The Pentacle

The pentacle is pretty much the universal symbol of Paganism and Wicca, and today I'm (finally) going to talk about it.
The pentacle is the common symbol of Earth on Altars. To bless something with the element of Earth, many people hold the object over a pentacle. This is especially helpful when the object in question cannot be blessed by salt because it is too corrosive or will scratch the object, or by dirt because the object will get dirty.
Sometimes, the pentacle is called a “passive” tool, but I don’t think tools are active or passive: they are all both active and passive, depending on what is happening at the time. Frankly, I don’t quite understand the “active” and “passive” tools.

A “standard” pentagram altar tile is usually made of copper, and is between 5 and 6 inches in diameter. Of course, they come in a variety of sizes and finishes. I’m sure if you looked hard enough, you could find a neon pink one.
Copper is the “standard” because of two main reasons:
1) It is a very powerful and magical metal
2) Gold represents the God and Silver represents the Goddess in Wicca. The pentagram is a symbol of all-encompassing traits (the five elements, the five senses, ect), so having a pentagram made out of gold or silver would then limit the all-inclusiveness. Hence, copper is the next logical choice.
I also expect that in Ye Olde Days, copper was less expensive than gold or silver, but that’s not important.

Of course, there is no reason why you can’t have a silver or gold pentacle on your altar. Some schools of thought say that you SHOULD have more than one pentacle: a large, traditional copper one, and smaller silver and gold ones. Most Pagans, however, say to go with what YOU like.
Personally? I’m not a fan of yellow gold. It’s too harsh, and I don’t think it goes with a lot. I much prefer white gold and silver. In fact, when I ask for jewellery (like for graduation, my grandmother always give you a piece of jewellery) I ask for white gold or silver only. Of the rings that I wear, four of the five are silver toned (the other is black). Some people, like my mother, prefer a mix of gold and silver. Some people like just gold.

Yes, I do have a pentagram, but I don’t always use it as my “earth” element in rituals. I usually use salt or an ankh of mine.

Anyway, I don’t think I really have a point here, so I’m going to do a quick recap:
- Pentacles are earth symbols and usually used instead of salt or dirt
- They are also used as permanent altar decoration
- Traditionally, they are made of copper
- They are used to represent the unity of the five elements