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How the Moon Works

Geologic History of the Moon

Based on analyses of the rocks, crater densities and surface features, geologists came up with the following geologic history of the moon:

1.     After the impact (about 4.45 billion years ago), the newly formed moon had a huge magma ocean over a solid interior.

2.     As the magma cooled, iron and magnesium silicates crystallized and sank to the bottom.Plagioclase feldspar crystallized and floated up to form the anorthosite lunar crust.

3.     Later (about 4 billion years ago), magma rose and infiltrated the lunar crust, where they reacted chemically to form the basalt. The magma ocean continued to cool, forming the lithosphere (which is like the material in the Earth's mantle). As the moon lost heat, the asthenosphere (the next layer in) shrank toward the core and the lithosphere became very large. These events led to a model of the moon's interior that is very different from that of the Earth. Lunar Behavior The moon is thought to influence our daily life and moods, possibly even causing odd behavior. In fact, it's the inspiration for the word "lunatic." Werewolf aficionados, of course, know that a full moon triggers terrifying transformations. And hospital and emergency personnel tell of more crimes, accidents and births during a full moon -- but the evidence for this is mostly anecdotal rather than statistical.

4.     From about 4.6 to 3.9 billion years ago, the moon was intensely bombarded by meteors and other large objects. These impacts modified the lunar crust and gave rise to the large, densely cratered surface in the lunar highlands. Some of these bombardments produced large, multi-ringed basins and mountains.

5.     When the bombardment ceased, lava flowed from the inside of the moon through volcanoes and cracks in the crust. This lava filled the maria and cooled to become the mare basalts. This period of lunar volcanism lasted from about 3.7 billion years to 2.5 billion years ago. Much of the moon's heat was lost during this period. (Because the moon's crust is slightly thinner on the side that faces the Earth, lava could erupt more easily to fill the maria basins. This explains why there are more maria on the near side of the moon compared to the far side.)

6.     O­­nce the volcanic period ended, most of the moon's internal heat was gone, so there was no major geologic activity -- meteor impacts have been the only major geologic factor at work on the moon. These impacts have not been as intense as in earlier periods of the moon's history; bombardments have generally been declining throughout the solar system. However, the meteoric bombardment that continues today has produced some large craters on the maria (like Tycho and Copernicus) and the fine regolith (soil) that covers the lunar surface.

Let's look at some of the phenomena involving the moon's orbit.

How the Moon Works

by Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Giant Impactor Hypothesis

At the time of Project Apollo in the 1960s, there were basically three hypotheses about how the moon formed.

·         Double planet (also called the condensation hypothesis): The moon and the Earth formed together at about the same time.

·         Capture: The Earth's gravity captured the fully formed moon as it wandered by.

·         Fission: The young Earth spun so rapidly on its axis that a blob of molten Earth spun off and formed the moon.

But based on the findings of Apollo and some scientific reasoning, none of these hypotheses worked very well.

·         If the moon did form alongside the Earth, the composition of the two bodies should be about the same (they aren't).

·         The Earth's gravity isn't sufficient to capture something the size of the moon and keep it in orbit.

·         The Earth can't spin fast enough for a blob of material the size of the moon to just spin off.

Because none of these hypotheses was satisfactory, scientists looked for another explanation. In the mid-1970s, scientists proposed a new idea called the Giant Impactor (or Ejected Ring) hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, about 4.45 billion years ago, while t­he Earth was still forming, a large object (about the size of Mars) hit the Earth at an angle. The impact threw debris into space from the Earth's mantle region and overlying crust. The impactor itself melted and merged with the Earth's interior, and the hot debris coalesced to form the moon. The Giant Impactor hypothesis explains why the moon rocks have a composition similar to the Earth's mantle, why the moon has no iron core (because the iron in the Earth's core and impactor's core remained on Earth), and why moon rocks seem to have been baked and have no volatile compounds. Computer simulations have shown that this hypothesis is feasible.

MOON FACTS

Distance from Earth: 240,250 miles (384,400 km)

Diameter: 2,160 miles (3,476 km), or about 27 percent of the Earth’s diameter

Mass: 7.35 x 10²² kilograms, about 1.2 percent of the Earth’s mass

Gravity: 1.62 m/s², or 16.6 percent of the Earth’s gravity

Mean surface temperature:

sunlight = 266 F (130 C),

shadow = -292 F (-180 C)

Atmosphere: None

Orbital period: 29.5 day

Lunar day: 29.5 Earth days (the moon is tidally locked to the Earth, so our gravity drags the moon around on its axis and the same side of the moon always faces Earth)

What's on the surface of the moon?

