Transcendental Magic — Éliphas Lévi
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288 THE RITUAL OF TRANSCENDENT MAGIC CHAPTEK XV THE SABBATH OF THE SORCERERS WE return once more to that terrible number fifteen, symbolised in the Tarot by a monster throned upon an altar, mitred and horned, having a woman's breasts and the generative organs of a man — a chimera, a malformed sphinx, a synthesis of monstrosities ; below this figure we read a frank and simple inscription — THE DEVIL.
Yes, we confront here the phantom of all terrors, the dragon of all theogonies, the Ariman of the Persians, the Typhon of the Egyptians, the Python of the Greeks, the old serpent of the Hebrews, the fantastic monster, the nightmare, the Croquemitaine, the gargoyle, the great beast of the middle ages, and, worse than all this, the Baphomet of the Templars, the bearded idol of the alchemists, the obscene deity of Mendes, the goat of the Sabbath.
The frontispiece to this Eitual reproduces the exact figure of the terrible emperor of night, with all his attributes and all his characters.
Let us state now for the edification of the vulgar, for the satisfaction of M. le Comte de Mirville, for the justification of the demonologist Bodin, for the greater glory of the Church, which persecuted Templars, burnt magicians, excommunicated Freemasons, &c. — let us state boldly and precisely that all the inferior initiates of the occult sciences and profaners of the great arcanum, not only did in the past, but do now, and will ever, adore what is signified by this alarming symbol.
Yes, in our profound conviction, the Grand Masters of the Order of the Templars worshipped the Baphomet, and caused it to be worshipped by their adepts ; yes, there existed in the past, and there may be still in the present, assemblies which are presided over by this figure, seated on a throne and having a flaming torch between the horns ; but the adorers of this sign do not p. 289consider, as do we, that it is the representation of the devil ; on the contrary, for them it is that of the god Pan, the god of our modern schools of philosophy, the god of the Alexandrian theurgic school, and of our own mystical Neoplatonists, the god of Lamartine and Victor Cousin, the god of Spinoza and Plato, the god of the primitive Gnostic schools ; the Christ also of the dissident priesthood ; this last qualification, ascribed to the goat of black magic, will not astonish students of religious antiquities who are acquainted with the phases of symbolism and doctrine in their various transformations, whether in India, Egypt, or Judea.
The bull, the dog, and the goat are the three symbolical animals of Hermetic magic, resuming all the traditions of Egypt and India. The bull represents the earth or salt of the philosophers ; the dog is Hermanubis, the Mercury of the sages, fluid, air, and water ; the goat represents fire, and is at the same time the symbol of generation.
Two goats, one pure and one impure, were consecrated in Judea ; the first was sacrificed in expiation for sins ; the other, loaded with those sins by imprecation, was set at liberty in the desert — a strange ordinance, but one of deep symbolism, reconciliation by sacrifice and expiation by liberty !
Now, all the fathers of the Church, who have concerned themselves with Jewish symbolism, have recognised in the immolated goat the figure of him who assumed, as they say, the very form of sin. Hence the Gnostics were not outside symbolical traditions when they gave Christ the Liberator this same mystical figure. All the Kabbalah and all magic, as a fact, are divided between the cultus of the immolated and that of the emissary goat.
There is, therefore, the magic of the sanctuary and that of the wilderness, the white and the black Church, the priesthood of public assemblies and the sanhedrim of the Sabbath. 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 T
290 THE KITUAL OF TKANSCENDENT MAGIC 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. Behold the shadows of the infernal sanctuary dissipated !
Behold the sphinx of mediaeval terrors divined and cast from his throne ! Quomodo cecidisti> Lucifer ! The dread Baphomet henceforth, like all monstrous idols, enigmas of antique science and its dreams, is only an innocent and even pious hieroglyph. How should man adore the beast, since he exercises a sovereign power over it ? Let us affirm, for the honour of humanity, that it has never adored dogs and goats any more than lambs and pigeons.
In the hieroglyphic order, why not a goat as much as a lamb ? On the sacred stones of Gnostic Christians of the Basilidean sect, are representations of Christ under the diverse figures of kabbalistic animals — sometimes a bird, at others a lion, and, again, a lion or bull-headed serpent ; but in all cases He bears invariably the same attributes of light, even as our goat, who cannot be confounded with
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