Table of Contents
What Is Baphomet
Baphomet is an entity contemplated in various cultures over the centuries. And in each one it receives representation and meaning, which goes from god of nature to prince of the devil.
Its symbology is of an ambivalent being who possesses good and evil, the feminine and the masculine, the yin and the yang, which connects heaven and earth.
Origin Of Baphomet
Originally Baphomet is the representation of several pagan gods present in the mythologies of the world’s oldest civilizations.
For Celtic culture, he was the god Cernunnos considered god of nature and fertility. He is always represented with horns and seated in the lotus position that resembles recent representations of this entity.
In Great Britain, Cernunnos was renamed to Herne and his representation was added to the emphasis on the penis which makes it more evident his approach to divinity.
Greece also considered him as the god of nature, Pan. Represented by the image of a being with horns and goat’s legs and this his characteristic is the personification of the carnal impulse.
Another belief in the origin of Baphomet is the derivation of the name Muhammad, as another way of naming the founder of Islam.
Baphomet And The Templars
The current history around Baphomet is closely linked to the Knights Templar of the Middle Ages. It is from this relationship that the most recent meanings of this divinity have emerged, where it is taken as the prince of the devil.
Historically, this name is given to the supposed deity worshipped by the Knights Templar, who were a religious army sent by the Catholic Church to protect Jerusalem after being dominated.
They became rich and powerful, even more than the sovereigns of the time. And this was not well accepted by the Catholic Church and King Philip the Beautiful, who together accused the Knights Templars of several heresies.
The accusations were denial of Christ, obscene practices, sexual rituals, and the cult of an unknown demon, which was later called Baphomet.
From then on the cruel persecution against the order of the temple began. And it only ended when everyone was arrested, tortured, condemned to fire and burned in the fire of the Holy Inquisition.
One of Baphomet’s origins is the name of the founder of Islam, and it is the origin of the history between him and the order.
The most accepted theory is that the Knights Templars became familiar with Muhammad’s teachings and Arab mysticism and because of this knowledge the Catholic Church accused them of idolizing this demon.
Baphomet And Christianity
The Catholic Church, for fear of losing its religious monopoly, has made the image of Baphomet, the supposed entity worshipped by the Templars, as one of the facets of the devil.
The image of evil in Catholicism took Baphomet’s characteristics. Because of this, the horns are the greatest example. With this he became the scapegoat of the Church to represent everything that is contrary to his doctrine.
With this vision was created the idea that everything that involves this divinity is a practice of black magic, occultism and Satanism. And today this is the most widespread vision and accepted as truth by a large part of the followers of Christianity.
Baphomet And Masonry
Since Baphomet is related to the occult, it has become one of the symbols of Masonry. And again because of the influence of the Catholic Church, the practice was taken as a great evil.
Unlike what Catholicism says, Freemasonry is a practice without relations with the devil, just like the entity of Baphomet.
The most famous form of Baphomet was made by an occultist named Eliphas Levi, where it represents the union of opposites for the creation of astral light or illumination. All the symbols represented in the image show the balance between two opposite sides.
The Baphomet image of Levi is characterized by a being with a jackal head, with bull and goat shapes, and a pair of horns that represents wisdom, virility and abundance. This corresponds to the three pillars of alchemy.
In the middle of its horns there is a torch that symbolizes divine wisdom and illumination. The pentagram on his forehead represents protection and magic, and he is presented with the tip facing up and any modification does not embody the correct reality.
On the upper arm it has “solve” which means to dissolve and on the lower arm it has “coagula” which means to unite. Their position indicates the equality between what is up and what is down.
The scales present in the body indicate the dominance in the waters or of the emotions. The wings, the air domain and the goat’s paws the domain on the earth.
The breasts besides showing the female sex emblem the maternity and fertility. And for the representation of the male sex in its legs it has a caduceus that also indicates the active energy of sexuality and virility.
Finally, extraordinary factors are observed. The first of these is that time and people can transform ideas and concepts. This fact was pertinent in the conceptual transformation of Baphomet. He was born as a free deity and was misrepresented.