Baphomet: Thresholds of Pride, Power & Reclamation
Embracing the Sacred in the Shadow this June
As we embrace the shift of Gemini into Cancer we move from reliance on intellect into embodiment of intuitive truth.
June invites deep insight, powerful reflection, personal acceptance, and radical self-liberation. It is a month where glitter and grief, protest and parade, self-acceptance and sacred rebellion exist simultaneously.
Notably, June PRIDE invites us to reclaim our identities from shame-based narratives, to embrace the complexity of our expression, and fight for equity.
Should you be looking for a guide, Baphomet belongs to all of these moments.
Baphomat: From Heresy to Balance
Baphomet has been deeply and unfairly misrepresented in popular culture and anti-occult propaganda.
Prior to the establishment of Christian Fundamentalism, Baphomet was venerated as a symbol of duality, autonomy, and balance.
Baphomet’s image has been morphed and distorted through historical and religious agenda. Vilified by the Catholic Church, and later Christian fundamentalists. Baphomet was deliberately repackaged as a “Satanic” figure.
The name “Baphomet” first appeared in the 12th-century during the persecution of the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military. It is believed that the term “Baphomet” was adapted at the time as a slur of “Mahomet” (Muhammad), reflecting European Islamophobia. The Templars were charged with heresy and accused of worshiping a mysterious, horned idol.
Baphomet reemerged in the 19th-century, in a drawing by French occultist Éliphas Lévi. “The Sabbatic Goat” was included his 1854 book, Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie.
The drawing depicts Baphomet as a composition of opposites. Baphomet is both Masculine and Feminine, Human and Animal, Light and Dark, Matter and Spirit. In a world that teaches either/or, the Baphomet exists as both/and. Baphomet is depicted as the defined “other.”
Lévi’s Baphomet wasn’t meant as a literal deity to be worshipped, but as a symbol of integration through a balance of opposites. An inscription is included within the drawing; “solve et coagula.” This Latin alchemical phrase meaning “to break apart and recombine,” gives us permission to exist and shift in the liminal space between binaries.
Some scholars suggest that the term “Baphomet” derived from the Greek “Baphe metous,” meaning “absorption of wisdom.” This gives deeper meaning to the torch on Baphomet’s head as a representation of enlightenment and spiritual connection. The presence of wings and caduceus further symbolizes the journey of ascension, divine communication, and deep spiritual connection.
Baphomet’s divinity affirms complexity, fluidity, and the sacredness of identities that defy binary norms. In many ways, Baphomet represents the “other.” For this reason, Baphomet has become a modern day icon of empowerment for queer, trans, and non-binary witches.
Meeting Baphomet:
Baphomet came to me long before I ever knew their name.
Night after night, for months. Baphomet arrived as the starring role in the theatre of my unconscious.
I didn’t know how to process the arrival of this horned, androgynous, winged entity. The imagery of the dream was unsettling and overwhelming. I would wake in a cold sweat, heart racing, afraid to close my eyes.
I was terrified.
I didn’t know anything about Baphomet, or initiations. I wondered if I was being haunted, hexed, possessed, or cursed.
It wasn’t until years later that I understood the message of the dream. I was being summoned to integrate parts of myself I had been taught to disown or fear.
When Baphomet came to me, I was feeling trapped in my waking life. My nervous system was overextended, I was stuck in a functional freeze, depressed, haunted by my own negative thoughts. It wasn’t a great time.
I was deeply focused on maintaining the image of who I was “supposed to be” and I struggled to accept that I was no longer that person. While I lacked the capacity to maintain the illusion, I was terrified of shifting my identity. I no longer wanted to show up as a false version of myself.
Self Acceptance? Integration? Self-Liberation.
Now I know, these are all Baphomet’s Domain.
Baphomet’s Lessons:
Lesson One: Wholeness is Holy
Like so many members of the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, Baphomet has been demonized by systems built on fear. Exploring Baphomet's symbolism offers a path to reclaiming marginalized identities and embracing the full spectrum of self.
