Who/what is Baphomet?

Answer

Baphomet is the name of a false god associated in the past with the Knights Templar and currently with Satanism and the occult. Contemporary depictions of Baphomet show a goat’s head on a human body (displaying both male and female characteristics); a torch is positioned between the goat’s horns, and the portrayal often incorporates a pentagram. The origin of Baphomet worship is a topic of much discussion. The etymology of the word Baphomet remains uncertain. Some suggest it is a distorted French version of Mahomet (“Muhammad”). Others interpret it as a code from Kabbalah signifying “the father of the temple of peace of all men.” Alternatively, it may be the Arabic term for “the father of understanding.” Lastly, it could be the Jewish Atbash cipher applied to Sophia— the Greek goddess of wisdom.

Regardless of its origins, Baphomet seemingly made its way to Europe with the Knights Templar upon their homecoming to France from the Crusades. In the early 1300s, King Philip IV’s Inquisitors accused the Knights of encountering and venerating the foreign deity Baphomet during the conflict. Some Knights did admit to this, but only under duress, and those convicted provided varying descriptions of the idol’s appearance: it had one face, it had three faces, it was merely a human skull, it resembled a cat. The act of worshiping an image of an animal or a man believed to be Muhammad is inconsistent with Islam, yet it aligned with the misconceptions about Islam prevalent in France at that time. Furthermore, there is no reference to Baphomet in Templar writings. Efforts have been made to connect Baphomet to Free Masonry, but these allegations are either inconclusive or entirely fabricated.

The contemporary depiction of Baphomet was introduced in 1861 by the French occultist Eliphas Levi, who illustrated the “Sabbatic Goat or Baphomet of Mendes” in his work Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (Dogmas and Rituals of High Magic). Levi’s illustration features a hermaphroditic figure, seated cross-legged, with the head of

A goat. The figure contains several opposites: one male arm and one female, women’s breasts but a Caduceus phallic symbol, one arm pointed up at a white moon and the other pointed down at a dark moon. The contrasts were meant to symbolize conflicting forces in the universe that must be balanced to reveal true light. Levi intended to combine various icons: the Templar figure; Satan; the fertility god-goat of Mendes, Egypt; and the goat that witches supposedly worship at their Sabbats, or pagan holidays. The goat-like appearance of Baphomet also bears resemblance to Pan, Puck, and the Celtic Cernunnos. Levi claimed the name Baphomet originated from reading the Latin abbreviation for “the father of the temple of universal peace among men” backwards.

In 1897, Stanislas de Gauaita adapted the head of Levi’s Sabbatic Goat to fit inside a pentagram. De Gauaita’s version of Baphomet featured an upside-down, five-pointed star encircled by two circles. Between the circles are five Hebrew letters, one on each point of the star, spelling the Hebrew word for “Leviathan.” Encircling the arms of the star at the top is the name Samael, the angel of death in Talmudic lore; and at the bottom, Lilith, a female demon who, according to pagan beliefs, was Adam’s first wife. In 1969, Anton LaVey adopted the pentagram goat for his Church of Satan and definitively associated it with Baphomet.

Aleister Crowley, the occultist and magician of the late 19th to mid-20th century, interpreted Baphomet as the “divine androgyne.” Crowley rejected the concepts of the biblical God and Satan and followed the Gnostic teaching that Satan brought wisdom to mankind—the ancient lie of the serpent in the garden. Baphomet was his symbol and represented life, love, and light. By incorporating the Zodiac sign Capricorn (the goat), liberty is emphasized.

The myth of Baphomet has evolved over the past few centuries through occult symbolism and numerology. Christians should clearly refrain from associating with Baphomet; the concepts it embodies are fundamentally unscriptural. It is the Lord Go

God alone gives wisdom: “For the LORD giveth wisdom: Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6), and seeking wisdom or enlightenment from a source other than God leads astray: “The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false” “For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.” (Zechariah 10:2). We should avoid Baphomet or other blatantly occult icons. As Joshua told the Israelites inheriting the land of Canaan, “Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them” “that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:” (Joshua 23:7).