Invoking the Baphomet

 

Invoking Baphomet in the strict Éliphas Lévi sense is not a “Satanic” ritual, a Black Mass, or a petition to an external demon. It is a high ceremonial operation whose real purpose is to awaken and equilibrate the Astral Light within and around the operator, using Baphomet as the perfect archetypal mirror of the solved macrocosm-microcosm. Lévi himself never published a complete ritual, but he scattered enough precise instructions (especially in Dogme et Rituel, the chapter “The Magical Sabbath” and the section on the “Conjuration of the Four”) that the historically accurate method can be reconstructed with very high fidelity.

Below is the closest thing to an authentic 19th-century Lévi-style “Invocation of Baphomet” that remains faithful to his own symbolism and theory. It is intended for advanced practitioners only who already possess ceremonial training, banishing skills, and a clear understanding that they are working with their own interior forces projected into the Astral Light.

Lévy-Accurate Invocation of Baphomet (“The Rite of the Living Pantacle”)

Preliminaries (indispensable)

1.  Perform a thorough Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (Lesser or Greater).

2.  The operation must be done on a Tuesday (Mars) or Saturday (Saturn) at the hour of Mars or Saturn, when the forces are most condensed in the Astral Light.

3.  Circle of black and white cloth or tape on the floor, 9 feet in diameter.

4.  Altar in the centre bearing:

•  The image or statue of Lévi’s Baphomet (or a large, correctly drawn plate of it)

•  Two black candles and two white candles at the quarters

•  Incense: storax + frankincense + a pinch of sulfur (traditional “Sabbatic” mixture)

•  A mirror placed upright behind the Baphomet image (the Astral Light is reflective)

The Gesture of Baphomet (the true “sign” of the Arcanum)

Stand facing East. Assume the exact posture of Lévi’s figure:

•  Feet together forming a single point (the inverted pentagram resolved into unity)

•  Right arm raised high, palm forward, fingers together (pointing to the white moon)

•  Left arm lowered, palm forward (pointing to the black moon)

•  Gaze fixed on the Baphomet image This posture must be held perfectly during the entire invocation. It is the living key.

The Invocation Proper

(Spoken slowly, with absolute authority, vibrating each divine name)

1.  Opening Proclamation
“By the name of the Eternal Living God who created heaven and earth, I, N…, magician and priest of the Most High, stand here as the living image of the Great Arcanum: As above, so below!”

2.  Conjuration of the Four (Lévi’s own formula, slightly adapted)
Facing East:
“Caput Mortuum, imperet tibi Dominus per vivum et devotum Serpentem!
Kerub, imperet tibi Dominus per Adam Iot-Chavah!”
(Turn South, West, North, repeating the corresponding names: Cherub, Seraph, etc.)

3.  The Invocation of the Goat of Mendes
(Still in the Baphomet posture, voice rising in intensity)
“O Thou, synthetic image of the Astral Light,
Thou who art called Baphomet, Pantheomorphic Azoth,
Goat of Mendes, living mirror of the equilibrated forces,
Thou who bearest the torch of Intelligence between the horns of Matter,
Thou whose arms proclaim SOLVE and COAGULA,
Thou whose caduceus riseth from the root of the world,
By the name YHVH Tzabaoth and by the name of the Tetragrammaton that is written in the triangle of the Pentagram,
I invoke and conjure Thee!
Descend into this temple and into this body!
Unite the Above with the Below through me!
Make me the living Pantacle, the solved Rebis, the magical Androgyne!
That the powers of the height may descend into the depth,
And the powers of the depth may ascend into the height,
And the miracle of the One Thing be accomplished here and now!”

4.  The Vibratory Formula (repeat 7 times, each time more powerfully)
While maintaining the posture, vibrate the name
BAFOMÉT (spelled in Hebrew בףאומית or simply intoned as seven syllables:
BA – FO – MET – RA – HU – TH – YA)
Feel the name descend from the torch between the horns, down the spine, to the base, then rise again in a perfect circuit.

5.  The Mirror Vision
At the climax, fix your gaze on the reflection of your own eyes in the mirror behind the image. You will see the Baphomet face superimposed upon your own. Do not flinch. Hold the identification for as long as possible. This is the true “possession” in Lévi’s system: the ego momentarily dissolved into the equilibrated archetype.

6.  License to Depart & Closing
When the force begins to ebb:
“O Baphomet, Thou who hast manifested in glory,
Return now unto Thy sphere, harming none,
Until I call Thee again by the great and powerful names.
As above, so below. It is finished.”
Perform the Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram again, then the Kabbalistic Cross.

Warnings from Lévi Himself

•  If the posture is broken or the will wavers, the Astral Light rebounds and can produce obsession or terror.

•  This rite is not for curiosity, domination, or material gain. Its only legitimate purpose is the achievement of magical equilibrium and the Knowledge and Conversation of the Higher Self.

•  Anyone who approaches it with hatred, fear, or Christian demonological ideas will meet exactly the “devil” they believe in.