Baphomet teaches us that we are meant to be complex. While the world tells us to choose a side: man or woman, sinner or saint, free or forgotten; Baphomet reminds us that truth lives in the integration.
Baphomet’s symbolism directly defies binary thinking as it pertains to gender, autonomy and social norms. To live fully is not to purify yourself of contradiction, but rather to integrate the parts you’ve been taught to exile. We are invited by Baphomet to embrace the full spectrum of self.
Queerness thrives in this holy integration. Trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming folks are living embodiments of the sacred in-between. Their unapologetic embodiment disrupts limiting binaries, redefines constructs of beauty, and refuses to entertain shame.
Shadow Work:
Journal on a part of yourself you’ve been taught to reject.
Where did the rejection come from?
How might that part of you be a source of wisdom?
Lesson Two: Liberation is a Ritual, Not a Gift
Baphomet doesn’t offer freedom. Baphomet demands it. They understand that freedom originates from within. Baphomet cannot hand you sovereignty. You must choose it.
Pride began as a riot, not a rainbow. Systemic oppression does not give up power willingly. Liberation is an ongoing ritual of resistance, remembrance, and reclamation.
Shadow Work:
Write a list of labels or roles that were forced onto you.
Burn, bury, or tear them—then write your own name, truth, or title in their place.
Lesson Three: The Sacred Lives in the Monster
Baphomet has been used to represent everything Christianity feared: fluidity, power, sensuality, knowledge.
As a result, Baphomet has become a spiritual patron for those who’ve been cast as villains in someone else’s myth. Reclaiming the “monster” is about rejecting those narratives and writing your own.
Baphomet reminds us: you were never the problem. You were simply too free for their system to contain. You are sacred in your difference.
Shadow Integration Ritual: “What I Was Told to Hide”
Create sacred space—dark candlelight, maybe Levi’s image of Baphomet, black and white cloth or stones to represent duality.
Write down all the parts of yourself you’ve suppressed or felt shame around.
(Examples: “Too emotional,” “Too loud,” “Queer,” “Feminine,” “Powerful,” “Dark.”)Read each aloud. As you name them, say:
“This is sacred. This is mine. I call it back.”Burn or bury the paper as an act of transmutation.
Sit with your body. Ask: What does liberation feel like?
Meditation: Meeting the Mirror
Visualize a great horned being before you—serene, powerful, silent. You are not being judged. You are being seen.
Ask: What am I afraid to see in myself? What truth have I been avoiding? What do I know, but still hesitate to claim?
Let Baphomet speak. Pay attention to anything you notice, i.e. symbols, sensations, or images. When you’re ready, write it down. That’s the key to your threshold.
Final Thoughts:
Baphomet arrives to wake us up. To illuminate the masks we wear to survive.
You may meet Baphomet when you’re standing at the crossroads of who you once were, who you were told to be, and who you are still becoming.
Baphomet does not ask for worship. They ask for embodiment. They ask you to stand in your contradictions, own your truth, and choose wholeness even when it costs you comfort.
The question is no longer: Who is Baphomet?
The question is: Are you ready to meet yourself without flinching? Are you ready to live with complete acceptance of your shadow?
Sacred Tools for Sovereignty
If this piece stirred something in you, encouraging you to explore your own shadow, celebrate your queer magic, or honor the sacred complexity within—you’ll find beautiful allies at Asheville Raven & Crone.
This month, we’re highlighting queer-created and affirming tools of power, including:
🕯️ Baphomet Statues & Icons – to build your altar of reclamation
🌈 LGBTQIA+ Spell Kits & Oils – for Pride magic and protection
📿 Queer Mystic Jewelry – handmade charms of sovereignty and visibility
📚 Books on Queer Witchcraft, Shadow Work & Occult Liberation
Visit us in-store or online to explore.
Because your path is sacred. Your truth is power. Your magic is real.
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