Baphomet
Baphomet is a pagan deity that the Knights Templar were accused of worshipping. It appeared regularly in 19th century occult literature and various images and descriptions of it can be found, but it is generally portrayed as a bearded idol with a goat’s head. Giger was an extremely curious artist who studied various mythologies and was fascinated by esotericism. He took inspiration for his work from the illustration of the same name by Eliphas Lévi, which is often associated with Satan and by some also with the good Sumerian and Babylonian god Enki. The latter was seen by some as the protector of humankind and his symbol was a goat. They believed he was the rival of the Israelite god Yahweh, whom they considered a cruel gnostic demiurge.
There is one significant difference between Lévi’s Baphomet and Giger’s. The former is pointing at two moons – one black and one white – which represent harmony. Giger fuses these two elements in the contrasting figures of the black Baphomet and the white woman over its head, where Lévi drew the flame of intelligence. In addition, Giger depicted the classic pentagram symbol twice: the woman is positioned to make a point going up in a white pentagram, while the head of the goat creature forms a black one with the point going down.