Lévi’s Baphomet is invoked by becoming it, not by grovelling before it. The rite is the deliberate, willed identification of the microcosm with the solved macrocosm. When performed correctly, the operator experiences a momentary but overwhelming state of lucid unity in which “as above, so below” ceases to be theory and becomes lived reality.

The Rite of Handfasting

 Handfasting: 

The Ancient Rite of Binding Hearts

Handfasting is one of the oldest and most beautiful forms of marriage or commitment ceremony in the world. Long before wedding rings, licenses, or white dresses, lovers declared themselves to each other by literally tying their hands together with a cord or ribbon while speaking vows beneath the open sky.

The word itself comes from Old Norse handfesta (“to strike a bargain by joining hands”) and Anglo-Saxon handfæstung (“betrothal”). It was the original “tying the knot.”

Historical Roots

•  Practised across Celtic Britain and Ireland, Scotland, northern England, Scandinavia, and parts of Germanic Europe from at least the Iron Age.

•  In pre-Christian times it was the standard way to formalise a marriage. The Christian church later tolerated it for centuries because many people lived far from clergy.

•  There were three traditional lengths of handfasting:

1.  A year and a day – a “trial marriage.” After that time the couple could renew permanently or part as friends with no shame.

2.  A lifetime – until death do us part.

3.  For all eternity – including past, present, and future lives (still popular among Pagans today).

The Classic Elements of a Traditional Handfasting

The Circle
The ceremony almost always takes place inside a cast circle (sacred space). In ancient times this might simply have been a ring of stones or a grove of oaks.

Calling the Quarters & Inviting the Elements
Earth, Air, Fire, Water (and sometimes Spirit) are welcomed to witness and bless the union.

 

The Hands
The couple faces each other. Their right hands are clasped (heart to heart), then their left hands are clasped over the top, forming the infinity symbol ∞. This is called “the oath posture.”

The Cord(s)
A cord, ribbon, or cloth in colours of personal meaning is draped loosely in a figure-eight around the joined hands.
Common colour meanings:

•  Red – passion, strength

•  White – purity, unity

•  Blue – loyalty, tranquillity

•  Green – fertility, growth

•  Gold or silver – prosperity and divine blessing
Many couples braid three cords (Maiden, Mother, Crone or past, present, future).

The Vows
While their hands are bound, each partner speaks promises. These can be traditional, modern, or written by the couple themselves.
Classic example (Scottish): “Ye are blood of my blood, and bone of my bone.
I give ye my body, that we two might be one.
I give ye my spirit, till our life shall be done.”

The Binding
The officiant pulls the cord tight (but not painfully) and ties a knot while saying words such as:
“As this knot is tied, so are your lives now bound.
By the weaving of hands and the speaking of hearts,
May you be forever one.”

 The Kiss
The couple must lean in for their first kiss while still literally tied together – often to much laughter and cheering.

  Loosening, Not Untying

The cord is slipped off without untying the knot (symbolising that the bond cannot be easily broken). The knotted cord is kept as a treasured keepsake.

Jumping the Broom (optional)
Many couples end by jumping the besom together, combining the two great folk rites of union.

Modern Handfasting (Pagan, Wiccan, and Eclectic)

Today handfasting has been joyfully revived by Pagans, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, and secular couples who simply love its beauty. It is legally recognised in Scotland, Ireland, and many U.S. states if performed by a registered officiant. Elsewhere it is a spiritual commitment ceremony (often paired with a civil marriage).

Popular modern twists:

•  Using six or even nine cords, each representing a different wish (love, trust, passion, laughter, adventure, etc.).

•  Having family members or bridal party hold and present each cord with a blessing.

•  “Infinity binding” where the couple’s hands are wrapped in a continuous loop with no beginning or end.

•  LGBTQ+ couples often choose it because it was never gendered in its ancient form.

•  Renewal of vows on anniversaries – many couples retie their original cord every year or every seven years.

After the Ceremony

The knotted handfasting cord is usually framed, kept under the matrimonial bed, or hung above the hearth. Some traditions say it should be burned together on the seventh anniversary and replaced with a new binding.

Handfasting, at its core, is a ceremony that says:

“We choose each other freely, consciously, and with all our being – not because law or church demands it, but because our souls have already said yes.”

Whether spoken beneath an ancient oak, on a windswept cliff, or in a candlelit living room, the simple act of binding two hands with loving intention remains one of the most powerful pieces of magic two people can ever perform together.

Taken at The Grove’s Handfasting

Th Besom Part 2: The broom that binds us

 The Besom Part Two:

Jumping the Broom: A Ritual of Commitment, Liberation, and 

Ancestral Power

“A few years ago now my husband John and I got Handfasting in the stone circle of Avebury. As is tradition in some cultures such a witches and pagans , we jumped the broomstick with our hands tied together to symbolise us crossing over into a new chapter of our lives as a married couple.