As we mentioned, the first thing that you'll notice when you look at the moon's surface are the dark and light areas. The dark areas are called maria. There are several prominent maria.

·         Mare Tranquilitatis (Sea of Tranquility): where the first astronauts landed

·         Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers): the largest mare (700 miles or 1100 kilometers in diameter)

·         Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity)

·         Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds)

·         Mare Nectaris (Sea of Nectar)

·         Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms)

The maria cover only 15 percent of the lunar surface.

The remainder of the lunar surface consists of the bright highlands, or terrae. Highlands are rough, mountainous, heavily cratered regions. The Apollo astronauts observed that the highlands are generally about 4 to 5 km (2.5 to 3 miles) above the average lunar surface elevation, while the maria are low-lying plains about 2 to 3 km (1.2 to 1.8 miles) below average elevation. These results were confirmed in the 1990s, when the orbiting Clementine probe extensively mapped the lunar surface.

The moon is littered with craters, which are formed when meteors hit its surface. They may have central peaks and terraced walls, and material from the impact (ejecta) can be thrown from the crater, forming raysthat emanate from it. Craters come in many sizes, and you'll see that the highlands are more densely cratered than the maria.

Another type of impact structure is a multi-ringed basin. These structures were caused by huge impacts that sent shockwaves outward and pushed up mountain ranges. The Orientale Basin is an example of a multi-ringed basin.

Besides craters, geologists have noticed cinder cone volcanoes, rilles (channel-like depressions, probably from lava), lava tubes and old lava flows, which indicate that the moon was volcanically active at some point.

The moon has no true soil because it has no living matter in it. Instead, the "soil" is called regolith. Astronauts noted that the regolith was a fine powder of rock fragments and volcanic glass particles interspersed with larger rocks.

Upon examining the rocks brought back from the lunar surface, geologists found the following characteristics:

1.       The maria consisted primarily of basalt, an igneous rock derived from cooled lava.

2.       The highland regions include mostly igneous rocks called anorthosite and breccia

3.       If you compare the relative ages of the rocks, the highland areas are much older than the maria. (4 to 4.3 billion years old versus 3.1 to 3.8 billion years old).

4.     The lunar rocks have very little water and volatile compounds in them (as if they've been baked) and resemble those found in the Earth's mantle.

5.       The oxygen isotopes in moon rocks and the Earth are similar, which indicates that the moon and the Earth formed at about the same distance from the sun.

6.       The density of the moon (3.3 g/cm³) is less than that of the Earth (5.5 g/cm³), which indicates that it doesn't have a substantial iron core.

Astronauts placed other scientific packages on the moon to collect data:

·         Seismometers didn't detect any moonquakes or other indications of plate tectonic activity (movements in the moon's crust)

·         Magnetometers in orbiting spacecraft and probes didn't detect a significant magnetic field around the moon, which indicates that the moon doesn't have a substantial iron core or molten iron core like the Earth does.

Let's look at what all of this information tells us about the formation of the moon.

The Moon's Magical Phases

Each phase of the Moon resonates with magical significance and astrological meaning.

These meanings spill out into world-wide folklore, sinister superstitions, and even gardening advice. Werewolves, in particular, are creatures of the Moon  – transforming themselves by the light of the full Moon into deadly hunters which can only be killed by a silver bullet. Hairy, scary creatures aside….the Moon’s phases are used in witchcraft and magic to determine when to cast a certain kind of spell. New Moons are for beginnings, for example, while the waning Moon is believed to be a good time for banishing things, or clearing negative influences. In predictive astrology these phases reveal different themes in your life, and offer a guide to planning activities, projects, and even study. If you want to try tuning in to these phases you’ll need to observe the Moon every evening, cloud permitting, and check exact details of its phase in an almanac or moon calendar.

Here are the phases and what they mean:

The New or Crescent Moon - Beginnings

It’s time to begin projects, new regimes, fresh starts. Some gardeners maintain that this is the best time to plant seeds – you can easily imagine that this is a symbol for many things.

The First Quarter Moon - Action

The Moon reaches her first quarter seven days after the New Moon. Take your projects out there and do something practical about those decisions or wishes you made when the Moon was new.

The Gibbous Moon – Movement

The Moon is now waxing larger as it moves from New towards Full. The next seven days have a forward momentum. If you began something new, like a diet, at the New Moon, you should be seeing some results by now. Not the final results you imagined, but moving towards them.

