No Goetic seal · the familiar image was drawn by Lévi (1854)
Baphomet is listed as an Idol · symbolic figure.
| Rank | Idol · symbolic figure |
|---|---|
| Alternate names | Bafomet · Baphometh |
| Sources | Proceso de los Templarios (1307–1312), Éliphas Lévi, «Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie» (1854) |
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The iconic image —an androgynous winged goat with a torch between its horns, breasts and a caduceus in its lap— is NOT medieval: it was drawn by Éliphas Lévi in 1854.
He is NOT a demon of the Ars Goetia. The name «Baphomet» appears in the confessions —extracted under torture— of the trial of the Knights Templar (from 1307): a supposed idol they worshipped, probably an Occitan corruption of «Mahomet». The goat-headed figure everyone recognises today is an invention of Éliphas Lévi (his «Goat of Mendes», 1854).
Baphomet is NOT medieval in its image: the winged goat was created by Éliphas Lévi in 1854 as a symbolic synthesis of opposites, NOT as a demon to be summoned. The Templars' «Baphomet» was a vague accusation obtained under torture, unrelated to that image. Nor does it belong to the Goetia.
In the 20th–21st centuries, Lévi's image was adopted as an emblem: by Aleister Crowley (Baphomet as a magical name), Anton LaVey's Church of Satan (the Sigil of Baphomet, the goat-headed pentagram) and The Satanic Temple, which erected a statue in 2015. It is a symbol, not a spirit of the grimoires.
Personal gnosis (UPG): how contemporary practitioners say they experience it. This is subjective experience, not a historical source or doctrine; it does not come from the ancient grimoires and may not be real.
No. Baphomet is NOT one of the 72 spirits of the Ars Goetia: Baphomet is NOT medieval in its image: the winged goat was created by Éliphas Lévi in 1854 as a symbolic synthesis of opposites, NOT as a demon to be… We show it as idol · symbolic figure, with its own sources.
He is NOT a demon of the Ars Goetia. The name «Baphomet» appears in the confessions —extracted under torture— of the trial of the Knights Templar (from 1307): a supposed idol they worshipped, probably an Occitan corruption of «Mahomet». The goat-headed figure everyone recognises today is an invention of Éliphas Lévi (his «Goat of Mendes», 1854).
Proceso de los Templarios (1307–1312), Éliphas Lévi, «Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie» (1854)
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