Baphomet, the character pictured here, is a popular figure tied to many pagan rituals and organizations.  He has also been referred to as “the talking goat’s head”, “the goat of Mendes,” and “the horned god.”  Because this idol has ties to so many pagan groups, no one is 100% certain who used it first.  Groups throughout history who have used depictions of Baphomet in their rituals include (but are not limited to) Islamic mystics, the Knights Templar, Kabbalah, Roman pagans, Greek pagans, Druids, witches (both Wiccans and black witches), satanists, and Freemasons.  If anything, it shows that false religions have spiritual ties to each other and since they have those ties, it is no wonder that there is a push among all false religions to have a one world religion that preaches about all roads leading to “God.”

The picture here of Baphomet was drawn by a man named Eliphas Levi, whose name appears in the lower part of the picture.  He was a 19th century Kabbalah mystic in France who established many teachings followed today by those involved in magick and the occult.  His real name was Alphonse Louis Constant and he at one time had the desire to be a Catholic priest but eventually left the seminary and the Catholic Church to embrace occultic teachings, beginning with Rosicrucianism.  After leaving seminary, he changed his name to Eliphas Levi, which he thought to be the Hebrew version of his birth name.

This idol drawn by Eliphas Levi is chock full of occultic symbols.  One of the first things you will notice is the pentagram on Baphomet’s forehead.  The pentagram, whether upside down or right side up, is a very prominent occultic symbol.  According to Levi in a book he wrote on transcendentalism, the pentagram symbolizes the power of the mind to dominate the spiritual realm in order to interact with “legions of angels and hosts of fiends”, or, as we Christians would say, it is symbolic of interacting with devils.

On Baphomet’s right arm is the word “solve” while on his left arm is the word “coagula.”  Together the words form the phrase “solve coagula” or “solve et coagula.”  This phrase means “solution and coagulation” and is a philosophy based on medieval alchemist practices.  Alchemy was the belief that base metals could be changed to gold, that panaceas existed to cure all ills and needed to be discovered, and that with enough experimentation, one could discover an elixir to give longevity to life.  It also included the use of occult magic in an attempt to bring these theories to reality.  The phrase “solve et coagula” was the mantra used referring to the process of breaking down elements and hardened positions (solving) so those elements could be changed, or transmuted, to be united in a different form (coagula).  Levi thought this phrase applied to the religious/spiritual realm where people’s unenlightened beliefs could be broken down and then changed to more enlightened paths that would unite everyone to a new perspective that would put everyone into agreement.  In other words, he wanted to break down the Christian belief that Jesus is the only way to God, or other “divisive” doctrines, so that all mankind could unite to follow his god in a one world religion.

If you look at Baphomet’s hands, the index finger and second finger on each hand are up.  These hand signals (the “peace” sign) are  symbolism used in the occult world as well as in the Catholic Church and Eliphas Levi applied this signal to his own occultic ideas.  Actually, the two philosophies symbolized in this hand signal, whether they are used in the Catholic Church or in occultic settings, are both false doctrines.  The Catholic portrayal of Jesus below shows a Catholic Jesus (a false Christ) using the hand signal.  The two-fingered signals used by Baphomet and the false Christ symbolize 1)Apostolic Succession, and 2)Temporal Power.

Apostolic succession in Catholicism is the doctrine that only the Pope is the true head of Christ’s church on Earth and that he sits in the seat of Christ (i.e. he is the “vicar of Christ”).  Temporal power is the doctrine that the Pope has authority and sovereignty over all the rulers of every nation on Earth.  To the occultist bowing down to Baphomet, apostolic succession is translated into the belief that Baphomet is the god in every religion, therefore all religions lead to god.  The doctrine of temporal power is translated into the belief that Baphomet has the power to rule all nations.  It is only through the acceptance of his doctrines that peace, victory, and unity can take place on Earth, according to occultist teachings.

In Baphomet’s lap, you see two serpents criss-crossing up a pole with a hole in Baphomet’s abdomen.  Two serpents going up a pole is the ancient symbol of the staff of Hermes in Greek paganism, and the caduceus of Mercury in Roman paganism.  This occultic symbol means Baphomet opens the path to Kundalini energy (taught in Hinduism), also known as the “Serpent Power”, that when released causes the occultist to transcend to higher levels of enlightenment to unite the body, mind, and spirit in well-being.  It is also a phallic symbol representing the act of generation (especially sex outside of marriage) and promotes the occultic/pagan belief that sex brings the person who participates in it great power and control in their own lives and control over the individuals they have sex with.

Those who buy into all of these evil doctrines that Baphomet represents are terribly deceived.  Baphomet’s pentagram may promote contact with devils, but God’s word says, “…I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils,” [1 Corinthians 10:20-21].  Devils, although they transform themselves into angels of light, are nothing but deceivers who bring darkness and like thieves come only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  But Jesus Christ has come so we can have life more abundantly [John 10:10].

Baphomet may claim he wants to “solve coagula”, but this is nothing more than a plot to blaspheme God’s name as he opposes God in a feeble attempt to exalt himself above God.  Those who follow Baphomet may seek to destroy the true church of Christ, but upon the rock of Christ God has built his church, and the very gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Greater is he that is in Christian believers, than he that is in the world [1 John 4:4].

Peace, victory, and unity may be promised by Baphomet by his claims to have all power on Earth, but true peace can only come through Jesus Christ, the true Prince of Peace.  Real victory over sin, death, hell and every work of the devil only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone has been given all power in heaven and earth [Matthew 28:18].  True unity can only be displayed when there is unity of the Holy Spirit and of godly faith in the believers of Jesus Christ.

Baphomet promises enlightenment through his serpent power, but in reality it is the entrance of God’s word into our hearts that gives us light and understanding [Psalm 119:130].  God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, providing us with more understanding than any ungodly teacher or ungodly elder [Psalm 119:99, 100, 105].

So who is this Baphomet?  None other than the great deceiver known as Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Belial, and the devil.

Sources:

Furnivall, F. J., The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1979.

Valiente, Doreen, An ABC of  Witchcraft, Phoenix, Custer, WA, 1988.

Grant, Kenneth, The Magical Revival, Samuel Weiser, New York, 1973.

Hall, Manley P., The Secret Teachings of All Ages…, The Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, 1978.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–