The Full Moon – Harvest



The lunar energies peak now, fourteen days into the cycle. It is harvest time, possibly for projects begun at a New Moon months beforehand. Results in just two weeks are hard to find in most endeavors’……although we can always dream. Emotions may peak one way or another too.

The Disseminating Moon – Thinking

The Moon begins to wane, and energies and thoughts turn inwards. This is a good time to think about your projects or the direction you are following. Use what you have learned and bide your time.

The Third Quarter Moon – Shuffling the deck

If you need to fine-tune things, now’s the time. It’s about seven days since the Full Moon. Work with what you have, and make it better. It’s not a good time to go after anything new, but a great time to polish up your skills and make things work out. Anything you don’t need, or which isn’t working can be recycled or thrown out now. Needless to say, this is a good time to clear out cupboards, weed your garden, or get a sassy new haircut.

The Balsamic Moon - Release

The waning Moon has reached its last phase. It is a time of release. If you want to let go of a relationship, job, or anxiety this is the perfect time to focus on this desire. You may feel peaceful, or empty. The final days just before the New Moon are also called the dark of the Moon, because it sheds so little light. Symbolically, this suggests the inner world is more important than the outer world at this point in the cycle.

The Magical Dragon Claws

          The Magical Dragon Claw

Since ancient times color has been used in magic, healing and religion... Some say God, as light, is the source of all colors. Each color is a distant vibrational level of the primordial essence and crystallized energy is the matter that makes up our universe including ourselves.

Every color causes our energy to resonate with its particular vibration – imparting helpful effects to one’s personality, emotions, and thoughts. The following are the characteristics radiated by each color.

BLACK:  Brings self – control & power, rebirth & resurrection, stability & power, receptiveness & understanding, prudence & wisdom, eliminates negativity. Helps control the rebel within you. Planetary influence: Saturn

CLEAR:  Channels and enhances energy. Purity, spiritual perfection & knowledge, self- illumination, perfect insight... The pure mind... Helps one perceive the past, present & future. Planetary influence: the Earth

RED: the Zenith of Color, skill in battle, love, joy passion, strength, great health, victory & success. Protects against fire & lighting... Planetary influence: Mars

PINK: Loving and calming. Purification, good health, renews love, heighten sexuality. Protects from anxiety, toxicity or disease..  Planetary influence: warm, sweet, Venus

AMBER: Represents courage; “the soul of the Tiger”. Gives magical strength, vital dynamic force, heightens communication & concentration. Good health & vitality. Brings  luck & protection. Planetary influence: Mercury

GREEN: The Mystic color. Attracts money, heal growth oriented medical problems. Heaven and Earth combined. Gladness, change, renewal, resurrection, abundance, independence, prosperity & success.. Planetary influences: the attraction, love & healing of Venus.

SKY BLUE: All the sky gods, the water principle, creativity & self – expression. The overflowing cup of divine communication... Excellent for the writer, signer or speaker... Flowing, life – giving freedom…. Planetary influences: Earth

BLUE: The third eye opens. Extrasensory perception... Intuitions, ecstatic vision & soul realization, harmony & understanding, truth, wisdom, loyalty, peace, contemplation, coolness... Excellent for the barb, poet, or artist...Planetary influences: calming, healing Neptune.

PURPLE: Divine radiance, comic consciousness, high spirituality attainment, truth, justice, temperance, royalty, imperial power…Silence & bliss, the crown of absolute unity, reality beyond duality…Relieves depression, headaches & hair problems…Planetary influences: expansive, generous Jupiter.

"a simple medal that you can create a power Amulet with color's, EO's and a Spell."

