The Baphomet Pentagram is the official, copyrighted symbol of the Church of Satan. While similar images existed previous to the Church, which didn't form until 1966, this precise image is of relatively new construction. It is featured here with the Church's permission.

The Pentagram

The pentagram has long been associated with various magical and occult beliefs. Moreover, the pentagram has frequently represented mankind and the microcosm.

Satanism, which reveres the accomplishments of humanity and encourages believers to embrace physical wants and desires. Satanists also equate the pentagram to "intellectual omnipotence and autocracy," as described by 19th century occultist Eliphas Levi.

Read more:Background Information on Pentagrams

Orientation of Pentagram

The Church of Satan decided on a point-down orientation. This allows them to place the goat-head within the figure. In addition, according to writers such as Levi, this was the "infernal" orientation, and thus seemed the appropriate orientation for Satanism. Finally, the point-down figure represents spirit subsumed by the four physical elements, rejecting the notion that the physical world is dirty and taboo and that the spirit should rise about it.

The Goat Face

The placing of a goat-face within the pentagram also dates to the 19th century. The figure is not specifically Satan (and, indeed, a goat-faced Satan is but one of many historical depictions of him), although it generally is described in terms such as "the foul Goat threatening Heaven" and was first depicted alongside the names Samael and Lilith, both of which can have demonic connotations.
The Church of Satan specifically associates it with the Goat of Mendes, which they also call Baphomet.

For them it represents "the hidden one, he who abides in all things, the soul of all phenomena."

The Hebrew Letters

The five Hebrew letters along the outside of the symbol spell out Leviathan, a monstrous biblical sea creature viewed by Satanists as a symbol of the Abyss and hidden truth.