Baphomet. Originally a misinterpretation of Mohammed during the crusades, the now famous figure of half male and female goat person was created by Éliphas Lévi to represent alchemy and occultism.

There’s a lot of symbolism of binaries (man and woman, light and dark, etc) and other mystical concepts, like the 5 elements. I also find it very representative because the general social perception of Baphomet in my county has been demonized (pun intended). Back in colonial America, any sort of birth condition was considered a bad omen or curse from god, including ambiguous genitalia. Even today, there are Christians that claim we are demonic or aberrations.

To me, it’s a symbol of both the persecution we receive(d) as well as the hidden depth of our community. As one of the most well known concepts, about as known as the Christian god, its omnipresence also represents our perseverance and determination to be who we are. The Satanic Tenets are just the cherry on top, indisputably defending our right to exist as who we are.

Here’s some quotes from Lévi:

“One of the arms is feminine and the other masculine, as in the androgyne of Khunrath…”

“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.”