Occult Symbols

Uncovering the Occult:
Investigating Religious Symbolism and Practices Associated to Criminality

by Detective Constable Charles Ennis
Vancouver (British Columbia)
Police Department

Interest in alternative religions and magick has grown as people seek relief from the problems and stress of modern life. At the same time, migration of immigrants and refugees to North America has brought religions from the third world into contact with Western culture. This affects all levels of societyand the criminal element is no exception.

Note: The author uses the Wiccan spelling of the words magick and magickal throughout this article. In order to differentiate sleight-of-hand from what they call magic, Wiccans spell the word with a "k" at the endmagick.

Some offenders utilize religious and/or magickal terms and symbolism in their criminality. Perpetrators may use symbols to identify themselves or mark "turf," to intimidate or shock others, or as a magickal tool to accomplish a particular end. Such symbolism may be used by individuals or by gangs. The average police investigator, unfortunately, has little knowledge of such religious or magickal symbolism. When police officers encounter such practices and markings in a criminal context, they often assume that such usage is limited to criminality. This is a dangerous assumption. The same symbol can mean quite different things to different groups. The rapid growth of Neo-Paganism among law-abiding citizens has caused much confusion for law enforcement officers. Faulty assumptions can lead to unintended discrimination. For example, in school districts in both the United States and Canada, Neo-Pagan symbols such as pentagrams worn as jewelry have been mistaken by school staff and/or law enforcement investigators as gang identifiers. This has sometimes resulted in items being banned as unacceptable attire. In more extreme cases, this has resulted in unwarranted discrimination.

Never assume that the person who uses a name or symbol will be using what you consider to be a "standard" interpretation. You must always be careful to correctly identify the context in which a term or symbol is being used, since the same name or symbol can describe entirely different entities or concepts in different contexts.

Lets look at a common example found in many modern investigators manuals. The pentagram is a five-point star formed by five straight lines. It is often shown enclosed within a circle. The pentagram is a very old symbol that has gradually gathered meaning over the centuries.

Too often investigators assume that the pentagram is purely a Satanic symbol. Let's look at some of the interpretations that have developed over the years:

  • Pythagoras referred to the pentagram as the "pentalpha" since it represents the letter alpha (the letter A) in five different positions.
  • The ancient Greeks used the pentagram, which could be inscribed on the threshold of a doorway, as a talisman and preservative from danger. The fact that a pentagram can be drawn in one unbroken line (i.e., leaving no unbroken lines or "gates") was one of the reasons why it was believed to afford protection against spirits. There is an ancient belief that a spirit needs some sort of "gate" to gain access.
  • The Babylonians inscribed pentagrams on pots as a preservative amulet.
  • Five-pointed stars are found in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, and also in that of the Christian early Middle Ages. There seems to have been no single tradition concerning their meaning and use, and in many contexts they seem simply to have been decorative.
  • It was in the twelfth century Renaissance period that Honorius of Autun and Hildegard of Bingen asserted that the human body was constructed upon the basis of the number five and related it to a pentagram. They pointed out that the human body had five members, five senses, and five figures. This belief that the pentagram was a symbol of the micro cosmos developed into a belief that it was a magickal symbol.
  • A pentagram is the symbol that appears on the shield of Sir Gawaine in the fourteenth century poem, Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight. It is in this poem that the author indicates that the pentagram is an "endless knot" and that it represents the five wounds of Christ.
  • It was in the nineteenth century that the ceremonial magician and alchemist Eliphas Levi reinforced the idea that the pentagram represented the microcosm of the universe. It was Levi who introduced the idea that the pentagram could be used for invoking. Previously, the pentagram was primarily associated with banishing negative influences.
  • In the middle of the 20th century, followers of Wicca adopted the pentagram as a symbol of their religious beliefs. In this usage the pentagram is depicted as "upright," that is, with one point uppermost. Each of the five points represents one of the elements: Spirit, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. The uppermost point represents the dominance of the spirit.