We decorated our besom specifically for the occasion and took it with us to Avebury. Having your own besom that you have decorated yourself makes it far more personal. “ CAG

“Jumping the broom” is one of the most enduring and emotionally charged rituals in both European folk magic and African-American tradition. At its heart it is simple: a couple, hand in hand, leaps together over a consecrated besom (ritual broom) laid on the ground. In that single jump they cross a threshold – from single life to married life, from oppression to freedom, from the old world to the new.

There”’s an old British saying that used to be used when talking about a couple who where living together but not legally married. They were said to be “living over the brush”. This helped the organised Christians and Catholic communities effectively embarrass or convince couples that the traditional Handfasting was somehow immoral. Yet the Handfasting was a rite that predated the wedding and actually influenced how they’re performed!

There are two major historical strands of the custom, and modern couples often weave both together.

The Older European Roots (Britain & Romani Traditions)

•  Found across Wales, England, Scotland, and among Romani communities from at least the 1700s (probably much earlier).

•  It was a “broomstick wedding” or “besom wedding” – a legally unofficial but community-recognised marriage when church or state marriage was impossible or undesirable (too expensive, mixed faith, travelling people, etc.).

•  The broom was laid in a doorway or across a threshold. Jumping forward into the house symbolised entering a new home together. Jumping outward (in some regions) symbolised leaving the single life behind.

•  To dissolve the marriage, the couple simply jumped backward over the broom in front of the same witnesses – an early form of no-fault divorce.

•  The besom was usually decorated with flowers, ribbons, or herbs of love and fertility (rosemary, lavender, rose petals, yarrow).

Old Welsh saying:

“Jump high, jump clean,

Over the besom and love ever keen.”

African-American Tradition (Born of Enslavement)

•  During slavery in the United States, enslaved people were not permitted legal marriage. White enslavers often broke up families at will.

•  Jumping the broom became a sacred act of self-marriage, witnessed by the community and the ancestors. It was the couple saying: “The state may not recognise us, but the spirits do, our people do, and we do.”

•  The ritual was performed at the end of the wedding ceremony, often after an exchange of vows and rings (if rings were possible).

•  After emancipation, many African-American couples abandoned the practice because it reminded them of slavery. In the 1970s, with the rise of Black pride and the landmark 1994 broadcast of Alex Haley’s Roots (in which Kunta Kinte and Belle jump the broom), the ritual was reclaimed as an act of cultural strength and ancestral honour rather than shame.

•  Today it is one of the most popular African-American wedding traditions, performed by couples of every background who wish to honour resilience and community recognition of love.

Typical elements in the African-American version:

•  The broom is beautifully decorated – often with cowrie shells, ribbons in African colours (red, black, green), lace, flowers, and satin.

•  An elder or officiant explains the history so guests understand the weight of the act.

•  The couple jumps forward (never backward – that would symbolise divorce).

•  Everyone cheers and throws rice, birdseed, or flower petals as they land on the “married” side.

Modern Pagan & Witchcraft Versions

Today’s witches, Wiccans, and eclectic Pagans have revived and expanded the ritual:

•  The besom is crafted or decorated by the couple themselves, often with crystals, charms, and herbs corresponding to their intentions.

•  It is cleansed and consecrated before the wedding (smoke of sage, rosemary, or mugwort; sprinkled with salted water or moon water).

•  Some covens have the couple jump three times: once for the past (honouring ancestors), once for the present (choosing each other), once for the future (leaping into shared life).

•  After the wedding, the besom is kept in the couple’s home – usually hung above the bed or over the front door – as a protective talisman for the marriage.

How to Perform a Jumping the Broom Ceremony Today

1.  Choose or make a special besom (it should not be your everyday cleaning broom).

2.  Decorate it according to your heritage or intention.

3.  During the ceremony, an officiant or elder explains the meaning so guests feel the depth of the moment.

4.  Lay the broom flat on the ground.

5.  The couple holds hands (sometimes their wrists are lightly bound with a cord first – another handfasting echo).

6.  At the call of “On three – one, two, three – JUMP!” they leap together over the besom, landing on the other side as married/partners for life.

7.  Loud cheering, bells, drums, or clapping greet them.

8.  The broom is later displayed in the home; many believe stepping over it accidentally afterward brings bad luck to the marriage, so it is kept high or horizontal.

Whether you trace your lineage to Welsh hedgerows, West African villages, Romani caravans, or the quarters of American plantations, jumping the broom is ultimately the same powerful declaration:

“We choose each other.

The ancestors see us.

The community holds us.

With this leap, we begin.”

And in that single bound, the besom once again proves itself the most magical of tools – a bridge between worlds, a marker of sacred passage, and a witness to love that refuses to be denied.

The Besom or broom serves us in so many ways and is very much part of our lives and family.

At a Handfasting it is the entity that binds us as we cross over the threshold from single life to your lives as a loving couple. 

For more information on Handfasting you can read our forthcoming article on the subject.