'Pentaclese'(Joseph Lopez) In the ancient times when there was much persecution for the study and practices of witchcraft, there was a man named Pentaclese. Pentaclese was a high priest of a local coven, a group of at least four witches, and was trying to perfect the art of elemental manipulation. He had been trying and trying for years upon years to manipulate at least one of the five elements. He begged and pleaded for the god and goddess to intervene in his studies, to help him perfect what he could not, still, nothing happened. He had been on the brink of losing faith, but something in him changed. It was the eve of Samhain, and he had been preparing for the festivities of the new year. He had came across and old Book of Shadows, a Wiccan journal for their studies, such as spells, herbs, potions etc. , and he had finally found what he had been searching for. The book had all sorts of stuff in it like, study in alchemy, elemental manipulation, how to enter and communicate with the land of the fae, astral projection, et cetera. He flipped through the pages and found some spells on how to manipulate water so he tried it, it required: burdock and angelica root, incense of myrrh, and chamomile. He tested it and it worked! He tried out the other elements, earth, fire, air and they worked as well. Now lastly he tried for the element of spirit, and this called for the pages of astral projection, which is the ability to project your consciousness into other areas, and he got it right off the bat! He yelled with pleasure "O goddess Hecate, you have answered my prayers!", he felt so happy that he had to tell others, but this was a grave mistake. He told one of his coven members and she made the mistake of telling someone outside of the coven. This brought on the imprisonment and burning of the witches. Pentaclese, in a state of worried confusion, hid the Book of Shadows and locked it away in an underground safe. He hid himself from the persecutors for a month and then they finally had him. He was in an abandoned shack three states away. He had been carefully hidden by local gypsies. They used sigils, sacrifices, and spells to keep them away. But, he later figured out that the police had been tour tiring witches and gypsies into giving them tracking spells and anti-protection charms, and hex bags in order to find him. Pentaclese was hauled off to his home town of Salem, Massachusetts. It took them two days to finally reach home, where they had the stake and judge proclaimed, "Towns people, men, women, children, we have caught the witch! We have found the man who spits in the name of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ! This man is of the devils children! The burning of this man is symbolizing god over satan! I light this man in the name of our lord!" In the minutes before his death he prayed to Astraea, to take him in and make him of the stars. Pentaclese prayed but nothing happened. The fire had been lit… and suddenly he lit up bright colors… not by the fire, but by Astraea. He had risen off the stake and became what is known today as the constellation of Pentaclese. With it's five points representing each of the elements he commanded, and the circle representing the unity and unwavering strength when they are united as one. That constellation is now used throughout neo-paganistic religions, but mainly Wicca, and is refered to as the pentacle. This symbol shows us the unity of the elements, and the respect of nature, and without one, we wouldn't have the others. Pentaclese will forever live on as a member of the stars and as a basis for the Wiccan religion.

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