Inverted, that is, with two points uppermost instead of one, the pentagram has been used as a symbol of several different things: The highest decoration for valor in the United States is the Medal of Honor, which is an inverted pentagram:

  • Feminist author Barbara G. Walker has reported that the inverted pentagram represents the Horned God of Celtic Paganism.
  • In the nineteenth century, Eliphas Levi stated that the inverted pentagram was a symbol of Satan. Levi interpreted the four points of the elements over the point of spirit as representing the domination of matter over reason, which Levi believed to be a characteristic of Satanism.
  • In the 1960s, Anton LaVey capitalized on Levi's interpretation: LaVey used an inverted pentagram on a circular field, with a goat's head superimposed over it, as a symbol of the Church of Satan that he founded.

    Within some traditions of Wicca an inverted pentagram has been used as a symbol of the second degree of initiation.

The pentagram is a perfect example of how a symbol can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Terms and symbols mean whatever the person who uses them wants them to, regardless of any interpretation that anyone else may previously have used in relation to the same terms and symbols. This means that if you apply what knowledge you possess (no matter how extensive) to the analysis of a particular term or symbol, there is always the possibility that the person who put that symbol there had something other than your interpretation in mind. So when dealing with symbols, always remember the One Plus One Rule:

If you have arrived at a plausible interpretation of the symbols you are examining, always look for at least one more.

Always identify the context in which a symbol is used. Cops often bring bags full of paraphernalia and artifacts collected at a scene, without having noted how these artifacts were arranged or displayed. Without such information it may be impossible to accurately identify the purpose and symbolism involved. By learning how to identify the context in which a symbol or name is used, the law enforcement investigator can learn a lot about the person using them. A glass of rum, a cigar, and some spare change on a table in front of a statue of Saint Barbara could be a drink, a smoke and some pocket change set aside for a moment. In another context it could be a Santeros offering to Chango, the God of fire and lightning.

What kinds of things can happen when well-intentioned people get inaccurate information that causes them to make incorrect assumptions? Here is one example:

In March 1990, Doug Campbell, an environmental scientist for the Public Service Company of New Mexico, found an enormous geometric pattern made with old tires on West Mesa in the Albuquerque area. The design included 3 hexagons, each with a seven tire dot in the center, connected by lines of tires 5 feet apart. The design measured 400 feet across and used 450 tires.

Officer Paul Montoya, an Albuquerque police officer who at the time lectured to local high school students on the dangers of Satanism and Witchcraft, heard about this enormous pattern and announced to the Associated Press: "I'd guess it was witchcrafta Wicca group rather than Satanism. And I'd stay away from there, if there are any people around. They'll hurt you." (Arizona Daily Star; April 1, 1990)

Associated Press also spoke with Robin Gile, an Albuquerque symbolism consultant helping companies create logos. He "agreed the triangulated hexagons were a witchcraft symbol, associated with moon worship, but disagreed that followers of such a cult would be violent." Phillip Wing, a promoter of psychic fairs, called it "a very powerful and spiritual symbol."

When news of this "tirehenge" was made public, several people immediately contacted the press and announced that this "witchcraft" site was in fact a playing field laid out in 1981 for a game called "Terf," invented by Glen Shockley. In fact, the name "Terf" was spelled out in leftover tires beside this pattern, had anyone taken the time to look! The three team game is played with a big foam ball. "You catch the ball in the air as a pass or you can stop. You have 10 seconds in order to figure out if you want to run with it or whether you want to pass it to some other individual, or possibly take a shot at a goal," according to Shockley. The first game was in 1981 and the last in 1984 or 85. The first three teams represented the police department, the fire department, and the parks and recreation department. David Rusk, the mayor in 1981, who also played the game, stated that reports that this playing field had something to do with witchcraft had given him "the best laugh I've had in a long time."

People who dabble in what are traditionally considered to be "occult" subjects are often self-taught, borrowing symbols and terms from multiple sources and mixing and matching them to suit their own purposes.

