I have always been fascinated by baphomet. The image has been uncomfortable for me to gaze at, but it never caused me fear even when I was told that he was an image for Satan. I had difficulty wrapping my mind around the concept that this image was what I understood Satan to represent, when I thought and felt that this image, which included so many polarities embodied more than the Christian concept of God’s adversary, the depiction of absolute evil. There was something meaningful encapsulated within this image that enthralled me and still does.
Baphomet symbolizes for me everything that is considered occultism and esoteric knowledge; these are things that I am constantly seeking out and mentally devouring. The first symbolism that I notice is the position of the arms and hands; one pointing to the heavens with the other pointing to the earth. Being a
Baphomet symbolizes for me everything that is considered occultism and esoteric knowledge; these are things that I am constantly seeking out and mentally devouring. The first symbolism that I notice is the position of the arms and hands; one pointing to the heavens with the other pointing to the earth. Being a
professional Tarot Reading I recognize the posture from The Magician card in the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, which echoes the axiom, “As above, so below”, a phrase that is never far from my mind. Understanding that which resides below gives me understanding of that which exists above or my thoughts which are birthed in the ether manifest within the physical. It is the understanding that the microcosm is as the macrocosm; man is as the universe.
On baphomet’s arms are the words “solve” and “coagula”; left and right respectively. These words are Latin and mean to disperse and to bind together, which is an alchemical practice where it is believed that the human spirit must be dissolved in order to be transformed or transmuted then reassembled in a new form to gain enlightenment and lead to humanity being united in the new perspective. Perhaps some individuals may imagine that because baphomet encourages the destruction of the individual in order to rebuild them into a new version or a better version of themselves that this image, this idol is an opposer to God, an adversary to God known as Satan. I don’t believe this to be so. I don’t feel nor do I think that baphomet is an image of Satan.
I see baphomet as the culmination of both masculine and feminine energies and physical bodies, the union of the opposing forces, which births creation and nurtures that which is manifested. Baphomet is both the parents (mother and father) and child; it is the representation of birth and death and life, Sun and Moon and stars and many other polarities found within the human experience. There are so many more symbolic images within the idol that sits on my altar. I can spend hours contemplating and meditating on the image.
Perhaps there is resistance to the grotesque overall appearance to baphomet because people are uncomfortable to some of the symbols the image incorporates or that the seemingly contrary energies scare them because they are in direct opposition of what they were taught or what they believe to be a Truth. I find that those individuals who are as fascinated with the idol as I am are seeking the same deeper meanings of magick and spirituality. We seek to uncover our weaknesses, to conquer our fears, and to dive deep into the depths of what the universe is about.
On baphomet’s arms are the words “solve” and “coagula”; left and right respectively. These words are Latin and mean to disperse and to bind together, which is an alchemical practice where it is believed that the human spirit must be dissolved in order to be transformed or transmuted then reassembled in a new form to gain enlightenment and lead to humanity being united in the new perspective. Perhaps some individuals may imagine that because baphomet encourages the destruction of the individual in order to rebuild them into a new version or a better version of themselves that this image, this idol is an opposer to God, an adversary to God known as Satan. I don’t believe this to be so. I don’t feel nor do I think that baphomet is an image of Satan.
I see baphomet as the culmination of both masculine and feminine energies and physical bodies, the union of the opposing forces, which births creation and nurtures that which is manifested. Baphomet is both the parents (mother and father) and child; it is the representation of birth and death and life, Sun and Moon and stars and many other polarities found within the human experience. There are so many more symbolic images within the idol that sits on my altar. I can spend hours contemplating and meditating on the image.
Perhaps there is resistance to the grotesque overall appearance to baphomet because people are uncomfortable to some of the symbols the image incorporates or that the seemingly contrary energies scare them because they are in direct opposition of what they were taught or what they believe to be a Truth. I find that those individuals who are as fascinated with the idol as I am are seeking the same deeper meanings of magick and spirituality. We seek to uncover our weaknesses, to conquer our fears, and to dive deep into the depths of what the universe is about.
RSS Feed
