The Basic Pentagram is the one you will see more often than any other, the other types being derived from it. For the most part, pentagram refers to the geometric shape, whereas the term pentacle more often than not denotes a physical object, specifically an altar pentacle, or paten. The number 5 holds a great deal of magical significance; each of the four lower points representing the four cardinal directions, North, South, East, and West, and their respective elements, Earth, Fire, Air, and Water, the uppermost point representing the spirit. The elements as they relate to each specific point can be found in the diagram above.

The number five also corresponds to the main points of the human body, the head, arms, and legs, and thus is a symbol of humanity. Also, being in a wheel-format, with spokes that radiate from a central point, with a circle encompassing them, gives the pentagram the quality of constant motion, moving forward, and timelessness. The wheel analogy also figures in with the cyclic nature of life.

The star pointing upwards is also important, as it represents the mind, spirit, and divine forces over the earthly elements, while at the same time being part of the same shape. In this way the divine is, perhaps, a bit loftier an idea than soil and the air, but nonetheless still a knowable and accessible part of life. This contrasts with the typical religious notion of the divine and everyday life as being separate from, if not in opposition to one another.

The Inverted Pentagram, though often viewed as a purely Satanic symbol, it is also perfectly valid in Wicca, though it carries different meanings. One way of looking at the symbol is that it represents the image of the Horned God, with the upper two points being His horns, the bottom-most being His beard the remaining two being his ears. This is all well and good, but one can also see it as, again, being a human figure, only this one being upside down. This corresponds with the "Hanged Man" tarot card, which depicts a man hung upside down by ropes tied at his feet. The card represents going through hardships in order to become a better person. One can see the inverted pentagram as meaning the same.

Also significant is that, in the inverted pentagram, it is the four elements which are above the spirit point. This makes it a powerful symbol of grounding and material goals. The symbol also can be used in banishing and negative magick. It is important to remember that in Wicca turning a symbol upside-down does not mean reversing it, but rather it allows us to view it from another perspective.

Though we recognize that the inverted pentagram is not solely a symbol of evil, it has a very bad stigma about it, so they are rarely worn or displayed in public, just so people don't get the wrong idea.

As Above So Below, a phrase you are bound to come across at some point, refers to the polarity present in life and nature. Though male and female, day and night, and life and death are all total opposites, they are still equal, and neither is entirely good or evil, and neither can exist without the other. This ever-present duality is represented in the symbol at your right, a upright pentagram with an inverted star at its center. It is essentially the Wiccan equivalent of the eastern Yin and Yang.