The Secret History of Baphomet

The Ram of Mendes

Little is known about the true origin of Baphomet. Oral legend states that as far back as 2500 B.C. a tribe of hunter-gatherers located in the Valley of Shadows, in present day Egypt, were known to worship the God Banebdjedet. Banebdjedet has been described as having the form of a humanoid-goat hybrid, similar to the later deity known as Pan. In fact, it is believed that Pan is an aspect of Baphomet.

According to the legend, Banebdjedet spied a fair maiden named Hatmehit bathing in a stream and immediately fell in love with her. He seduced Hatmehit promising her that he would grant her any wish if she would agree to be his bride. Hatmehit replied that she only wanted to be close to him at which they became fused together resulting in a being of both sexes. Having the head of a goat, the upper-body of a woman and the lower-body of a man, this new God became known as Baphomet.

Baphomet through the Ages

It has often been said that the gods of one religion are the devils of another. Throughout the ages as nations rose and fell, Baphomet subsequently became identified with various devils and demons associated with Black-Magic. Around 525 B.C. after many years of peaceful co-existence Persia invaded and conquered the Valley of Shadows. Baphomet was absorbed into the dominant tribe’s mythology and was later identified with Ahriman (the prototype for the modern Satan.) Later scholars put forth the idea that Baphomet was the same Horned-God of fertility, lust, and wisdom associated with Pagans and their worship.

Christians interpreted the myth of Banebdjedet and Hatmehit as an inverted re-telling of the story of Adam and Eve. Whereas Eve was created out of the body of Adam, Baphomet was created by Hatmehit becoming fused with Banebdjedet. Around 1307, during the Crusades, the Knights Templar was accused of revering Baphomet in the form of a human skull. They were alleged to have considered the idol the source of their riches as well as a powerful charm for fertility.

Levi’s Baphomet

Baphomet, as Lévi's illustration (see above image) suggests, has occasionally been portrayed as a synonym of Satan or a demon, a member of the hierarchy of Hell. The downward-pointing pentagram on its forehead is enlarged upon by Lévi in his illustration of a goat's head arranged within such a pentagram, which he contrasts with the microcosmic man arranged within a similar but upright pentagram.

Lévi's Baphomet is clearly the source as well of the later Tarot image of the Devil, in the Rider-Waite design. The symbol of the goat in the downward-pointed pentagram was adopted as the official symbol — called the Sigil of Baphomet — of the Church of Satan, and continues to be used among Satanists.

The Crowley Connection

The Baphomet of Lévi was to become an important figure within the cosmology of Thelema, the mystical system established by Aleister Crowley in the early twentieth century. Baphomet features in the Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Church recited by the congregation in The Gnostic Mass, in the sentence: "And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET."

In Magick (Book 4), Crowley asserted that Baphomet was a divine androgyne and "the hieroglyph of arcane perfection":

“The Devil does not exist. It is a false name invented by the Black Brothers to imply a Unity in their ignorant muddle of dispersions. A devil who had unity would be a God... 'The Devil' is, historically, the God of any people that one personally dislikes... This serpent, SATAN, is 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 Thoth, and His emblem is BAPHOMET, the Androgyne who is the hieroglyph of arcane perfection... He is therefore Life, and Love. But moreover his letter is ayin, the Eye, so that he is Light; and his Zodiacal image is Capricornus, that leaping goat whose attribute is Liberty.”

For Crowley, Baphomet is further a representative of the spiritual nature of the spermatozoa while also being symbolic of the "magical child" produced as a result of sex magic. As such, Baphomet represents the Union of Opposites, especially as mystically personified in Chaos and Babalon combined and biologically manifested with the sperm and egg united in the zygote.

Etymology of Baphomet

While modern scholars such as Peter Partner, Dr. Malcolm Barber, and the Oxford English Dictionary, state that the origin of the name Baphomet was a probable French version of "Mahomet" (i.e., "Muhammad") alternative etymologies have also been proposed:

• Emile Littré (1801–1881) in Dictionnaire de la langue francaise asserted that the word was cabalistically formed by writing backward tem. o. h. p. ab an abbreviation of templi omnium hominum pacis abbas, 'abbot' or 'father of the temple of peace of all men.' His source is the "Abbé Constant", which is to say, Alphonse-Louis Constant, the real name of Eliphas Lévi.

• Arkon Daraul proposed that "Baphomet" may derive from the Arabic word أبو فهمة Abu fihama(t), meaning "The Father of Understanding".[21] "Arkon Daraul" is widely thought to be a pseudonym of Idries Shah.

• Dr Hugh J. Schonfield,[22] one of the scholars who worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls, argued in his book The Essene Odyssey that the word "Baphomet" was created with knowledge of the Atbash substitution cipher, which substitutes the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet for the last, the second for the second last, and so on. "Baphomet" rendered in Hebrew is בפומת; interpreted using Atbash, it becomes שופיא, which can be interpreted as the Greek word "Sophia", or wisdom. This theory is an important part of the plot of The Da Vinci Code. Professor Schonfield's theory however cannot be independently corroborated.

• Some believe that Baphomet’s name is derived from the Greek words baphe and metis to mean "Baptism of Wisdom", alternatively "To Absorb Knowledge

The Teachings of Baphomet

Baphomet is the patron God of the Coven of Shadows and the High Priest or High Priestess of the coven is believed to be his representative on Earth.  The coven abides by the teachings of Baphomet as found written in The Witch’s Guide to Heaven and Hell.

The main tenets of their beliefs are:

1. The path to at-one-ment with Baphomet begins with the reunification of our inner masculine and feminine selves.
2. Before power can be claimed, knowledge must be attained. Therefore the goal of the true witch is the accumulation of knowledge in order to wield power.
3. Nations rise and fall, kings and queen are born and die, currency changes…but power is absolute.
4. The path to power is a life-long process. It takes a life-time to discover the secrets of black magic from the ancient Grimoires
5. Power without knowledge, over-reaching ambition, loss of control, short-sightedness, impatience… these are the paths that lead to one’s destruction.
6. Knowledge shared is power lost. Be ever mindful with whom you share your knowledge and wisdom.
7. Power which is not exercised is tantamount to being powerless. What good is a sword if it is not unleashed?
8. Indulgence is expected but only in mediation, however addiction is a sure sign of loss of personal power.
9. To hesitate...to have fear is to be powerless. Therefore it is wise to be an active force in one’s own life as well as to seize control of every opportunity before one.