7/30/2019 Pan Recipe

1/2

Eliphas Levi, whose drawing of Baphomet is shownhere, intended this image to represent "the god ofprimitive Gnostic schools," a version of Pan. I think

we can see, though, that this Pan is very differentfrom that of the Greeks. Baphomet is like Hermes amagical teacher who unites in himself male andfemale, but Baphomet also unites the Four Elementsand symbolizes the raw power or Prima Materia ofmagic itself. Where Hermes is typically connected tohigh, fast-vibrating smells like dill and lavender, this

is a slower, smoother scent, in keeping withBaphomet's seated stance, and it is much moresubtle than any scent I might craft for Pan. I tend touse lots of resinous scents in my oils, but this one isdominated by a warm muskiness with a bit a zing.The scent of lemongrass comes charging out at firstand then settles down and hums along with the otheringredients, which work together to provide a slow,

deep musk. You can smell sun-warmed fur, which isactually the scent of bees, not mammals; I use apropolis tincture in jojoba as the base. This scentcombines well with the valerian, cumin and othermusky herbs and is smoothed out with some niceethically harvested white sandalwood. It is asteadying scent that yet allows awakening of the

intellect--a good combination for magical work.

The Goat of Mendes, which is generally taken as theimage of Baphomet, was popularized in the esoteric

7/30/2019 Pan Recipe

2/2

world by the French mage Eliphas Levi. He mean it tobe a version of Pan that represented a deity ofprimitive Gnosticism. This deity, however, differsquite a bit from the Pan of ancient Greece. He has

much more in common with Hermes, to my mind. Heis a teacher of magic, and like Hermes he is ahermaphrodite, uniting male and female withinhimself (or hirself?). The Four Elements are alsounified in him; he symbolizes the Prima Materia ofmagic. The scents associated with Hermes tend to bequite zingy--lavender and seeds of the Umbelliferae,

like celery--but because Baphomet has a stronganimal aspect, this incense is a much smoother scentand does not have the high vibration rate one wouldexpect from typical Mercury. After all, not only doesBaphomet lack wings on his heels, but he is seated.The incense has some muskiness to it fromfenugreek, darkness from juniper berry, and

smoothness from anise. The freshness of intellect istransmitted through the use of mastic here andlemongrass. Several other herbs, resins and spicescombine to make this a nice spicy, smooth incensethat evokes the spirit of Baphomet, particularly foraid in magical work, and is helpful in awakening theintellect