Common Features and Similarities

• Pentacles and pentagrams often appear outside of a religious context.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Pentagrams and pentacles both have a five-pointed star as their central feature. Both pentagrams and pentacles may be drawn either upright, with one point at the top and two facing downward, or inverted, where two points of the star face upward while one points down. Other symbols which are similar in appearance may contain other symbols within or around the star.
  
  

Pentagrams

• A pentagram, notably lacking the pentacle's circle, adorns a building.Jeff Randall/Lifesize/Getty Images
  
  The pentagram is traditionally expressed as a five-pointed star that lacks any other adornment. It has been used since the sixth century B.C. as an underground symbol of the followers of Pythagoras, who taught the pursuit of knowledge; the modern Masonic Order traces its roots back to this time. The first five books in the Hebrew Scriptures, collectively known as the Torah, are also represented by a pentagram, and in Christian times it has been used as a symbol of the five wounds that Jesus received during crucifixion.
  
  

Pentacle

• Heavy metal and gothic bands often incorporate dark imagery, such as pentacles.NA/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  The pentacle differs from the pentagram in that it features a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle; an inverted pentacle, for example, adorns the United States Congressional Medal of Honor. While it is mostly a symbol of Wiccan spirituality, tilted or inverted pentacles have been incorporated into the logos of some hard rock and heavy metal bands in order to convey a more dangerous and rebellious image, relying on its association with Satanism among laypeople to project the desired effect.
  
  

Sigil of Baphomet

• The Sigil of Baphomet is an inverted pentacle with a goat's head incorporated into the design of the star. In some depictions, the two upper points of the star form the goat's horns and the lower point forms the goat's muzzle or chin. Its use predates any organized group's claim to the practice of Satanism, and is traceable to the torture of Knights Templar during the Inquisition.