There are traditionally three degrees of initiation, each representing a journey into consciousness and they can be symbolised on the pentagram as an ongoing movent in a spiral form.
First Degree: A single line, the journey from Air to Water symbolising water and birth and also symbolic of the moon, therefore the first initiation is that of the Goddess.
Second Degree: 2 lines continuing from the first degree symbolising the journey from Water to Spirit via Earth. Into the earth and back again, the descent into the underworld is a dual aspect and is the initiation of the God called otherwise The Quest Perilous.
Third Degree: 3 lines now representing the final journey around the pentagram and the upper repeated spiral of the first degree. Through fire and air and back to water - having discovered our power we must purify ourselves with fire and be born again. As we unite our powers with ourselves we perform the sacred marriage of Goddess and God, womb and phallus.
The six paths on the pentagram open geometrically to reveal the six sides of the rose, the hexagon, which is the secret key to initiation.