Heres what I understand:

It is a personification of the Life Force of every being, the sum of all Life on Earth.

Baphomet is the All-begetter and All-devourer. It is both man, animal and plant. It is ever changing, ever growing and dying. It is filled with a dionysian will to grow, feed, mate, survive and die, again and again. It is filled with the ecstatic joy of life and death, and it exists inside every living being.

That's pretty much what it is, but some extremists believe "her" to be the bride of Satan, Luciferians believe Lilith to be the bride of Lucifer and Baphomet to be their unity.

Anton Lavey scripted baphomet as you see it above. A pansexual creature with all aspects of animals and humans.

From what I've been told by rin I upon summoning this entity I would be tested by it, that aside from stating it pretty much had a odd sence of humor.

What would you say is the main difference between gaia and Baphomet?

This post has been edited by Cloud Hex: Jan 23 2007, 10:50 PM

I think that you guys are nailing it, at least as far as my understanding goes. Baphomet is an equivalent to Pan, i.e. Pangenitor and Panphage, the generative and destructive principle personified.

Baphomet is also the resolution of opposing principles. If you look at the classic Levi illustration you'll see the following characteristics:

Half Demon, half Angel
Half Man, half Woman
Half Human, half Beast
One hand pointed at the Heavens, One at the Earth
One hand pointed at Severity, the other at Mercy
Solve et Coagula

I could go into some more Thelemic interpretations, but the above is more generally useful I think (and I can't remember which bits I probably shouldn't talk about!).

I know several magicians who have images of Baphomet set up at their Earth Watchtower, which seems to make sense given the Pan/Dionysian associations. I have also been told that he is somewhat pompous as a discrete entity, and I too have heard about the odd sense of humour!

I'm interested in knowing just what are the main differences between Baphomet and gaia, I'd like to think they can be viewed as representing different aspect of nature, but at the moment I'm not sure which ones.

As an academic exercise, I am not sure how cogent a pairing of them in that manner would be. Gaia is essentially feminine (at least in classical terms) whereas Baphomet incorporates every possibility of gender or sexuality...or at the very least, the male and female principles in combination (in theory). He just happens to look like a horny old goat boy! Also there is the Pan references, which I think is something Crowley was down with too...Pan literally equals everything, whereas Gaia is specifically an earth goddess.

I am wondering if perhaps a review of some proper Wiccan material or perhaps the myths themselves may be of some use in this area. Those guys seem to have the whole male-and-female-deity-as-complementary-forces-of-nature thing down quite well, although it isn't really my area.

Edit: My housemate is Wiccan. I will ask him his thoughts on this when he gets in from work.

This post has been edited by J*S: Jan 24 2007, 11:11 AM

Magical image of the universe.Therefore most similar to Pan.

are you J*S housemate?

Not unless there is a Croatian hiding under my stairs and using my PC when I am asleep!

I've not seen him in a couple of days actually, but he should be around tonight. I will ask him.

I have discussed it with him now. He is in agreement that it doesn't work for the reason cited above. It gets the Wiccan thumbs down, apparently!

Can you please explain more clearly? I'm a little confused by what you mean.

Greetings!
You-all may find this article interesting...?

http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/baphomet.html

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bigwink.gif)

Aye, since Baphomet is equivalent to the universe in the material plane, the idea of associating him with other god-forms in order to "complete the picture" is superfluous. No completion is required.

Nice article, Bym. Very succinct. I wasn't aware about the Samael and Lilith associations in the symbology. I wonder where the originator got that from, as I've heard reference made to some gnostic ideas in relation to those entities but I don't know where the speaker was getting their sources.

Nice read.

Thinking back to a something I read on another site and skimming over it again I'm starting to think that there more to this, we pretty much agree that Baphomet is the personification of all life in all of its form on earth, but in the case of gaia this is not the case:

If you're wondering where I coming from with this here's the page:

http://www.chaosmatrix.org/library/chaos/texts/cmad.html

http://www.geocities.com/go_darkness/god-baphomet.html
This webpage has some info about Baphomet. Dunno if it's accurate but thought I'd post it anyway.

This post has been edited by Rick: May 12 2007, 09:37 AM

From a psychological point of view from what I've read baphomet is a chimera of natural forces that embody the whole of humanity itself. I think the symbol shows us an image of what some are afraid to acknowledge within themselves, that dispite our "civilization" we are beasts at heart. Beasts who have the power over parts of nature, and yet are equally submissive to its whims.

