Baphomet  

"The goat which is represented in our frontispiece bears upon his forehead the sign of the pentagram with one point in the ascendant, which is sufficient to distinguish him as a symbol of the light ; he makes the sign of occultism with both hands, pointing upward to the white moon of Chesed, and downward to the black moon of Geburah. This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. One of the arms is feminine and the other masculine, as in the androgyne of Khunrath, whose attributes we have combined with those of our goat, since they are one and the same symbol. The torch of intelligence burning between the horns is the magical light of universal equilibrium; it is also the type of the soul exalted above matter, even while connecting with matter, as the flame connects with the torch. The hideous head of the animal expresses horror of sin, for which the material agent, alone responsible, must alone and for ever bear the penalty, because the soul is impassible in its nature, and can suffer only by materialising. The caduceus, which replaces the generative organ, represents eternal life; the scale-covered belly typifies water ; the circle above it is the atmosphere ; the feathers still higher up signify the volatile ; lastly, humanity is depicted by the two breasts and the androgyne arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences."— Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1854-56) by Éliphas Lévi, Waite translation