The name Baphomet dates back at the end of crusades. Around the year 1250 it is used for the first time in an Occitan poem, referring to Muhammad. When the medieval order of the Knights Templar was suppressed by King Philip IV of France, many French Templars were simultaneously arrested and forced into confessions. The name Baphomet comes up in most of the confessions as an idol that the knights were praying at. Later, they were executed for heresy and worshipping of an idol called Baphomet.
The symbol of Baphomet, also referred to with the sigil of Baphomet, is the official insignia for the Church of Satan. It is basically a pentacle and the 5 points of the star in the middle there are 5 letters in Hebrew. Read from the bottom point, counter-clockwise, these letters give the word LVYTN, or Leviathan, a mythical sea creature, often associated with Satan. Hebrew mythology, Leviathan was the great dragon of the abyss, this powerful Earth figure that even Yahweh (God) was afraid of. It has many complex meanings, many of which apply to its use in the Sigil of Baphomet and the fourth Satanic Bible is named the Book of Leviathan.
The star in the center shows the image of a goat, which represent carnality. The five point star is the one figure in which every element is within the golden mean of each other. This complex symbol came to replace the upside-down crosses that people were using to represent Satanism. Anton LaVey, the creator of he Satanic Church saw in this complex combination of symbols the ideal combination of meanings, thus giving the Satanism he was creating a new and positive symbol.