing me to my faith. If you've seen the lukewarm TNT mini-series adaption of it, then that is the tattoo I'd like to get. It's small, but subtle and it would be an honor to wear it.

[Invidosa]

Well,I was asked by a young lady to do something magic,all I wanted was a KCF dinner,,,

Yeah, I've had this kind of reaction too, my favorite was when a guy asked me if i could "do some magic thing" so that he could "you know, get some from a chick" blech :noway:

[cheddarsox]

I have asked people this very question, because I really wanted to know what it means...to them, personally. Not because I was baiting them or anything, but because I was really curious.

I see lots of folks wearing pents, and I want to understand what it means to them. My pendants have lots of personal meaning to me.

sometimes , I do meet someone out and about, and use their pents, or other pagan pendants to mark them out as a possible kindred soul. A friend and I were having lunch in a town about an hour away, we noticed a waitres wearing a pent ring and a large crystal and singeled her out to ask if she knew of any pagan shops in the area. She was very helpful!

I'm sure glad she didn't tell us to piss off!

Sometimes a cigar...is just a cigar


cheddar

[jcldragon]

The reason why you were asked that question, was because you haven't fully understood the significance or the power of the Pentacle as yet. Of course, the guy didn't know that consciously. What I'm saying, is that the Universe used him to get you to ask yourself that question.

The Four Planes of Existance, plus the Principle of Life that binds them all together, is implicit in the Pentacle. The Ancients always used Symbols to explain the deeper Mysteries of Life. The 1st & 2nd Century Christians, used the Pentacle, as a Symbol of Christ, at least until the Council of Nicea, when the Mystics were excluded from the church, (although you can clearly see the Pentacle, and other Mystic Symbols used in the work of DaVinci).

The Universe, (for lack of a better term at the moment), has a game it likes to play. Like many games, sometimes it gets a bit rough. This game could be called, "Test!". When you gain some Knowledge or an Insight, you have just invited the Universe to play this game. Immediately, (or within a rather short span of Time), some situation will crop up to Test whether or not you have fully comprehended what you think you've just learned. Generally, this game gets rough, when you've gotten over your head by claiming to have something that you only grasp barely. In extreme cases you can get killed, but you always "get another man" in this game, because Reincarnation is a fact of Life & Death...

[taijiya]

Or maybe I'm just a shy taijiya who felt threatened and cornered by a large and impulsive stranger pressing an issue in an aggressive-seeming manner... (Honestly, after 15 years of pagan practice and study, I can't say I lack understanding of the symbol. And sometimes a cigar really is just a cigar!) :lol:

Thinking a little more out loud...

I think a lot of my reaction really did have to do with the approach; I get defensive when strangers come on too strongly, or I perceive them to be presuming an intimacy level that isn't there yet. "What does that mean?" is a question I could and have answered without hesitation; "what does that mean to you?" exceeded the boundaries. That's deeper than I'm comfortable going with Joe Schmoe on the street. The spiritual is very personal to me, and I'm no evangelist; and some things are hard enough to articulate to those who know me best, let alone those who don't know me at all.

[Morrigan_Wolfwind]

Wow. I would've nearly bolted if someone came up to me and asked about my pentacle, "What does it mean to you?" Not because of what he ASKED, but because I am a rather withdrawn person who gets more than a little startled at someone coming up to me and speaking in a loudly challenging tone.

I kind of wish someone HAD asked me that question this year, though. The most they asked was "Are you Jewish?" and then I just got rather annoyed and told them it's just a pretty star.

I did tell my teacher it was a pentacle; then he asked if I "knew a lot about it," which I got a little panicked at. I said automatically, "I don't know," and he told me to research more about it. (He's my history teacher.)

If someone had asked me, "What does it mean (to you)?" I would most likely be more eloquent and dramatic. "It's a pentacle. It means I know who I am and where I want to go," and I'd leave it at that unless the person is truly interested. Then I'd be a little less dramatic and more informational :D.

[Johnathan Brisby]

During a pause he looked at me, asked if I'd made the pendant, and then asked--in what I took to be an off-puttingly challenging tone--"what does that symbol mean to YOU?"

He wanted an EMOTIONAL response because he's an emotional VAMPIRE who gets off on making others uncomfortable and then manipulating them through their own confusion. He confused you intentionally to get a rise, vampires often prey upon empaths/sensitives due to the RICH emotional energy produced by such individuals. He should be responded to as you would a child holding a water pistol-- he's not entitled to an answer because big girls don't need to play games with little boys.:hehehehe:

This person can no longer recieve energy from the source so his goal is to steal the light from you and others. He has been cut of and can no longer ascend due to his selfish and sadistic nature. Give this person NONE of your energy, you were a target for a reason- he saw the goddess' light shining through you and wanted it for himself.

[Johnathan Brisby]

The reason why you were asked that question, was because you haven't fully understood the significance or the power of the Pentacle as yet. Of course, the guy didn't know that consciously. What I'm saying, is that the Universe used him to get you to ask yourself that question

I agree with this SORTOF:idea:

The goddess will ALLOW spirits and people trapped on a lower level of consciousness to test those she favors to see how strong and compassionate they truly are-- when they are ready she rewards them and shows them what power REALLY is.:fpraise: It's true evil spirits do posess SOME profound knowlede but there is a REASON why they are trapped on the lower rungs to ascension- wickedness is NOT the opposite of goodness, it is the result of a dead-end choice.

[Qeniheru]

Hmm. It was weird, because at first I liked to wear my pentacle that looks like a celtic knot flower, because it is inconspicous, yet noticable by other pagans. I got scared when I was asked about it at first, because people around here aren't exactly the most tolerant bunch, but now I answer them, if they don't ask in a threatening manner (I replied once to a classmate who asked that way and he went crazy on me for the rest of the semester.) I feel like I don't have to be so scared anymore. Now I tell them it is my religion and a symbol of protection.
But yes, if someone strode up to me and asked me what it meant, I would do either this: _inabox_ or explain it, depending on how they asked. I tend to be a rather defensive person, so in your situation, I'd probably go with the box option. :lol:

[MankyCat]

I know what you mean about wearing a pentacle as an identifyer, espescially at festivals and such. I worked the Maryland Renaissance Festival in a magic booth for a number of years. We sold magic tricks, but were slowly caitering more and more to the pagan community too (with special wands with crystals and symbols etched in). I also made wand cases for the booth. Nice ones.

I was the "Wand Queen" according to my bosses. The person that new a lot about the properties of the woods, the symbols, and knew how to work with the pagan customers because I knew more about what they look for, how, and why. I could make recommendations better than the other people in the booth and had the ability to "feel" which wand was right for the customer in question (or even find a few for the customer to choose from).

I debated wearing a pentacle to label myself as "one of you". Granted, it wasn't really necessary. The pagans that came in seems to know I was, but once I left the booth (at the end of my shift or during lunch break), I was no longer as easily pinpointed. We are talking about a festival where a good number of pagans really do often wear big blazing signs of their belief systems or that they are "one of us".

My only problem is that I just don't feel right wearing those symbols. Not because I want to hide myself, but just because I haven't found a new symbol that suits my beliefs. The pentacle makes me weird, like I'm taking a step backwards. (I don't mean to say anything about those who follow any path. Just that my belief system has changed a lot since I wore that particular symbol.) I feel that way with any symbol I wore at one time that no longer fits. So... I just remain unmarked for the most part.

As for being asked about symbols and such... it depends on my instinct. If my instinct says not to say anything or freeze up, then I go with that, because it was probably the best way to handle it. Some people feed off of confrontation and being "holier than thou".