The First Pentacle of the Sun: a bronze Key of Solomon pendant made to be worn

A pentacle is an instrument, not a decoration

The Greater Key of Solomon is a grimoire of instruments as much as it is a grimoire of words. Its pentacles are not pictures to admire. They are instruments, made to be used in workings, carried, and held, and each one belongs to a planet and to a set of workings under that planet. The First Pentacle of the Sun is the first of the Sun's pentacles in that book, and this article is about that pentacle in particular, cast in bronze as a pendant, not about Key of Solomon pentacles in general.

That distinction matters, because the Key gives many pentacles, and they are not interchangeable. A Sun pentacle is not a Moon pentacle with a different picture on it. It belongs to the Sun's workings, made in the Sun's manner, and it should be approached as such, with preparation and with a clear purpose, not as a general good-luck charm. If you work in the Key of Solomon system, work from the instructions and teaching you already follow in that system. A general article like this one is not a substitute for proper teaching, and it should not be used to invent a consecration rite or a set of uses for a pentacle you have not been taught to work with.

Before you think about a pendant at all, be clear about why you want this pentacle, and what working you will use it in. If you cannot state the matter in one clear sentence, write it down, leave it overnight, and come back to see if it still reads true. That pause is part of the work, not a delay in it.

Why bronze, and why a pendant

This pentacle is cast in bronze, as a lost wax cast pendant. Bronze is a working metal for a pendant that will be worn and handled: it is solid, it takes a clean cast, and it shows the figure of the pentacle clearly. A pentacle whose figure is blurred or shallow is a poor instrument, because the figure is the point. The casting process matters here for the same reason it matters for seal pendants: a cast figure has depth and weight, and it can be felt as well as seen, which is part of how it functions as a tool in a working.

A pendant is a particular kind of form for a pentacle. A pentacle kept flat in a book is consulted. A pentacle worn as a pendant is carried, against the body, through the day and into the working. That carrying is part of the work for a Sun pentacle, because the Sun's workings are not confined to a single night in a circle. They touch daily life: clarity, authority, steadiness, and the conduct of one's affairs in the light, so to speak. A pendant that is worn carries the pentacle into those daily situations, rather than leaving it behind when the working room is closed.

That is also why the pendant should be treated as a working tool, not as jewellery that happens to have a pentacle on it. Wear it when you are working, and wear it in daily life if that is your practice for it, but put it away properly when you are not wearing it, rather than leaving it loose with keys and change. A tool that is treated carelessly tends to be worked with carelessly, and that shows in the record you keep afterwards.

How a lost-wax cast pentacle pendant is made

The pendants offered here are lost wax cast pieces. They are pure metal which is actually cast, starting with a wax version.

In lost-wax casting, the piece is first worked in wax, then cast in metal from that wax form. The wax is lost in the process, which is where the name comes from, and the metal that remains is a solid, cast object, not a printed shell. You can feel that difference when you hold it: a cast pendant has weight, it has a surface that shows the hand work, and it does not have the layered texture of a printed object.

For a pentacle, that hand work matters more than for a plain disc, because the figure itself is intricate. The lines, letters, and characters of the pentacle must be legible in the wax before they are legible in the metal, and a cast made from a careful wax will hold them. A printed copy, or a stamped copy made in a hurry, will not hold them in the same way, and a pentacle whose figure cannot be read is a poor instrument, however shiny it looks at first glance.

For this bronze pendant, the bail is what lets the piece hang and be worn, and it is worth knowing how it is attached before you order, because it affects how the pendant hangs and how it will wear over time.

Made to order, and why that takes time

A cast pendant is made to order, and that takes time. A piece that is already listed takes about 2 to 3 weeks while pieces that are not listed, but are under the other option, take 8 weeks, because she still has not carved their waxes yet. This is a listed pendant, so the shorter timing applies to it in principle.

That made-to-order point matters for a working tool. It means the pendant has not been sitting, handled and put back, through other people's orders. It is cast for your order, and then blessed by Athena herself before it is sent out. No promise about what it will do for you is made here, only that it is cast by hand, for this work, and not mass produced.

Preparing to work with a pentacle pendant

Preparation is most of the work, and with a pendant that preparation starts before the pendant arrives. Be clear about why you want this pentacle, and what practice you will use it in. When the pendant arrives, do not start by wearing it everywhere at once. Take time to look at it, to hold it, and to set it aside in a clean place that is used for your working tools. If your practice calls for cleansing or consecration of a new tool, follow the instructions you already follow in your system, and in the Key itself, as you have been taught it.