Teenagers who dabble in Satanism are perfect examples. They borrow terms and symbols from library books, newspaper stories, Hollywood horror movies, and the covers of "heavy metal" albums. Usually they have only a superficial understanding of what the terms and symbols they are using actually mean. Usually the system they create for themselves is quite unique and does not correspond to any previous usage. Therefore, the first job of the investigator is to identify the possible sources used by the perpetrator.

The police officer must keep several issues in mind when investigating a crime scene where religious and/or magickal elements are present:

  • First, officers should photograph or sketch the crime scene as it exists upon their arrival. As already mentioned, symbols and ritual paraphernalia often have quite different meanings in different contexts, so it is vital that some record of the context be preserved.
  • Second, investigators should thoroughly examine the entire scene. This includes looking under or in everything left by the perpetrator. There may be hidden messages. I remember that during one investigation that I was involved in, a pile of torn Bibles was left on the floor of a chapel. The initial investigators did photograph the scene, but they did not disturb the pile. Later, the pastor and I discovered a knife under the center of this pile.

The following is a simple checklist for law enforcement investigators to use when investigating crime scenes with what appear to be religious or occult overtones:

  1. Date/Time: Does the ritual correspond to a significant date or time? Each belief system has its own calendar of significant dates. The investigator may be able to identify the general purpose and content of a ritual if he can identify the date.
  2. Birthday of the suspect: Does the ritual correspond to the perpetrator's birthday? Some Satanic groups identify a person's birthday as a significant ritual date.
  3. Phase of the moon: Some groups utilize a lunar calendar for their worship and/or magick.
  4. Compass orientation: How is the ritual site oriented to True North? There is a long tradition in Occidental mysticism, religion and ceremonial magick relating the traditional elements (air, fire, water, and earth) to the cardinal points of the compass.
  5. Ritual site: Check for the following:

    a) Fire site or pit: The kind of fuel used can be significant. For example, certain woods may be used for a particular purpose.

    b) Ritual circle: Is the circle inside a building or outdoors? Different groups have different preferences, and the location may give a clue as to the identity of the group, as well as its purpose. What size is the circle? Is the circle single, double or triple? Are the quarters or cardinal points marked? Are there symbols or inscriptions around or in the circle? Is there anything outside the circle, such as a triangle? In ceremonial magick, spirits are often called into a designated space outside the circle.

    c) Knives or swords: What type of sword/knife is it? What is the color of the hilt? Are there any inscriptions/etchings on the blade or sheath?

    d) Drums: What type? How many? Groups that use drums in ritual often favor a specific type of drum, often ritually made or consecrated.

    e) Sea shells: Are there any shells? These may be simply decorative or they may be symbolic of a specific deity or purpose.

    f) Candles: What color? Do they have a particular shape? Are they marked in any way? Have they been coated with any sort of substance? How are they employed? Do they form a pattern?

  6. Spoor: What kind of footprints are found around the site? Animal or human?
  7. Other evidence: Are there any markings or graffiti at the scene? Is there anything else unusual?

Finally, let me once again emphasize the absolute necessity for a clear, objective and unbiased mind when investigating individuals and groups. Preconceived notions and assumptions can often come back to embarrass you. Most people involved in the magickal and religious activity described in this article are not involved in anything illegal and are not involved in dangerous cults or criminal gangs.

Charles Ennis is a child abuse investigator for the Vancouver, British Columbia, Police Department in Canada. He is also a practicing Wiccan and under his initiated name, Kerr Cuhulain, has authored two books: The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca (Horned Owl Publishing, third edition 1997) and Wiccan Warrior (Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing, second printing 2000).

References

  1. Associated Press. (1990, April 1). Games inventor assures there's nothing diabolical about tire pattern. Arizona Daily Star.
  2. HUTTON, Ronald. (1999). Triumph of the Moon.
  3. LEVI, Eliphas. (1896, fourth impression 1974). Transcendental Magic.
  4. WALKER, Barbara G. (1983). The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.