In reply to Alessandro Davies.

No they don't play on it, they ARE it.

Baphomet, the symbol of the satanic goat, usually portrayed as a half human, half goat figure, or a goat head. It is often misinterpreted as a symbol of witch-craft in general. It is used by Satanists, but is not used by neo-pagan witches who do not worship the devil

In the middle ages the Baphomet was believed to be an idol, represented by a human skull, a stuffed humans head or a metal or wooden human head with curly black hair. The idol was said to be worshipped by the Order of Knights Templar as the source of fertility and WEALTH.

In 1307 King Phillip IV of France accused the Order of the Knights Templar of heresy, homosexuality and among other things, worshipping this idol and anointing it with the fat of murdered children. However, only 12 of the 231 knights interrogated by the church admitted worshipping or having knowledge of the Baphomet. Novices said they had been instructed to worship the idol as their god and savior, and their descriptions of it varied: it had up to three heards and up to four feet; it was made of either wood or metal, or was a painting, sometimes it was a gift.

The Church of Satan, founded in 1966 in San Francisco, adopted another rendition of baphomet to symbolize Satanism. The symbol is a goats head drawn within an inverted pentacle, enclosed in a outer circle, hebraic figures at each point in the pentagram spell ot leviathan, a huge water serpent associated with the devil. In Church of Satan rituals, the sigil of Baphomet is hung on the wall behind the alter. The Baphomet may also be worn as a medallion.