Baphomet

My own rendition of Eliphas Levi's illustration of Baphomet (1856), or "The Goat of Mendes", a pagan idol. I was absolutely mesmerized by the amount of symbolism the image contained, and the very meaning as a whole. Aleister Crowley defined it: "the hieroglyph of arcane perfection". Baphomet represents humanity's dual nature: the divine and the animal. The latter can be transcended through the flame of knowledge atop of the goat head, and the pentagram that points upwards on its forehead. It is usually represented as an androgynous being, as it is both male and female at the same time. The arms have latin writings which refer to the alchemical processes of separation (Solve) and joining back together (Coagula); and they both point to a different moon: these represent the two sephirah of Chesed and Gheburah, which in turn, represent kindness and strenght respectively. It also refers to the concept of "As above, so below", quite famous in alchemy and occultism.

Date
June 1, 2018