Editing Pentacle (section)

===Method of employment===
In many old grimoires dealing with magical evocation, the pentacle is described as being hung about the neck, providing protection and authority to the operator. [[Johannes Trithemius]] has the magician donning the pentacle just before casting the protective circle:

<blockquote>Then taking your ring and pentacle, put the ring on the little finger of your right hand; hang the pentacle round thy neck; (Note, the pentacle may be either wrote on clean virgin parchment, or engraven on a square plate of silver and suspended from thy neck to the breast)....<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.esotericarchives.com/tritheim/trchryst.htm |title=The Art of Drawing Spirits Into Crystals |first=Johannes |last=Trithemius |author-link=Johannes Trithemius |translator-first=Francis |translator-last=Barrett |year=c. 1801}}</ref></blockquote>

One version of the ''[[Key of Solomon]]'' mentions both a "Great Pentacle" which is drawn in a book, as well as a collection of other pentacles which are drawn in ink on separate pieces of parchment for use as amulets:

<blockquote>Thou shalt preserve them to suspend from thy neck, whichever thou wilt, on the day and hour wherein thou wast born, after which thou shalt take heed to name every day ten times, the Name which is hung from thy neck, turning towards the East, and thou mayest be assured that no enchantment or any other danger shall have power to harm thee.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/l1203.htm |title=The Veritable Clavicles of Solomon |translator=Rabbi Abognazar from Hebrew to Latin}}</ref></blockquote>

The pentacle is of central importance in the evocation of spirits. A fairly typical evocation involves a series of conjurations of increasing potency, each involving the display of the pentacle:

<blockquote><poem>...&nbsp;If they then immediately appear, it is well; if not, let the master uncover the consecrated pentacles which he should have made to constrain and command the spirits, and which he should wear fastened round his neck, holding the medals (or pentacles) in his left hand, and the consecrated knife in his right; and encouraging his companions, he shall say with a loud voice:

: Here be the symbols of secret things, the standards, the ensigns, and the banners, of God the conqueror; and the arms of the almighty One, to compel the aerial potencies. I command ye absolutely by their power and virtue that ye come near unto us, into our presence, from whatsoever part of the world ye may be in, and that ye delay not to obey us in all things wherein we shall command ye by the virtue of God the mighty One. Come ye promptly, and delay not to appear, and answer us with humility.

If they appear at this time, show them the pentacles, and receive them with kindness, gentleness, and courtesy; reason and speak with them, question them, and ask from them all things which thou hast proposed to demand.

But if, on the contrary, they do not yet make their appearance, holding the consecrated knife in the right hand, and the pentacles being uncovered by the removal of their consecrated covering, strike and beat the air with the knife as if wishing to commence a combat, comfort and exhort thy companions, and then in a loud and stern voice repeat the following conjuration: ...<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/ksol.htm |title=The Key of Solomon |translator-first=S. L. |translator-last=MacGregor Mathers |translator-link=Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers}}</ref></poem></blockquote>

Once the spirit has appeared and been constrained, the pentacle is covered again, but is uncovered whenever demands are made of the spirit or when it is compelled to depart.

In the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|Golden Dawn]] system, the pentacles are not suspended from the neck, but wrapped in a cloth covering. Instead of wearing a pentacle, the magician wears fastened to their breast a [[lamen (magic)|lamen]].