History of the Pentagram )0( From Good to Evil

History Of The Pentagram

From Good to Evil

Pentagram ~ A five pointed star, encased by an outer circle. Adopted by the first pagan practioners, it is always seen with it's apex pointing upward toward the Divine. The Early Roots The earliest known use of the pentagram can be found around 3500 BC at Ur of the Chaldees in Ancient Mesopotamia. It was found here on fragments of broken pottery with some of the earliest findings of written language. In later periods of Mesopotamian art, the pentagram was used in royal inscriptions as a symbol of imperial power extending out to "the four corners of the world". The pentagram was also used by the Hebrews as a symbol of Truth and for the five books of the Pentateuch (The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures). In Ancient Greece, the geometry of the pentagram and its metaphysical associations were explored by the Pythagoreans (after Pythagoras 586-506BC) who considered it an emblem of perfection. It was called the Pentalpha (A five-pointed star, resembling five alphas joined at their bases), composed of five geometrical A's. Pythagoras was known to have traveled all over the ancient world. It's that his travels took him to Egypt, to Chaldea and to lands around the Indus where he shared his knowledge and views. Because of his travels we maybe able draw a connection with the presence of the pentagram in Tantrik art. These early Hindu and Buddhist writings seem to share Pythagoras' view of the star and it's symbology. The Gnostics were early practioners of Gnosticism; The doctrines of certain pre-Christian pagan, Jewish, and early Christian sects who valued the revealed knowledge of God, the origin and end of the human race as a means to attain redemption for the spiritual element in humans. These people saw the pentagram as a 'Blazing Star'. Sharing it's symbology with the crescent moon it was related to the magik and mystery of the night time sky or the mysteries of the dark. Celtic Druids, saw the pentagram as a symbol of the Godhead. Celtic Pagans saw the sacred nature of five or the important nature of "five-ness" in many things. Which is reflected in much of their symbology. It's also important to note that these Celtic traditions provide the foundation for much of modern Paganism practiced today. We can find an example of the importance of 5 in the old Irish tale, "Cormac's Cup of Gold". The hero of the tale "saw a royal fortress with four houses in it, and a bright well with nine ancient hazels growing over it. In the well, were five salmon who ate the nuts that dropped from the purple hazels, and sent the husks floating down the five streams that flowed therefrom. The sound of the streams was the sweetest music." ... "The spring was the Well of Knowledge, and the five streams the five senses through which knowledge is obtained. No one will have knowledge who drinks not a draught out of the well itself or out of the streams. Those who are skilled in many arts drink from both the well and the streams." To many Pagan Celts it was assigned to the underground goddess Morrigan. If we look at the in numerous Celtic connections of fiveness we'll also find that: Ireland had five great roads, five provinces and five paths of the law. The fairy folk counted by fives, Mythological figures wore five fold cloaks. It was a symbol of the 'underground womb' and bore a symbolic relationship to the concept of the pyramid form to the Egyptians. Early Christians attributed the pentagram to the Five Wounds of Christ and from then until medieval times, it was a lesser-used Christian symbol. Prior to the time of the Inquisition, there were no 'evil' associations to the pentagram. Rather it was a form that implied Truth, religious mysticism and the work of The Creator. The Emperor Constantine I, used the pentagram, together with the chi-rho symbol (a symbolic form of the cross) in his seal and amulet. However, it was the cross (a symbol of suffering) rather than the pentagram (a symbol of truth) that was used as a symbol by the Church. The early Christian Church subsequently came to power and assumed supreme power over the Roman Empire, using a forged document - 'The Donation of Constantine'. The annual church feast of Epiphany, celebrating the visit of the three Magi to the infant Jesus as well as the Church's mission to bring 'truth' to the Gentiles had as it's symbol the pentagram. Over time the Church drooped the circle and altered the pentagram to a simple five-pointed star, presumably in reaction to the neo-pagan use of the pentagram with the circle intact. In Medieval times, the 'Endless Knot' was a symbol of Truth and was a protection against demons. It was used as an amulet of personal protection and to guard windows and doors. The pentagram with one point upwards symbolized summer; with two points upward, it was a sign for winter. In the legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the pentagram was used as his signature glyph and was inscribed in gold on his shield. The legend tells us that Gawain used the symbol for the five knightly virtues - generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry and piety. The military monks of the Knights Templar formed during the Crusades. The order of the Templar found in Rennes du Chatres in France is an almost perfect natural pentagon of mountains spanning several miles around it. The creation of other exact geometric alignments and pentagrams can be found in the area as well. It is clear from remaining traces of Templar architecture that architects and masons were well aware of the geometry of the pentagon and incorporated that mysticism into their designs. The religious-fanatic Louis IX of France in 1303 saw the Knights Templar as a strong and powerful force to reckon with. Wither