The Pentacles

The 5th Pentacle of Mercury

“Lift up your heads, O ye gates” encircles the last Mercury pentacle. The notice claims command over Mercury’s spirits and entrance through doors however they are closed, with nothing able to resist. [1]

Mathers 1889 · Book I, chapter XVIII; printed p. 68; figure 48, Plate XI; plate PDF page 95

Pentacle profile

Tradition and Group: Mathers 1889 · Mercury [1]
Position within the Set: Pentacle 5 · figure 48 · plate XI [1]
Attributed Purpose: To command Mercury’s spirits and open doors however they may be closed, with no resistance able to withstand it. [1]
Design: A cross divides a circle into four quarters bearing El, Ab and the split name IHVH, within Psalm 24:7. [1]

A cross divides a circle into four quarters. Hebrew El and Ab fill the upper two; IHVH is split across the lower two. Psalm lettering and a six-pointed star occupy the outer band. — **Source reproduction** The 5th Pentacle of Mercury: quartered divine names inside Psalm 24’s command to the gates. Plate XI, figure 48; notice and note on pp. 68–69.

Doors that cannot resist

The fifth Mercury pentacle commands the planet’s spirits and opens doors in whatever way they are closed. Its notice adds an unrestricted claim that nothing it encounters can resist it. The design gives that promised entrance the words of Psalm 24:7. [1]

Names in the four quarters

A vertical and horizontal diameter divide the inner circle into four fields. El occupies the upper-right quarter and Ab the upper-left; the letters of IHVH are divided between the two lower quarters. A six-pointed star sits at the top of the surrounding Hebrew verse band. [1]

The King of Glory’s entrance

Mathers quotes the command to lift the gates and everlasting doors, “and the King of Glory shall come in.” Psalm 24 first declares the earth to be the Lord’s and asks who may stand in his holy place: the answer is someone with clean hands and a pure heart. Its closing call for entrance names the King of Glory as the Lord, strong and mighty, and the Lord of hosts. [1][2]

Sources and editions

The Key of Solomon the King · The 5th Pentacle of Mercury
S. L. MacGregor Mathers, 1889; printed edition, including editorial restoration of Hebrew characters. Book I, chapter XVIII; printed p. 68; figure 48, Plate XI; plate PDF page 95; Complete Mercury notices and notes, printed pp. 68–69 (PDF pp. 91, 96); general Book I VIII pp. 39–41 and XVIII pp. 56–57
Psalm 24 · The gates and the King of Glory
King James Version, public-domain biblical text. Psalm 24:1–10

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