Netflix and Warner Brothers were hit with a $150 million dollar lawsuit over the appearance of the satanic deity Baphomet in their new series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and the ones filing the lawsuit (might surprise you) are The Satanic Temple, not to be confused with The Church of Satan. The Satanic Temple is a progressive and more politically involved movement that was formed in 2012.
The reason for the upset is the focus of the show takes place around a school called The Academy of Unseen Arts in which a statue of Baphomet is seen. The Satanic Temple claims the show not only infringed on the copyright of the image of the goat-headed deity but also defamed it and misled audiences to its origin.
In a complaint filed by the Temple (which can be read HERE) it’s mentioned
“Prominent use of this symbol as the central focal point of the school associated with evil, cannibalism, and murder blurs and tarnishes the TST Baphomet with Children as a mark of TST.”
The Satanic Temple has also filed that filming and distribution of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” be halted till the image of Baphomet is removed.
The Satanic Temple’s Baphomet
For those who are curious…
The history of Baphomet is complex, especially in its origin. The image that we’re familiar with did not appear till 1856 in the second volume of “Dogma and Ritual of High Magic” where it was illustrated by French occultist Éliphas Lévi. The name Baphomet was first put to paperback in 1307 when the Knights Templar was accused of worshiping it but no further details were given.
Éliphas Lévi’s drawing of Baphomet
It’s been believed by scholars that (given what was happening in the known world at the time) that this came from a misheard reciting of the name Mohammad as seen in a letter written by a crusader in 1098, “As the next day dawned, they called loudly upon Baphomet; and we prayed silently in our hearts to God, then we attacked and forced all of them outside the city walls.”
