Frightening February Day 5: Pentagram or Pentacle.

Let’s look at an often overused iconographic trope.

Which way is the point of the star facing? If UP, it’s a pentacle, a symbol often used in benevolent witchcraft. If the point is DOWN, it’s a pentagram and generally a sign of something more malevolent/ominous. Of course, fashion designers and goth kids think it’s cool to wear pentagrams on necklaces, clothes, etc until it begins to lose all meaning. As a sign of “the devil” some people think it’s cool to display pentagrams everywhere to exhibit or even intimidate regular folx.

If you see someone wearing a silver pentacle (point face up) then they are probably benevolent. I’m hesitant to refer to it as “light” or “dark” magic because it’s all subjective. Sometimes one person’s delight is another person’s curse. I’m not a religious scholar nor an expert on Wicca. What I know about this subject is based on my own/my wife’s practice and various real world accounts. There’s also what Hollywood pumps out in TV shows and movies.

Dropping this iconography into a (horror) TTRPG.

This is another issue that should probably come up during Session Zero before a horror campaign. Some people have had negative experiences with cults and/or Satan worshippers. (8The pentagram is sometimes used as a symbolic representation of a goat’s head or Baphomet.) Not every experience is bad, but pentagrams can often be associated with occult related trauma.

On the other hand, the pentacle might be associated with benevolence, protection from negative energy, and positivity. Some Wiccans and different occult practices use the pentacle as a symbol of protection. Uneducated observers often mistake pentacles for pentagrams. A star is a star and they’re all the same, right?

If one were so inclined, these symbols can be introduced into a roleplaying situation as signs of good (pentacle) and evil (pentagram.) I will say it borders on cultural/theological appropriation in some circles. (Another Session Zero discussion.) We wouldn’t drop Crosses or Stars of David into a Dungeons & Dragons game, for example.

It should also be noted that the Elder Sign in the Call of Cthulhu mythos is usually depicted as a star with the all seeing eye in the middle. Many Call of Cthulhu players and Keepers probably already recognize it from various books. There is also a more arcane looking star to represent the Necronomicon commonly found in the same Mythos.

Luckily, Cthulhu is rarely worshipped as a real pantheon of deities. (*There are exceptions.) However, HP Lovecraft, creator of the Mythos, does have a cult-like following of fans. It’s definitely an interesting series of books and an outstanding TTRPG. The Mythos have also worked their way into other games over the years including D&D, CthulhuTech, FATE of Cthulhu and The Cthulhu Hack.

The Plot Hooks:

1. A mole within a particularly nasty cult bent on summoning Star Spawn has begun spraying large fluorescent pentagrams outside the group’s meeting places in an effort to draw police or Investigator attention. One of the clock ticks in games such as Monster of the Week might be when the symbols get the attention of the news media.
   
2. Three women have been at various scenes around the group behaving somewhat oddly and observing the group’s behavior. However, when a party member tries to approach them, suddenly it’s 10 minutes later and the PC attributes it to just some innocent bystander, neighbor, or other coincidental background person in the area. The only thing they can remember is the pentacle around each woman’s neck. If police or other agencies are at the scene, they can’t remember the mysterious bystander either. No descriptions, or anything.
   
   Eventually one of the women will be caught mid-ritual casting a spell on the group or a member of the group. She is a witch. Her coven has been observing the group for some time and only wishes to help. They know more sinister powers are in play around the group and the coven wants to aid the group in stopping whatever evil they’re up against.
   
3. Stars with an eye shape in the middle of them have been popping up around an old cemetary. The caretaker writes it off as vandals, gang activity or something. However, if viewed from above, the symbols clearly mark out a star on the ground. Cult activity abounds, but is it evil? That’s up to the Keeper to decide.