Prepare the room and yourself in the same way you would for any serious working: clear the space, set it aside for this purpose, bathe or wash, change into clothes you do not wear for ordinary errands, and know what you are going to do, in your own practice, before you begin. A clear head is a working tool, just as much as a pendant, oil, or incense is.

Ask yourself, plainly, whether this is the right working at all, and whether there is ordinary-world work that should be done first, or at the same time. Ritual work is not a substitute for dealing with a legal matter, a safety matter, or a medical matter in the ordinary world. If any of those apply, deal with them first.

Holding, anointing, and carrying the pendant

There are several ways to work with a pendant, and they are worth knowing separately. Holding the pendant in your hand during a working is the simplest: you are keeping the pentacle present, in contact, while you work. Putting the pendant under a candle during a working is another: the piece sits beneath the light, set aside for the purpose, while the candle burns above it. For a Sun pentacle, that placement under a candle has a natural fit, since the candle's light and the Sun's light belong to the same kind of working, but follow your own system's instructions for how and when to do it, rather than improvising from this article alone.

Putting oil on the pendant is a way of marking it for a purpose, done deliberately, naming the purpose in your own words, if your practice calls for anointing. Passing it through incense smoke is the companion practice: fumigating the tool at the start of a working, and for the tools that will be used in it. Both are general practices for working tools on this site, and both can be used with a pendant, if your practice calls for them.

Carrying the pendant is part of the work, and wearing it as a pendant, hung from its bail, is the form carrying takes here. Wear it when you are working, and put it away properly when you are not, rather than leaving it loose with keys and change, or on a bathroom shelf. Showing the pentacle, where your practice calls for that, is another recognised way of working with a seal or pentacle: the figure is presented, deliberately, rather than merely worn and forgotten about.

Do not use a pendant as a substitute for the rest of the working. Wearing a pendant and then doing nothing else, with no attention, no practice, and no closing, is not the work. The pendant supports the work, it does not replace it.

A simple working order, to adapt to your own practice

The following is a general order, not a fixed script. Adapt it to the system you already work in, and to the Key of Solomon instructions you already follow. First, prepare the room and yourself, as above. Second, set out the pendant, and any oil, incense, or candle you will use. Third, anoint or fumigate the pendant, if your practice calls for it, deliberately, or place it under the candle for the working. Fourth, do the working itself, in the way your practice requires, clearly and once, rather than repeating it until it loses its shape. Fifth, sit quietly for a time afterwards, rather than filling every moment with more words. Sixth, close properly, in whatever way your practice requires, and put the pendant away in its proper place.

Afterwards, write down what you did, when you did it, and what you noticed. Not what you hoped would happen, but what actually happened, in plain language. That record is what lets you tell, weeks later, whether anything changed, and whether that change had anything to do with the work. Note the pendant itself in that record: when you wore it, when you put it away, whether you anointed or fumigated it, and what you noticed on days when you carried it compared with days when you did not.

Care for a bronze pendant

Care for a bronze pendant is practical. Bronze darkens and develops a patina with wear and with air, and it will show scratches over time, especially if it is worn every day, against skin, against clothing, and against other objects. That is normal for a working tool, and a patina on bronze is not damage. Keep the pendant in a clean, dry place when you are not wearing it, away from other metal objects that could scratch it. Clean it gently, with a soft cloth, and do not use harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners on it unless you know, for bronze, that such a cleaner is safe.

If the bail loosens, or if the pendant shows damage, stop wearing it until it can be repaired properly. A tool that is falling apart is a distraction in a working, and a safety risk if it can fall off unnoticed. That is a practical point, but it is also a working point: a tool you are worried about losing is a tool you cannot focus with.

Keeping a record, and knowing when to stop

Keep a short record for each working: date, purpose in one sentence, pendant and any oil or incense used, what you did, and what you noticed afterwards, over days and weeks, not just on the night itself. If nothing changes, that is also information. It may mean the purpose was unclear, the timing was wrong, the work was not appropriate, or simply that the situation needs a different approach.

Do not repeat the same working endlessly in the hope that repetition alone will force a result. Do the work properly, once, observe, and then decide, calmly, whether a second working, a different approach, or no further working is the right next step. Repetition without reflection is not persistence. It is noise.

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