"The Magic Flute" - Bro. Alberti and the Frontispiece of the Libretto on the Occasion of the First Performance in the Year 1791 (Page 28).



Middle part of the arch with five-pronged star


Let us follow once again the look of the bodyless young man. He is looking at a five-pronged star, from which a flame seems to shoot out of the middle. A pentagram is an old magical sign consisting of two into each other crossed isosceles triangles. They have got no base and are drawn at one stroke. Here are the lines not drawn, but one can surmise them. The corner points of the pentagram are reflecting the track of the planet Venus. In the Babylonian cuneiform characters, this star is the sign of divinity. In the Middle Ages, the pentagram was used as a protection against demoniac nature and to ban the element ghosts. Already in ancient Egypt, this sign gleamed as holiest symbol of the truth. From there the wise man Pythagoras took it over as a symbol of perfection and of the universe. The ancient masons considered it as a symbol of geometric. This is the science enabeling the creative man to erect his works in regularity, which is the fundamental condition for beauty and harmony. In order to make clear this signification, the ancient masons placed a "G" into the star and surrounded him with flames. Their mild fire should have accompanied the adept.



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