The pentacle is a traditional symbol of Witchcraft and the main symbol of Wicca. It represents many things, health, the human body, the elements of nature, the proccess of making things using a divine energy etc. In the altar the pentacle is a tool, which represents the element of the earth. It is one of the simplest tools to make. A stone or a wooden plaque is taken and you just draw a pentacle. Let's see something different.

Materials

• 500 gr. clay
• Wooden tools for working with the clay
• Carbon paper
• Printed pentacle on a sheet of paper
• Pencil
• Gessho
• Black and forest green acrylics
• Two brushes a big and a small one
• Semi gloss varnish.

The Proccess

You can construct a plaque of clay following the instuctions here Let the plaque dry for more than 24 hours. You can also use natural hardwood, but you should find someone with a bandsaw to cut the circle for you. It is very difficult to cut a circle with a hand bandsaw. But you can make a pattern with a wood and a screw. The choice is yours.

Take the gessho and paint the upper part of the plaque and the sides too. Gessho is a layer you put before acrylics. Let the layer dry. Paint the background color. (Image 1)

Use the carbon and draw the pentacle. Paint the symbols and the pentacle. Let the paint dry and then add more details or an aditional layer of color over the pentacle. Let your plaque dry well. The last thing you should do is to use a semi-gloss varnish to have your work protected against sun rays, water, air.  (Image 2)

Explanation Of The Symbols

The pentacle I have drawn is the one that Doreen Valiente, the famous Witch, the mother of Wicca, has presented in her book, Witchcraft For Tomorrow, published by Robet Hale in London. The X symbols represent the initiation touch on the body. The God and Goddess symbols are inside the pentacle. The S are the snakes of wisdom or the snaked of Hekate, the Goddess of Witchcraft. In the center there is the sabbat wheel or the spirit symbol. The right side of the pentacle represents the water the lower right is the fire, the lower left is the eart, the left is the air. The top side represents the spirit. The lines of the pentacle have a more complex symbolization. I want to make a notice. The spirit wheel unites all the elements in an exercise which could be found on the Golden Dawn Tradition.