The Meaning Behind Wiccan and Pagan Jewelry

Enter any Witchcraft or New Age store and the array of pendants twinkle back from their velvet trays. Those interested in the craft might pick one at random; the symbol which calls to them. They could well be doing themselves a disservice.

As a high priestess in conversation with Pagans, my gaze will dip to any jewelry on display. It won't tell me everything there is to know about this individual, but it will give me clues. I make certain assumptions about what is or isn't known.

I doubt that I'm alone in that.

Too often it may then transpire that they are wearing that symbol without any real knowledge of the meaning behind it. Further assumptions may then be made; and those are less pleasant.

This article serves as an introduction to the most commonly seen Wiccan and Pagan jewelry. It will help you determine which is the best for you to purchase.

There is a saying in Wicca which goes, 'As above, so below'. Nowhere is this more apparent in the symbol that we choose to represent our whole religion.

The five pointed star, or pentagram, actually follows the orbit of the planet Venus, as viewed from the Earth, on its progress around the sun.  Lots of meaning there! The Goddess running rings around a large fire and all that.

But there is a deeper meaning too. Each of the points of the pentagram align to an element - air, fire, water, earth and spirit. Together these are the materials from which all life is created. In this sense, the pentagram is the entire natural world. Hence its appeal for witches!

However, you are much more likely to see a pentacle adorning Wiccans everywhere. This is the pentagram inside a circle.

Much Wiccan ritual takes place within a circle. The boundaries of this sacred space are traced by the witch creating it, using his or her athame.  At the four quarters, that athame is raised and the shape of the pentagram is drawn in the air.

This is the invocation, which will be matched later by a banishing one etched in the opposite direction. These actions are requesting the presence of the Watchtowers, the elemental beings who can bring focus to a ritual.

The pentacle recalls this. It's worn by Wiccans and Pagans who have experience of a circle. They aren't necessarily the High Priests and High Priestesses, but they understand how the pentagram is used within the circle.

No-one enters a coven as the High Priestess, nor even the High Priest. You start as an initiate and learn from those who have walked this path a little longer.

At each degree, the individual earns the right to use a certain symbol. It should be viewed as a badge of progress, but it also lets those around you know what you're currently ready to do.

For example, a second degree witch is quite capable of raising a circle filled with other coven members. But the lack of experience may (or may not) tell during the rite. It's therefore better to have a third degree individual on hand, just in case.

But if someone is flouncing around in third degree jewelry, then they're on their own.

I had to smile, as I hunted through Amazon looking for 1st degree Wiccan jewelry. It's not popular, is it?

There's pure psychology involved here. As an initiate, then your enthusiasm for all things Pagan is unlimited. You want to sing and dance and tell the whole world that you have just gained access to a coven. The God and Goddess love you!

So the last thing you want to do is wear a symbol stating that you're at the bottom rung of the ladder. Not when the alternative is putting on a pentagram or pentacle. Much more witchy those, don't you think?

The inverted triangle (point down) represent the 1st degree.  All watching Wiccans will be ready and able to give guidance, but no-one is letting you loose with circles.

In Britain, the symbol for the 2nd degree of Wicca is the inverted pentagram. But this hit a problem once the religion had crossed the Atlantic.

American Satanists had already nabbed this symbol for themselves. The upright points represented the horns of their God, while the downwards tip was a chin. I'm not 100 percent sure what was indicated by the two lower points.

The very last thing that Wiccans in the USA wanted to do was to align themselves with the Abrahamic God of Darkness and Hell. History has taught us that such alignments are as dangerous as they are false.

(Do I have to repeat over and over again that Satan is nothing to do with witchcraft?  He's not even in our pantheons, let alone a deity to whom any of us would call upon.)

American witches therefore felt it safer to simply use the upright pentagram instead. It's neither here nor there in terms of showing your coven status, but it stops anyone being dragged off to a burning stake.

The third degree symbol is the pentagram with an upright triangle above it.  The triangle has a ritualistic meaning, which the individual will learn during the Great Rite.

If I see this around someone's neck, then I expect them to know all that there is to know about running a coven. Well, insofar as you can, when every day is a learning curve. They will be knowledgeable about every aspect of Wicca and able to teach initiates too.

You would be amazed at the amount of people who end up with egg on their faces, while wearing this with no degree levels behind them. They can (and undoubtedly will) be tested.

You may also see Wiccans wearing pendants or other jewelry which depict a moon. This is a reference to the Moon Goddess in Her triple aspect, and/or the period of time that it takes to do moon magic.

The two are not unrelated.

During the course of a month's orbit, we'll see from Earth the waxing face as a crescent; then the full moon as a perfect disc; and finally the waning moon as a crescent facing the other direction. These shapes may be used individually or collected as a three-in-one.

They are used on pendants either as protection or to honor the Goddess.  This is the same Trinity which is being invoked by the wearing of triskeles, for exactly the same reasons.

I hope that I've managed to stave off your blushes, by showing you the best Wiccan and Pagan jewelry to buy to convey your own message to the world.

Happy shopping!