Baphomet doesn’t have a long history of myth. The name “Baphomet” began to appear during and after the Crusades. In the early 1300s, King Philip IV of France had Templar Knights arrested and charged with everything from spitting on the cross, to homosexuality, and worshipping false idols. After being tortured and coerced into confession, many knights admitted to engaging in idolatry by worshiping a figure referred to as Baphomet. The most popular belief is that Baphomet was a corruption of the name Mahomet (Muhammad). At this time, Baphomet was not described as being goat-like. Many of the confessions claimed the idols worshiped were shaped like severed heads, sometimes with 3 faces. The image most commonly associated with Baphomet wasn’t created until the 19th century.
In the 1850’s, a French occultist named Eliphas Levi published ‘Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie’ and included an image of Baphomet he had drawn himself. This is the famous depiction of Baphomet, complete with a goat’s head, wings, and female breasts. This image is steeped in dualism. On one arm is written “SOLVE” (meaning ‘separate’) and on the other “COAGULA” (meaning ‘join together’). Together “solve et coagula” is a reference to the alchemic concept of breaking something down to build something new. Each of these arms, one described as being female and the other male, are pointing to separate moons. Levi calls these moons Chesed, referring to the Sephiroth that represents God’s love/kindness, and Gevurah, the Sephiroth which represents the punitive aspect of God’s judgement. “This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice.” Even the breasts, said to represent humanity, can be traced to the idea of divine androgyny, the idea that the first creations of god were born as one, androgynous form.The goat head is said to symbolize the “horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely responsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively”. Baphomet is sometimes called the Goat of Mendes, a god described by Herodotus as being the Greek god Pan but is more closely related to the Egyptian god, Djedet, who was the ram-headed god of Mendes. Though, if I may add, the “Bear punishment exclusively” part is reminiscent of the ritual of the scapegoat which is linked to the desert spirit/demon Azazel. In one myth, God even said to his arch angels “to him [Azazel] ascribe all sin.” It’s this image of Baphomet that is most commonly known and often associated with Satanic organizations which is partially the reason why a lot of people mistakenly associate this image with the devil. I mean, if we’re to believe that the origins of Baphomet stem from a bastardization of “Mahomet” then it’s entire existence in the human psyche is based off the demonization and needless fear of differing beliefs.