he felt threatened politically by their wealth and power, or if he truly believed they were working against God is up for great debate. But under his guidance, the black times of the Inquisition fell upon the land. Unimaginable torture and murder began, slowly spreading across Europe.centuries. The Impact Of The Inquisition During the Inquisition, The Church lapsed into a long period of torture and conducted itself in the most heinous fashion. More people were killed for being label pagan or witch that died during the Holocaust. During this time the pentagram was seen a Goat's Head or the Devil in the form of Baphomet. It was Baphomet whom the Inquisition accused the Templars of worshiping. And their order was disbanded. Many Knights of the order refused to give up their beliefs, opting to meet in secret and hide their knowledge from the public. A custom that is still practiced today. Around this time, poisoning as a means of murder came into prominence. Potent herbs and drugs brought back from the East during the Crusades had entered the cabinets of the healers, the wise and the witches. Prominent deaths by poisoning caused the Dominicans of the Inquisition to move their attention from the Christian heretics to the pagan witches, to those who only paid lip service to Christianity but still followed an Old Religion and to the wise-ones amongst them who knew about drugs and poisons. In the purge on witches, other horned gods such as Pan became equated with the Christian concept of the Devil and the pentagram, for the first time in history, was equated with 'evil' and was label as the "Witch's Foot". Like the Knights Templar these early pagans were forced underground, hiding and meeting in secret, doing their best to avoid the Dominican guards and the burning trials. Under the prying eyes of the Church and it's attempt to enforce control over the people, secret hidden groups of craftsmen, and societies of scholars began the development of Alchemy. Hermeticism, the proto-science of alchemy developed along with its occult philosophy and symbolism. Graphical and geometric symbolism became very important and the period of the Renaissance emerged. Western occult teachings began to emphasize the philosophies of Man being the small part of the larger and grater universal spirit. "As above, so below" soon became a common mantra. And the symbology of the pentagram returned as the 'Star of the Microcosm', symbolizing Man within the macrocosm or showing the relation of man in the Macrocosmic universe. In 1582, Tycho Brahe's Calendarium Naturale magicum Perpetuum shows a pentagram with the human body imposed and the Hebrew for YHSVH associated with the elements. An illustration attributed to Brae's contemporary Agrippa (Henry Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim) is of similar proportion and shows the five planets and the moon at the center point, the genitalia. Other illustrations of the period by Robert Fludd and Leonardo da Vinci also show geometric relationships of man to the universe. Later, the pentagram came to be symbolic of the relationship of the head to the four limbs and hence of the pure concentrated essence of anything, such as or the spirit, to the four traditional elements of matter - earth, water, air and fire. "Spirit is The Quintessence". The Pentagram Comes To The New World In the Freemasonry order, Man as the smaller aspect of the universe was and is associated with the five-pointed Pentagon. The symbol was used, interlaced and upright for the sitting Master of the Lodge. The geometric properties and structure of the Endless Knot were appreciated and symbolically incorporated into the 72-degree angle of the compasses, the Masonic emblem of virtue and duty. The origins of freemasonry are lost in the depths of history, obscured by the traditional 'craft'-secrecy of the order, but there are signs throughout history of the associations of craftsmanship and ritual and symbolism that have remained known only to a few, and the history of the pentagram has remained occluded in the same kind of mystery. The womens branch of freemasonry uses the five pointed 'Eastern Star' as its emblem. Each point commemorates a heroine of biblical lore. More than half of America's Found Fathers were Freemasons or practioners of Deism. And we can see how they strived greatly to institute a society that separated church and state in order to eliminate yet another occurrence of the Inquisition. They were very meticulous in their attempts to create a secular government. But they also incorporated elements of the pentagram symbology into American symbols. Possibly because they understood how wide spread the use of this symbol was within all religions. We see it in the 5 pointed stars on the flag, the eye/pyramid on money, and even the layout of the nations capital was designed to reflect Freemasonry symbology. In 1791, Pierre Charles L'Enfante(the designer, who was a Freemason), laid out Governmental Center of Washington, D.C., he planned more than just streets, roads, and buildings. Through his designs, he incorporated certain occult magikal symbols in the layout of U.S. Governmental Center. And of course, many fundamental Christians see this symbol as satanic. In actuality, it's merely just the top portion of the alchemical formula. Victorian Mysticism The 19th century brought a new mysticism into polite society. Metaphysical Societies sprang up around the modern world. Many of them based on the ancient Holy Kabbalah. The Kabbalah comes from oral Judaism and relate the nature of God, the divine universe, morality and occult truths to Man. The Kabbalah is not a religion unto itself, but rather a system of understanding based upon symbolism, mathematical and alphabetical interrelationships of words and concepts. Eliphas Levi was a leader in this