The mystery of the head of Baphomet: a strange object worshiped by the Templars and the fatal church accusation

In 1307 the Knights Templar were accused of idolatry as they worshiped, according to court documents, the mysterious head of Baphomet. According to the court verdict, the head of the organization, Jacques de Molay, and several other Templars were burned alive at the stake of the Inquisition.

One of the most popular images of Baphomet is the image described in 1897 in the book of the Frenchman Eliphas Levi “Dogma and Ritual of High Magic“. On the pages of the work of the occultist Levi, Baphomet is a bisexual creature with the head of a goat, hooves and a pair of wings. 

It was Eliphas Levi who was one of the first to compare the image of Baphomet with the image of the devil. Subsequently, some satanic sects took Levi’s Baphomet as a symbol of their organization.

It is worth noting that Eliphas Levi’s creature was the result of combining some mythologies, but popular culture went further, in turn crossing Baphomet with similar characters such as simple devils, fauns, satyrs, and even the Minotaur (a goat’s head serves as an excuse); Egyptian gods (the reason is the very combination of the animal head and the human body, in addition, it is believed that Levi used the goat cult that existed in the Egyptian Mendes); Hindu deities (the occasion is the cross-legged posture and the position of the hands). 

In 2014-15, Eliphas Levi’s character made a lot of noise when the Satanic Temple organization in the United States began to collect – and raised – money for the erection of a statue of Baphomet. As a result, a bronze sculpture almost three meters high was installed in Detroit in July 2015. It is almost completely identical to the image of Levi. Significant differences are the absence of a female breast, an inverted star behind and two children on the sides of the figure.

Weird lawsuit

Among the many accusations against the Knights Templar, the main one was the accusation of idolatry, namely the worship of the head of Baphomet. However, the testimonies of the accused and witnesses themselves, concerning the simplest thing – the appearance of the mysterious head, radically differed. So Guillaume de Arblais, an almsman at the royal court, claimed to have seen the head at least twice. 

“It seems to me that it is made of wood, silver-plated and gilded on the outside. I think it has a beard or something that looks like a white beard,” de Arblais said in court documents. 

The knight Bartolomeo Bossier described Baphomet as the bearded head of a Templar in a cap. Hugo de Peyrot, the examiner of the order, said that “the head had four legs: two in front and two behind.”

In addition, many things brought by the Templars from the East were presented to the court as evidence of the guilt of the knights. Among them, the keeper Guillaume Pisdoé singled out a female silver head covered with gilding. But this evidence was clearly not the head of the terrible Baphomet. However, the Inquisition did not find anything else in the house of the Order.

Where did Baphomet come from?

Long before the trial of the Templars, the word “Baphomet” was mentioned in a letter from one of the knights, Ricolo Banomen. While on a crusade, he complained to his family about the failures. 

“Every day we fail because God, who was previously awake, is now asleep, and Baphomet is at full strength and helping the Berbers,” Ricolo reported.

The name “Baphomet” is also found in the work of French troubadours. So a very popular singer of that time, Gavautan, wrote in his poem:

“They loudly called on Baphomet, and we prayed silently in our hearts to God.”

According to the French scholar Silvestre de Sacy, the use of the word “Baphomet” in these contexts clearly indicates that it is nothing more than a distorted name of Mohammed. As you know, the Berbers were Muslims, and it was from them that the knights could hear about Mohammed.

British researcher of the occult Montague Summers believes that the name “Baphomet” comes from the merger of 2 Greek words “baphe” and “metis” and means “baptism of wisdom.”

According to another theory, “Sophia” is the goddess “God’s bride”, who was revered by the Templars. 

The Church interpreted the word Baphomet as a symbol of the Devil after the emergence of an organization called the “Church of Satan”, which took the word Baphomet as its symbol. 

The very image of a goat’s muzzle inscribed in a pentagram, originally not called Baphomet; most likely, LaVey gave this name to this symbol.

Some scholars believe that the word “Baphomet” should not be read from left to right, but from right to left. It is then that the true meaning of this name is revealed. “Temohpab”, is notarikon – an acronym for the first letters of the following wording: “Templi omnium hominum pacis abbas”, which correspond to Latin: “Abbot of the Temple of the Peace of All People.”

Who needed Baphomet?

Due to the fact that the Knights Templar was one of the richest and most influential organizations of that time, many scholars agree that King Philip IV of France and the clergy simply invented Baphomet and accused the knights of worshiping this idol. Thus, the authorities and the church eliminated their competitors, perhaps taking possession of some part of the knight’s wealth. 

Alternatively, it is quite possible that King Philip and Pope Clement uncovered a conspiracy of a secret society of dark globalists of that time which, acting through the Templars, reached incredible power.

The trumped-up accusation is also evidenced by the confused testimonies of witnesses, obtained, possibly through torture, and the missing material evidence in the case. After all, the head of Baphomet was never found.