Who has not seen in his life this famous figure, a humanoid bearded goat with wings, a pair of breasts and a torch in the middle of his two large horns? Throughout Western occult history, the name of the mysterious Baphomet it is invoked in every age and at different times in history. Although there are mentions of this figure in the Middle Ages in the 11th century, it became popular from the 20th century. It is a symbol associated with the occult, ritual magic, witchcraft, Satanism and esotericism. The modern depiction of Baphomet appears to have its roots in various ancient sources, but primarily from pagan gods.
Baphomet bears similarities to gods from around the world, including Egypt, Northern Europe, and India. In fact, the mythologies of a large number of ancient civilizations include some kind of horned deity. In Jungian theory, Baphomet is a continuation of the horned God archetype. The concept of a horned deity is universally present in the individual psyche. Cernunnos, Pan, Hathor, the devil (as shown by Christianity), and Baphomet have a common origin. The name of Baphomet is also often related to the fusion of two Greek terms whose approximate meaning is “baptism of wisdom ”.
There are several important names associated with this figure. Very famous personalities of the occult:Eliphas Levi and Aleister Crowley . Although the depiction of Baphomet has been around for a thousand years, Levi's 1861 depiction of Baphomet is the most famous. He included in his book Dogmes et rituels la Haute Magie (Dogmas and Rituals of High Magic) a drawing that would become the most famous portrait of Baphomet:a humanoid goat with wings, with a pair of breasts and a torch on its head between her horns. Later the British occultist Aleister Crowley adopted this figure for the Secret Society OTO , a catholic gnostic church.
The name of Baphomet has been linked to secret societies such as the Templars or Freemasonry, however Anton Lavey's church of Satan stands out, which is not technically a secret society. It was founded in 1966 and the organization adopted the “Seal of Baphomet ” as its official badge. Baphomet's seal was probably largely inspired by La Stanislas de Guaita's illustration of the Clef de la magie noire (The Key of Black Magic) and is depicted in the Church of Satan as the goat of Mendes, within a pentagram. invested. According to Anton Lavey, the Templars worshiped Baphomet as a symbol of Satan. Baphomet is prominently present during rituals in the church of Satan as a symbol placed above the altar. He was in charge in Purgatory of the seven hells and of the different demons of the seven deadly sins.
However, there are other interpretations of this figure that demystify these visions. Specifically, other secret societies use that figurine with a goat's head that some revered so much, it has uses other than the Church of Satan. To them, Baphomet was really a pagan god, symbolized only as a stone head. The Church had a long list in which they falsely accused the Templars of worshiping false idols and other matters of heresy. Simply put, Baphomet was the pagan fertility god associated with the creative force of reproduction. Baphomet's head was represented by a ram or goat, which was a frequent symbol of procreation and fertility. The Templars worshiped Baphomet by standing around a stone replica of his head and reciting prayers. The ceremony celebrated the creative magic of sexual union, but Pope Clement V he convinced everyone that the head of the pagan god was actually the representation of the devil. The pope made that head the touchstone of the entire cause against the Templars.
Modern belief in the horned demon known as Satan had its origins in Baphomet and the Church's attempts to convert the horned god of fertility into a symbol of evil. Pagan symbols of fertility, with their respective horns, were still seen on traditional American tables during the Thanksgiving holiday. The cornucopia or horn of plenty was a tribute to the fertility of Baphomet and this in turn had its origin in the myth of Zeus suckled by a goat whose horn broke off and miraculously overflowed with fruit.
Regardless of the numerous interpretations of it, it is a symbolic creation of alchemy and esotericism, but over time it has become a common figure in popular culture that is present in the strangest places, such as in video games.