new movement and was instrumental in opening the rise of the Victorian lodges of western mystery traditions such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Order Temporale Orientalis (O.T.O.), the Rosicrucian’s or the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, the Theosophical Society, and several other mystical organizations. Even the modern lodges and traditions of speculative Freemasonry had some connection to this renaissance of mysticism. Levi was also instrumental in taking the tarot from being a gypsy fortune-telling device to a powerful set of symbolic images for divination. Levi is credited with establishing the design upon the pentagram. Such associative inscriptions as in the Pentacle of the Tetragrammaton and renaming the suit of 'coins' as 'pentacles'. Many believe these orders were the ones who instituted the workings of ritual magik with the symbolism of the pentagram and it's elemental attributes, along with those of the hexagram. There is little evidence to support this view. And more evidence to link these symbols with ancient Pagan practices. Making the magik and pentagram connection much older. The Golden Dawn did much to advance and disseminate the roots of modern hermetic Kabbalah around the world during it's height of popularity from 1888 to around the start of the First World War. Through writings and teachings of many of it's members, such as Aleister Crowley, have come some of the most important ideas of today's Kabbalist philosophy and magik. Aleister Crowley also had association with the old pre-Reformation 'hereditary' witches, through his association with Old George Pickingill and Gerald Gardner. Gerald Gardner, an initiate of Dorothy Clutterbuck, is the founder of the tradition of Wicca. During this time, we also see the first modern association of the pentagram with 'evil'. Eliphaz Levi Zahed (Alphonse Louis Constant, a defrocked French Catholic abbé) who illustrated the upright pentagram beside an inverted pentagram with the goat's head of Baphomet. It is this illustration and opposite positions that has led to the concept of different orientations of the pentagram being 'good' and 'evil'. Which gave ammunition to the fundamentalists for relating these Victorian mystic practices and the emerging modern rebirth of Witchcraft as evil and relating to the devil. The Modern Pentagram In the 1940's Gerald Gardner adopted the pentagram with two points upward as the sigil of second-degree initiation in the newly emergent, neo-pagan rituals of the Wiccan tradition of Witchcraft. The one-point upward pentagram together with the upright triangle symbolized third degree initiation. A point downward triangle is the symbol of First Degree Initiates. The pentagram was also inscribed on the altar with it's points symbolizing the three aspects of the Goddess plus the two aspects of the God in a special form of Gardnerian Pentacle. The writings of Gardner and his associate Doreen Valiente, brought the long-withered stem of Witchcraft, the Old Religion out into the world again, back from the hidden secret societies of the Victorian age and the attempts of the Inquisition to destroy all who practiced these ancient beliefs. The Christian morality still kept the pentagram in the minds of modern society as a negative symbol. So it wasn't until the 1960's that the pentagram again became a symbol to be worn in public. With the rise of Witchcraft and Wicca and the publication of many books, there was a reaction to the Church view as well. The Church of Satan - by Anton LaVey was part of this reaction. This organization started out as a renewed practice of the following of Set, an Egyptian deity. For it's emblem, this group adopted the inverted pentagram after the Baphomet image of Eliphas Levi. The reaction of the Christian church was to condemn Satanism as 'evil' and lumping all the re-emerging societies together as Devil worship. The stigma of Witchcraft and it's use of the pentagram has continued through to today. The distinction between the upright and inverted pentagram has now been brought into the practices of Witchcraft. As a means to differentiate the positive practices of Witchcraft, especially Wicca and it's incorporation of the Wiccan Rede "An in it harm none", and perceived negative actions of Satanists. So despite the use and the different meaning of the inverted pentagram as a symbol of Gardnerian initiation, modern Witchcraft traditions, notably those in the USA, strongly separate themselves from the inverted symbol. The upright pentagram or pentacle however has firmly established itself as a common neo-pagan and Witchcraft symbol. Again being used in it's original symbolic form from ancient lore and text. The history of the pentagram can be tracked, traced and documented through out time. Like many spiritual symbols, it has evolved, grown and gone through it's various associations, rightly or wrongly, with good and evil. Today, Witchcraft is the fastest growing religion in the USA. consequently it's symbology and beliefs are moving into modern society through literature, TV, Movies and a new sense of courage by it's practioners. The concepts of positive practices are fighting hard against the stereotypical evils of the Inquisition and fundamental Christians. But there's still a long way to go. Unfortunately many people are still labeled as evil for wearing a pentagram. Many children have been expelled from school for simply wearing the pentagram as a pendant. Teachers who are also pagan are afraid to wear their spiritual jewelry to work, for fear of retribution by other teachers or the PTA. As society becomes more informed and misconceptions become corrected, all pagans hope these old stereotypes will fall by the wayside and acceptance will be granted to everyone regardless of their beliefs. source