Sigil of Baphomet
Encyclopedia
Baphomet
Baphomet is an imagined pagan deity , revived in the 19th century as a figure of occultism and Satanism. It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century...
is the official insignium of the Church of Satan
Church of Satan
The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.- History :...
. It is also a symbol that is used by several other organizations, usually those associated with Satanism
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
and the Left-Hand Path.
The squatting Hebrew letters at each of the points of the pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
read "לִוְיָתָן" starting from the lowest point and reading counter-clockwise. Translated, this is Leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
(LVIThN), a sea creature that originated from Judaic mythology
Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...
. The image of Leviathan has many complex meanings, many of which apply to its use in the Sigil of Baphomet, most notably because Leviathan is commonly associated with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
in Christian beliefs. This symbol originally had no connection to Satan, Christianity or the devil until the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
, when any pagan symbol, religion, or practice was considered "The Devil's Work".
Although versions of the Sigil of Baphomet appear as early as the 1897 book La Clef de la Magie Noire by Stanislas de Guaita
Stanislas de Guaita
Stanislas de Guaita was a French poet based in Paris, an expert on esotericism and European mysticism, and an active member of the Rosicrucian Order. He was very celebrated and successful in his time. He was an expert on magic and occultism. He had many disputes with other people who were involved...
, the variant in common use by the Church of Satan
Church of Satan
The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.- History :...
is known as the Hell's Kitchen Baphomet, a slightly modified version of an original which appeared on the cover Maurice Bessy's 1964 book A Pictorial History of Magic and the Supernatural. This design created by Bessy was inspired by the Oswald Wirth Baphomet design created in 1930. The Church of Satan Baphomet, according to the CoS, is copyrighted and cannot legally be reproduced without their permission in conjunction with the Church of Satan name. However, historic versions are in the public domain, many of which are virtually identical to the one employed by the Church of Satan.
In an interview with Wikinews
Wikinews
Wikinews is a free-content news source wiki and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. The site works through collaborative journalism. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has distinguished Wikinews from Wikipedia by saying "on Wikinews, each story is to be written as a news story as opposed to an...
, High Priest Peter H. Gilmore
Peter H. Gilmore
Peter Howard Gilmore is an American author and administrator of the Church of Satan. He was appointed High Priest of the Church in 2001 by Magistra Blanche Barton. Within the church, he is known as Magus Peter H...
described the meaning of the symbol: