The Pentacles symbolizes the North, South, East, West and the Spirit as a 5-pointed star contained within a circle.
The Pentacle represents good and pure and white magick, a symbol of light and love. Usually mistaken as a symbol for devil worshippers.
A pentacle is a tool used in some witchcraft and spellwork, it does not represent Witchcraft in general. It’s also used as a tool for placing sacred items upon it when cleansing, consecrating or charging them. There’s a misunderstanding between the ‘pentacle’ and the ‘pentagram’ symbols.
A Pentagram is an ancient spiritual symbol shaped as a five-pointed star with one point aligned upwards. In the 15–16th century occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa popularized the idea that the pentagram was a magical symbol, attributing to it the Neo-Platonic five elements — that is, fire, water, air, earth, and idea— to the five points of the star.
It is believed that the current day pentacle meaning came about from the days of Solomon, who had taken the Jewish star and had modified it in such a way as to use it as a symbol of protection and entrapment for spirits and demons. When a pentacle is used for spirit and demon entrapment or invocation, it is placed on the ground and then a ritual would commence that would actually summon or call out to the spirit or demon. Upon a successful summons, the spirit or demon would be trapped within the confines of the pentacle itself, unable to escape. This would then allow the invoker the means to ask the spirits or demons questions, or perhaps even perform various tasks.
The pentacle meaning can be even deeper when it is implied in the realm of tarot readings and tarot cards. Within tarot, the pentacle is shown within minor Arcana cards and represents either the element Earth or can have a more divine meaning representing spiritual faith or beliefs. Depending on how or where they are laid out in a given spread, the pentacle meaning on each tarot card is completely up to the interpretation 0f the tarot reader, but most pentacle meanings in a spread is usually reflected as positive or “neutral”. Depending on the tarot deck, pentacles may even be shown as coins instead, as it is the coins that are the original and more traditional representation. The popular Rider Waite Tarot Cards was the first set to actually use pentacles in a spread, and this has since been adopted by many other tarot card artists and publishers.
The pentacle meaning should never be confused with the Satanic pentagram, for even though they look similar, the Satanic pentagram is tilted off to the side and usually has a double circle, where the pentacle is five pointed and not tilted in anyway. It is not uncommon however for beginners or individuals new to the craft to mix the two up and use one instead of the other thinking they are using the proper symbol. This can often lead to disaster in many ways, especially for individuals who believe they are using the pentacle and are instead using a Satanic pentagram, for those individuals could unknowingly summon demons. The demons will then be lose to do as they please, for the pentagram is meant to strengthen the summons of demons, where the pentacle is meant to entrap and hold them.