Most of us will have at least seen this infernal image erroneously represented in old Hammer Horror - type movies.
The huge horns, the blazing pentagram, the dark wings, and the strange supposedly demonic symbolism all sending a shiver down the spines of the unenlightened! The truth behind this occult icon is however very different from the Church-orientated fantasy that surrounds it.
The person who was largely responsible for the contemporary design of the Baphomet image was Eliphas Levi (real name – Alphonse Louis Constant).
Levi was born in the early part of the nineteenth century and first educated as a boy with a view to the priesthood. However, his mind was not content with the stifling Christian religious dogma enforced upon his young mind so he later became a philosophical scholar of the occult arts.
The androgynous Baphomet has its origins in several divergent areas of existence. First may be its association with the accursed hierarchic head of the Goat of Mendes. Incidentally, in the fourteenth century the famous Knights Templar Order were accused by both King Phillipe le Bel of France and the Pope of denying Christ, ritual murder and worshipping a head entitled Baphomet.
The corrupt king (who had previously expelled the Jews and seized their wealth) now desired the Templars’ income, as they were quite rich men and with the aid of the Church he succeeded in creating their ultimate and painful downfall. Many died from torture and the burning stake, the last Grand Master being Jacques de Molay who perishing in the Paris fires of 1314.
How interesting it is to observe that the recent ‘evangelically-inspired’ Satanic Ritual Abuse myth, which was (and still is) aimed at disenfranchising all occult minorities in this country and abroad during the late 1980s – early 1990s, has a strong similarity with the old vilification of the Knights Templars.
Power seekers will always use lies to get the ‘end result’ they desire and what better way is there than using the religious sledge hammer to crack the opposition from any perceived adversary?
The image of a Sabbatical Goat (Baphomet), the five (or eight) pointed star or in fact any symbolical reference that fails to tow the ‘Biblical line’ has always left a dissenting group or individual open to final accusation of being a Witch, Pagan, Heretic or Demon Worshipper.
To the freethinker then, Baphomet should be a symbol of rebellion against the status quo and the strict dogmatic rule demanded by Church Authority.
To many occultists Baphomet is yet another depiction of the Horned God of all nature in the best tradition of the Greek deity Pan.
Above: Some years ago I undertook several commissions for paintings of Baphomet.
The ‘Torch of Illumination’ blazes brightly above Baphomet’s head. One hand stretches to the spiritual realm of the heavens while the other (which points to the ground) reminds us that we must never forget our organically material roots from whence we all came.
The fish-like scales on the figure’s torso connect with the element of water and thus emotional planes. Wisdom is depicted in the emblem of the ‘Caduceus of Mercury/Hermes’ that arises from the sexual region, the twinned serpents bringing crucial balance to the whole image. All spiritual essence is intimately linked to the earthly realm.
Every level of reality is sacred in its own way. Baphomet tells this ancient truth very well indeed. ‘As above so below’ is the message granted to us herein!
Baphomet sports both human male and female attributes (a 'very' important part of the symbolic nature that Dennis Wheatley/Hammer Horror films conveniently missed out on), plus animal characteristics and as such is the splendid ‘Earth Spirit’ of all natural things.
He/she is both male and female divinity (God & Goddess) conjoined into an essential enlightening whole.
Baphomet is in one sense duality, the ‘Great Polarity’ seen in the twinned Yin/Yang vital life force or ‘Chi’ of popular eastern tradition.
This image is all things to all men/women and the originator of both loving hopes and awesome fears. What Baphomet is certainly ‘not’ is a personification of pure evil, as the Church would have us believe in its perpetual quest for total biblical compliance to repressive Christian theology and doctrine.
On the right arm (which points to the heavens) is written "Solve" Solution and on the Left (pointing to the earth) "Coagula" Coagulation. The old occult maxim states – ‘As above so below’, meaning to draw on cosmic wisdom/enlightenment from on high and transform it into clear understandable knowledge here on the mundane or physical level of existence.
The striking Baphomet is clearly a great motif of divine knowledge, personal illumination and untapped universal wisdom; quite the reverse of the macabre symbolism unfairly levied upon it by radical Christian fundamentalists, seeking an image for their satanic perceptions, and sensationalist horror book authors.
Discover the wondrous mysteries behind Baphomet for yourself before the profane use this potent god/goddess form as an instrument of thought censorship to control you for their own ends.
Mind control (both religious based or socially constructed), frequently starts via the crass vilification of what others hold dear. In this respect Baphomet represents liberation from fear and ignorance and those forces that furnish it upon us!
The truth lies within for those brave souls who dare to seek it!
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-Gods-Best-Friend/dp/1493643363
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