The Satanic Bible has this to say on the symbol of Baphomet:

The Symbol of Baphomet was used by the Knights Templar to represent Satan. Through the ages this symbol has been called by may different names. Among these are: The Goat of Mendes, The Goat of a Thousand Young, The Black Goat, The Judas Goat, and perhaps most appropriately, The Scapegoat.

Baphomet represents the Powers of Darkness combined with the generative fertility of the goat. In its “pure” form, the pentagram is shown encompassing the figure of a man in the five points of the star- three points up, two pointing down- symbolizing man’s spiritual nature. In Satanism the pentagram is also used, but since Satanism represents the carnal instincts of man, or the opposite of the spiritual nature, the pentagram is inverted to perfectly accommodate the head of the goat- its horns, representing duality, thrust upwards in defiance; the other three points inverted, or the trinity denied. The Hebraic figures around the outer circle of the symbol which stem from the magical teachings of the Kabala, spell out “Leviathan,” the serpent of the watery abyss, and identified with Satan. These figures correspond to the five points of the inverted star.

This symbol was used long before the Church of Satan, indeed the description of the figure of Baphomet goes all the way back to the Templars. When they were all round up and interrogated most of them described the goat-headed being as some kind of object of worship. Though it is also said that that the name ‘Baphomet’ may be an anglicized bastardization of the name Muhammad, and thus may have been indicative of Islamic influences into their otherwise Christian worship.

Regardless, the sigil of Baphomet remains to be one of the chosen symbols of the Satanic Church, I wore it on a necklace for the month of April. I didn’t really receive any odd looks or comments, except for one fellow who thought it was a reference Pan (could any of my Pagan friends help me with that one?). Then again, I don’t live in the southern states, nor did I frequent any Evangelical gatherings, so I shouldn’t really be surprised.

I enjoy wearing religious symbols, one of my goals for this year was to acquire a piece of jewelery representing each of the religions, though the Baphomet necklace has been my first purchase towards this end. Perhaps I can find another way to incorporate these symbols into my daily life.

The symbol of Baphomet in the inverted pentagram sums up the Church of Satan rather well. The refusal of Christian dogma, the invocation of ritual magic (the Kabalic symbols) and gratification of the self and the ego (the goat and inverted pentagram). It will always be a way of letting everyone know that you have no problem living the life that most people deny themselves for no good reason.