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04/08/2018 The Shocking True History of Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat

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The Shocking True History of


Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat
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BY DANIEL APPEL

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04/08/2018 The Shocking True History of Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat

The image of Baphomet has graced everything from heavy metal


albums to religious propaganda, and tends to be used as a
symbol of evil. Yet Baphomet is a far, far more complex symbol.

You’ve probably seen the image of Baphomet used as a stand-in for Satan, whether that’s
by would-be Satanists or paranoid Christians.

What you might not have learned, however, is how Baphomet has nothing to do with evil
or Satanism as it is commonly understood, and actually has a much more profound
history. Here, we reveal the full history of the icon.

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04/08/2018 The Shocking True History of Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat

The modern Baphomet icon is commonly associated with imagery of a goat-headed


diabolical idol allegedly worshiped by the Knights Templar during the 13th and
14th centuries. In reality, the connection between Baphomet and the primordial goat-
headed god did not emerge until the 1850s. The historical origin of the term is perhaps

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04/08/2018 The Shocking True History of Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat

more fascinating than the mythologized version: a tale of mistranslation, a courtroom


conspiracy, and a gradual metamorphosis into a profoundly influential occult icon.

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The earliest known use of the word Baphomet comes from a letter written by a French
crusader in 1098. He describes the Crusaders’ enemies in the Holy Land “Calling upon
Baphometh” prior to battle. Another early chronicle of the crusades refers to mosques as
Bafumarias. Today, it is commonly accepted that Baphomet, similar to the Old French
word Mahomet, refers to Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam. At the time, European
Christian dogma viewed worship of Mohammed as idolatry. This doctrinal Islamophobia
was harnessed by a Medieval European ruler in the form of a witch-hunt targeting his
political opponents.

The Knights Templar Arrested… and the Legend of Baphomet


Grows

On October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar in
France. Over the previous two centuries of crusading, the Knights Templar had become
one of the most powerful military orders in Europe. During a war with the English, King
Philip became heavily indebted to the Templars financially. King Philip desired to erase
his debt, but also feared that the Templars could pose a military threat if he did not pay.
Instead, he had hundreds of Knights Templar suddenly arrested and accused of heresy.

Being arrested as a heretic was particularly unpleasant in Medieval France due to


Inquisition-style torture techniques. The punishment would continue until the
prisoner confessed. King Philip accused the Knights Templar of spitting and urinating on
the cross, engaging in homosexuality, and worshipping Baphomet as an idol. Baphomet,
presumably a reference to Mohammed, was allegedly incorporated into the Templar
practice during their time mingling with Islamic culture in the Middle East. Basically,
King Philip was accusing the Knights Templar of having become Muslims. Similar charges
were leveled against other political opponents of King Philip IV, and are also presumed to
be fabricated.

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04/08/2018 The Shocking True History of Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat

After a battery of unimaginable torture, many of the Templars invented confessions to end
their suffering. Some admitted to worshipping an idol, though inconsistent accounts
varied from the severed head of John the Baptist to a cat statue with three faces. There
was no reference, however, to a goat-headed icon throughout the trial. After escaping the
inquisitors’ torture, most Templars recanted their confessions, and were subsequently
burned at the stake. Threatening military action, King Philip forced the Papacy to disband
the Templar Order completely.

Baphomet Enters the 19th Century

Over the next 500 years, scholars and mystics alike speculated upon the verity of the
accusations leveled against the Templars. A rich mythology arose, with tales linking the
Templar Order to ancient mystical wisdom and artifacts discovered during their campaign
in the Holy Land. The narrative construct of a group or individual venturing from Europe
into the Middle East or North Africa and returning with Magical Ancient Knowledge was a
recurring theme in Renaissance occult thought. The same themes appear in well-known
grimoires such as the Book of Abramelin and Hermetic texts.

In 1818, the term Baphomet re-emerged in an essay published in Vienna speculating upon
the nature of the idol worshipped by the Knights Templar. The author, Joseph von
Hammer-Purgstall, claimed that the Templars were indeed idol worshippers, and that the
Baphomet refers to a hermaphroditic stone figure borrowed from Egypt or the Gnostic
Christian Ophites. Even at the time, scholars called out von Hammer-Purgstall’s essay as
pseudohistory and anti-Masonic rhetoric. After the release of this essay, many European
museums began to catalogue “Baphomets,” small carved stone idols, which were either
modern forgeries attributed to the Knights Templar or misidentified artifacts from other
cultures.

The Final Transformation of Baphomet

The final transformation of Baphomet occurred in 1854. French ceremonial magician


Elphias Levi re-imagined Baphomet into a figure he named the Sabbatic Goat.
Representing the universe in the form of binary opposites, the Sabbatic Goat incorporates
elements of the hermaphroditic stone Baphomets and the symbolic ideals of the Templar
Baphomet myth. He mingled these elements with Occult, Kabbalistic and Catholic
imagery.

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04/08/2018 The Shocking True History of Baphomet, the Sabbatic Goat

Though Levi began his career in the Catholic seminary, he soon left to pursue romance
and magick. He believed that the Sabbatic Goat served as a collective representation for all
magickal icons that survived the spread of Christianity from earlier polytheistic or
animistic traditions. Though the Goat-Headed Baphomet was not worshipped by the
Knights Templar, the Sabbatic Goat references the Templar plight in the spirit of all forms
of social oppression justified by the dominant religious rhetoric of the time.

The most unique and iconic element of Levi’s Baphomet is the head of a goat upon a
humanoid body. The goat head was borrowed by Levi from the Egyptian goat-headed deity
Banebdjedet, who represented the soul of Osiris. Levi was also inspired by Pan, another
goat-headed god equated with primal worship and social taboos of the time. The overall
impression of the Sabbatic Goat is very similar to that of the Devil card from Marseille
Tarot, which may have been Levi’s template. The Latin words on the Sabbatic Goat’s arms,
COAGULA and SOLVE, mean to join together and take apart. These reference the powers
claimed by Church leaders to be taken from God by his earthly representatives. In Levi’s
context, these terms represent the dualistic power of magick that can be realized by any
devout, initiated practitioner.

Aleister Crowley and Baphomet

Eliphas Levi’s Baphomet was also adopted by Aleister Crowley, most famously in his
Gnostic Mass. The deep symbolic nature of Baphomet fit well with Crowley’s
interpretations of Renaissance and Medieval ritual magick. It also incorporated familiar
elements of binary cosmology that supported Crowley’s hermetic ideology. Crowley
described Baphomet as a divine androgyne, representative of mystical perfection through
a union of opposites. He also equated this union of opposites to that which occurs when a
sperm and egg join. This line of thought, triggered by his reflections upon Baphomet, was
profoundly influential in Crowley’s theories of sex magick.

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Crowley also connected ideas of suppressed knowledge and secret worship, thus
Baphomet, with Satan. He argued that contrary to traditional Christian thought, Satan
represented “not the enemy of Man, but He who made Gods of our race, knowing Good
and Evil; He bade ‘Know Thyself!’ and taught Initiation. He is ‘The Devil’ of The Book of

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Thoth, and His emblem is BAPHOMET, the Androgyne who is the hieroglyph of arcane
perfection… He is therefore Life, and Love.”

Baphomet Today

Today, the Baphomet in the form of Eliphas Levi’s Sabbatic Goat is one of the most
recognizable occult images in the world, with strong ties to artistic and popular culture. It
directly inspired the iconic Devil card from the Rider Waite Tarot system. The Sigil of
Baphomet, depicting the Sabbatic Goat within an inverted Pentagram, has been adopted
as the modern Church of Satan’s logo. Baphomet also made the news recently when
members of the Satanic Temple attempted to have an eight foot tall Sabbatic Goat statue
erected beside the Monument of the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

With its long and deeply symbolic history, Baphomet is a powerful icon that garnishes fear
and respect to this day. Baphomet has been transformed by time and culture into a rich
icon of our modern occult heritage. It also serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers of
state-sponsored, religiously justified oppression.

Start Learning Magick

If Baphomet is the God of Magick, how do you start learning magick?

Look no further than Ultraculture’s free guide to chaos magick.

It’ll give you everything you need to get started practicing real, effective sorcery—the
secret of Baphomet, and the secret of the Templars. Enjoy it now!

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