The Baphomet

Where to buy point-down pentacles in London

The Sigil of the Baphomet: This is a pentacle form, with two points pointing upwards, one downwards, and one to each side. This is an upturned or inversed pentacle. The point-up pentangle represents the Spirituality of mankind as is used by Pagans and spiritualists although it was also used by early Christians ('victory of spirit over matter'_[1]) The point-down pentangle represents the carnal side of mankind rather than the spiritual ('victory of matter over spirit'_[1]) . The Sigil of the Baphomet is a design based on the upturned pentacle.

Inside the pentacle is the image of a goat, its horns filling the upper two points, its ears filling the two lateral ones, and its mouth filling the lower one. This is Satan. The goat and pentacle theme is very old, and has its origins in alchemy. The pentacle is surrounded by two circles the innermost touching the points of the pentacle. In between the two circles are 5 Hebrew characters, spelling LVTHN anticlockwise: Leviathan.

LaVey describes the two anterior points as 'an attack on heaven'. It is an attack on the concept that Human Beings are toys of any god; a creation of any being or that there exists any being we should worship just because it exists; the Satanist reserves this privilege for himself only. He describes the posterior point and the two lateral points as "a denial of the trinity", referring to the Christian concept of the Trinity. I prefer not to refer specifically to the Christian doctrines and sometimes summarize the two lateral points as representing "two feet on the Earth"; i.e.; Belial. The attack on Heaven & right hand path is representative of Lucifer.

A modern interpretation is that it represents fertility, success and power.

"The symbol of Baphomet was used by the Knights Templar to represent Satan. Through the ages this symbol has been called by many different names. Among these are: The Goat of Mendes, The Goat of a Thousand Young, The Black Goat, The Judas Goat, and perhaps most appropriately, The Scapegoat"

The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, Book of Belial (earth): The Satanic Ritual, pp136

"...the sign of Baphomet. The term may have come from two Greek words, baphe and metis, meaning "absorption of knowledge." It has also been called the Black Goat, Devil's Goat, Goat Head, Goat of Mendes, and Judas Goat."

ReligiousTolerance.org.

The history of the Baphomets usage by the Church Of Satan is very clearly laid out with as much information as you could possibly want from a very good source ... the Church of Satan Official Website:

churchofsatan.com/Pages/BaphometSigil.html

The History of the Use of the Sigil of Baphomet in the Church of Satan.