As a point of interest, I have also heard it said that Baphomet is a poorly disguised and deliberate corruption of "Mahomet", i.e. Mohammed. The theory is that that having been sent off to the crusades, some of the more educated fellas out there (bear in mind that these guys are warrior-monks, and as such are likely to have come from some of the most privileged and educated areas of society, being able to read and write several languages) fell in with some Islamic philosopher and essentially made a kind of partial conversion. This is why they were persecuted, but obviously the powers that be didn't want it on record that their best-of-the-best had converted to the very faith they were despatched to fight against!

Can't remember where I heard that, but I suspect there are versions of the theory floating around online somewhere for those that care to look. Not sure whether it holds water in terms of a broader academic perspective though.

Greetings J*S,

The Five Pointed Star was from my readings and research used in many Ancient Civilizations. Usually this was with the point upward. As in the case of various Egyptian Burial Tombs where the stars were painted on the inside of the Sacrcophogous lids with their points upward, as well as with some Summerian and Chaldean Symbology for Ishtar, Inanna.

I have read that the Upper pointing Star represents the Ascneding Nature of Man from baser physical desires and actions, whereas the opposite Downward point at the bottom of the Pentagram would represent a more Earthy or Physical Nature where one seeks to attain the best Physical State and not being concerned with various ideologies of the questionable Realms of the Spirit.

If the Baphomet or Head of a Ram or Goat were symbolized by the Templars and used in Initiatory Rites of these same Knights Templars or Knights of St. John as they were later viewed, it may be because they discovered a Secret while they were surveying and doing digs in and around Jerusalem in their early years of formation.

It could be that the so called Secret that they discovered in the Ruins of the Temple were that no-where was there any indication of the name of the so-called King that builded the Temple, named Solomon. From what I have studied there was at that time, and even to these modern times of ours no records whether in Parchment, Skins, or Stone that there was ever a King Solomon Son of David or Warrior King David,whose Son Solomon built the temple in the hundreds of years before the Christian Era. All this Pseudo History has never been substantiated by other neighboring civilizations that had very elaborate Historical records.

What exact significance would this have on a Church that proclaimed their Divine Saviour came from the seed of King David? It would completely disprove the legitamcy of a collection of Books called the Holy Bible which both Hebrews and Christians formed their Theocratic histories of the human race from. It would also disprove that the Martyred Man Jesus which the Church in 370 A.D. was from the Root of Jesse and the Offshoot of David the King. It would show that the Man Jesus was just that, a Man. However great a teacher, or healer he used methods from the Earth and this in fact is what the Knights Templars (held in my opinion) over the Papacy to give them the free reign they had to travel freely, collect lands and monies, and to learn of the Wisdoms of the East .

Finally the Baphomet used in the Knights Templars Initiations would have been as a sign that the Human Existance is one to be rejoiced in, and that our Physical Senses and Experiences is the crowning achievement of Aeons of Evolution. That we are not of a Fallen Nature but that we are what we are, and that all Flesh should revel in the body for it is what proof we have of being here, in the here now.

The Baphomet in my opinion would have and is a sign of Perfection as Man and Woman, not as a Fallen Creature in need of a Man-Made Saviour to forgive us for the very act of coming into existence.

Respectfully,
Helel (Joseph)

This post has been edited by Joseph: Jun 17 2007, 09:48 PM

93,

Yes, Baphomet is the symbol of the Creative Force of the All, the Demiurge, Tehom, the Chaos whence all came. (S)He is also representative of the individuals aspiration (God(dess)hood), the Divine Androgyne, called Heru Ra Ha in Liber AL, the hawk-headed hermaphroditic LORD of the Universe, Abraxas. The joined union of which is Hadit (the core of the Star, Un-Holy Gaurdian Angel, called Aivas-Shaitan, Set, Lucifer, Shiva, and Osiris, the slain AND the Slayer) and Nuit (Our Lady, the bearer of the Graal containing within the blood of Yeshua Asar Hadit, in Her name BABALON, the Whore, LYL-LYT, the mother of daimons, and Hekate the Queen of Witches.) The blood is the Lifeforce (Deity, represented as BAPHOMETIS-DEMIOURGOS), that turns (wo)man from a creation to a(n) Un-Creator.

"Every Man and Woman is a Star... There is no Law but Do What thou Wilt."

93 93/93
Noxifer 616

This post has been edited by Noxifer_616: Jul 27 2007, 09:24 PM

I have a question BTW,I heard of the inverted pentagram as the manifestation of matter into spirit,or the descending of matter into spirit,which means physical manifestation ,the pentagram being matter,ascending to spirit.
How correct is this ..?