Oddbean

First off, there are 3 biological genders in nature, male, female and both. Hermaphrodite is apparently a hateful word now, but it is used to describe those born with both parts. The fact that males even have nipples indicates that we all start as female. Somewhere along the way some parts develop and some don't. Some males are born with elevated estrogen levels and not only can they lactate, but they can grow breasts, have a feminine voice and frame, but with the boy parts. Anyway. Baphomet is not actually originally associated with Satanism. But it is associated with paganism, which is much older than Christianity or Islam.... oddly enough. The first *known* mention of Baphomet was in a letter written in 1098 by Anselm of Ribemont describing the Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade. Anselm stated that the Turks “called loudly upon Baphomet.” Most scholars believe that the word refers to Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Prophet of Islam. In 1307 Philip IV of France had every Templar in France arrested, accusing them of such heretical acts as idolatrous worship of a bearded male head called Baphomet. By the 19th century Freemasons had also been (falsely) said to worship Baphomet. In his book Dogme et ritual de la haute magie (1861; Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual), the influential French occultist Éliphas Lévi created the Baphomet that has become a recognized occult icon. The one we know today. The book’s frontispiece was a drawing of Baphomet imagined as a “Sabbatic Goat”—a hermaphroditic winged human figure with the head and feet of a goat that is adorned with numerous esoteric symbols. Lévi describes the meaning of each element of the drawing, which is defined by its profound and pervasive duality. composed of binary elements representing the symbolization of the equilibrium of opposites half-human and half-animal, male and female, and good and evil. Lévi's intention was to symbolize his concept of balance, with Baphomet representing the goal of perfect social order. British occultist Aleister Crowley also adopted Baphomet, notably in his “Gnostic Mass.” More recently, the Satanic Temple commissioned a statue of Baphomet, which was unveiled in 2015 and then moved to various places as a protest against displays of Ten Commandments monuments in public spaces. nostr:nevent1qqsrvwl230ktuzscl8344pk49a3a6vcgkc34a6dys6s3cr3cu6g9yzgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzpjwa9a226flpja2rdktcjytawcxhd4zujglsjq4s2se2tazq4fwmqvzqqqqqqytsuvk2