''Pentacle'' is a

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...

magazine that began publication in February 2002. It was created by Marion Pearce and Jon Randall. It is a quarterly magazine published on the dates of the old festivals of

Imbolc Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day (; ; ), is a Gaels, Gaelic traditional festival on 1 February. It marks the beginning of Spring (season), spring, and in Christianity, it is the calendar of saints, feast day of Brigid of Kild ...

Beltaine Beltane () or ''Bealtaine'' () is the Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Historically, it was widely observed in Ireland, ...

Lammas Lammas (from Old English ''hlāfmæsse'', "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking world, English-speaking countries on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in referenc ...

and

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

, and has a worldwide distribution of 2,500. It was conceived to provide an independent voice for today's

Pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

, those not wanting to be told what to believe by the two main organisation-backed pagan magazines of the time. ''Pentacle'' has published articles on

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. Articles have covered many aspects of pagan traditions, including ,

Druidry A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wri ...

, and other classical and modern traditions. The magazine has also included announcements of workshops, conferences, moots, festivals, activities, training, groups and exchange magazines. Most of the articles have been once again aimed at the beginner/intermediate level reader, often written by the Pagan community and readership, whose members cover many levels of expertise. Furthermore, it has contained a large amount of pagan and

visionary art Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences. History The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, first establis ...

throughout, supporting all levels and abilities.

History

Marion Pearce, the first editor (now the publisher) has included art,

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. She has also included many articles on

and historical folk practices. She stood down as editor in 2006 to allow the magazine to grow internationally. The subsequent editor, Jon Randall, further expanded the remit of the magazine to include

herbalism Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...

and science-backed therapies. This was achieved through a more rigorous academic methodology, contrasted by a more hands-on approach to

Paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

as a religion and life choice. His style was more hard-hitting than the previous editor, and he tended to "call it as he saw it", leading to the inclusion of more in-depth articles that challenged and stretched the readership. As of January 2010, Jon Randall resigned from his position as designer and editor. In the meantime, Marion Pearce took over the reins again as editor. There has been a new forum and Facebook page, where readers can contribute ideas for the kind of content they would like to see included. The relaunched magazine has been described there in the following manner:

Back will be the informative articles, with wide ranging pagan and archaeological news, poetry, and classified sections, all illustrated in full colour by high class art work. Back too will be a regular environmental feature. There will also be a new regular feature on sacred sites throughout the UK. All you need to know about the pagan community in the UK - in one magazine.

''Pentacle'' has supported the PaganDash initiative to have Paganism counted in the UK

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

2011.

References

External links

Pentacle Magazine Online

Pentacle Magazine Web Forum

Esoteric Source MagazinePaganDASH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pentacle (Magazine) 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom Folklore magazines Magazines established in 2002 Modern pagan magazines Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom Religious magazines published in the United Kingdom 2000s in modern paganism Modern paganism in the United Kingdom