Baphomet II
Model Credit: Christina "Kitty" Linskey, Little Boxes Theater, San Francisco, CA. The modern Baphomet icon is commonly associated with imagery of a goat-headed diabolical idol allegedly worshiped by the Knights Templar during the 13th and 14th centuries. In reality, the connection between Baphomet and the primordial goat-headed god did not emerge until the 1850s. The historical origin of the term is perhaps more fascinating than the mythologized version: a tale of mistranslation, a courtroom conspiracy, and a gradual metamorphosis into a profoundly influential occult icon. The final transformation of Baphomet occurred in 1854. French ceremonial magician Elphias Levi re-imagined Baphomet into a figure he named the Sabbatic Goat. The most unique and iconic element of Levi’s Baphomet is the head of a goat upon a humanoid body. The goat head was borrowed by Levi from the Egyptian goat-headed deity Banebdjedet, who represented the soul of Osiris. Levi was also inspired by Pan, another goat-headed god equated with primal worship and social taboos of the time.
