Symbols Of British Myth & Their Association With Contemporary Satanism

The culture of Britain is built on many things, Christianity being one of the most notable cornerstones in contemporary British culture. From celebrations and traditions, right down to the fundamentals of our everyday language. For example, simple phrases such as:

Goodbye - longhand translation - God be beside ye

Or everyday expressions like “oh ye of little faith”, “talk of the Devil”, or “Lo and behold”. Even bawdy phrases like “hanky-panky” have religious roots!

That said though, Britain didn’t begin life as a monotheist nation. In fact, the old Pagan ways continued to have a profound effect on British lore following the rise of Christianity.

This being written from the perspective of a born and bred Brit, I think the Ancient British folklore is as much an important part of our heritage as the more contemporary Christian side.

However, the relationship between these two sides is a tumultuous one.

To demonstrate what I mean, I’m going to hone in on one particular symbol that was frequently used in Ancient Britain but in today’s culture, has garnered a very misrepresented meaning: the pentagram.

The pentagram (also known as the pentacle, the pentangle, or the pentalpha) is recognised by many today as the symbol of Satan.

However, in Western culture, the true meaning of the pentagram is actually a surprisingly wholesome one. The pentagram is an elemental symbol, with each point representing one of the five facets of nature: water, fire, earth, air and matter. It was also used in both Western and Asian cultures as a symbol of balance and wellbeing.

However, around about the sixth century, Christianity began bleeding in from Rome, resulting in an overlap between Pagan and Christian myths. This era gave rise to the world-famous Arthurian legends. During this time, the pentagram went from a symbol of the elements to a representation of the five wounds of Christ. Those familiar with Arthurian lore may remember it as a plot point in the tale of Sir Gawain & The Greene Knight, adorning the back of Gawain’s shield to remind him of his pious Christian virtues.

Although the first Autherian manuscripts date as far back as the ninth century, information on when and by whom these folk legends were first penned is hazy. The most extensive and influential Arthurian manuscript was titled Le Morte d’Arther. It was written by English author, Sir Thomas Malory, and was published by William Caxton in 1485, until which time the pentagram continued to be held in religious esteem.

So what happened exactly?

Well, the current symbol used by the contemporary church of Satan is very often mistaken as a depiction of the pentangle. It is actually called the Baphomet Star; a reversed pentagram sometimes depicted with a goat’s head in the middle.

While this is technically not a pentagram, its striking resemblance to the pentagram was not an accident. The reason for this choice is thought to be descended from a fourteenth-century religious scandal, involving none other than the Knights Templar.

This begins with Baphomet himself, the church of Satan’s chosen centrepiece. He began life as an idol that the Knights Templar are alleged to have worshipped.

In 1307, Philip IV of France had every Templar arrested for heretical, idolatrous worship when the rumours of their connection to Baphomet surfaced. The Inquisition tortured many Knights into confession, confessions in which Baphomet was a recurring name. They were later charged with crimes of heresy, homosexuality and urinating on the cross. Despite allegedly having been a symbol of social order, the Inquisition of the Knights cemented Baphomet’s place in Christian society as a symbol of the Devil.

Centuries later, in 1861, the French occultist Éliphas Lévi revived the concept and created the image of Baphomet we recognise today. Appearing as the front piece drawing in his book Dogme et ritual de la haute magie (Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual), Baphomet was reimagined as the iconic “Sabbatic Goat”. Half male, half female, with bat-like wings and the head and haunches of a goat, Baphomet had retaken his symbolic meaning as the deity of worldly balance. Defined by his duality, he once again represented the perfect harmony of peace and chaos.

However, by the time of Lévi’s publication, the Pagan ways of the Western world had long since been abolished and the two religions no longer meshed as they did in the days of the Arthurian legends. Now, worship of anything other than canon biblical figures was heresy. As such, the Church cast a withering eye on Lévi’s depiction of Baphomet and before long, it had once again garnered a Satanic and morally evil reputation.

The demonisation of anything non-Christian extended also to depictions of the pentagram, now being likened to witchcraft and by extension - you guessed it- Satan.

On April 30th 1966, the church of Satan was established in San Francisco, California, adopting the Lévi-inspired Baphomet star as their official insignia. Now named the sigil of Baphomet, it depicted the head of the heretic deity fused with a pentagram turned on upside down. Despite these two symbols initially having no affiliation with Satan, they had nevertheless become seen as such.

Much of our civilisation as we know it today was built on the back of Christianity; it’s only in recent years that the people of Britain have begun leaning towards more secular values. As such, it’s hardly surprising that these Satanic interpretations have stuck.

While change is as inevitable as it is important, it’s important to know where these symbols came from, what they meant to the country’s Anglo-Saxon ancestors and why they exist in the form they do today. They are, of course, as much a part of our history as all the rest.