Picasso, Baphomet, and the Witches Sabbath

DEVIL IN DALEY PLAZA?

Diaries Link Picasso Icon to Satanic Society; Sets Stage for Spring Showdown

By SAM ROYKO | Tribune Staff Columnist

Monday, January 26, 2026

CHICAGO — The wind off the lake is currently zero degrees, but the debate heating up inside City Hall is blistering. For nearly sixty years, the "Chicago Picasso" has stood as the rusty, enigmatic sentry of the Loop. We called it a bird, a dog, a woman, or just "that thing." But if a newly discovered cache of journals from the artist’s estate is to be believed, we have been freezing our toes at the feet of the Devil himself.

The journals, dubbed the "Ombre Diaries," were authenticated this week and reveal Pablo Picasso’s deep, secret involvement with the Ordre de la Main Gauche (Order of the Left Hand). They suggest the 162-ton sculpture is not an abstract pet, but a Cubist "battery" modeled after the Baphomet—the goat-headed deity drawn by occultist Eliphas Lévi.

The revelation lands three months before what was already promising to be a controversial spring: The Witches Sabbath 2026.

The Looming Sabbath

Scheduled for April 30th through May 3rd, the event is a massive Walpurgis Night celebration organized by the notorious artist and occultist Shane Bugbee.

Bugbee is no stranger to controversy. A close friend and confidant of the late Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, Bugbee is considered by many to be the mastermind behind the modern resurgence of public satanic ritual. He has made it clear that the upcoming Sabbath will center on the Picasso statue, which he claims was "always intended as an altar."

"Picasso was a magician," Bugbee said in a statement released yesterday. "He hid the Baphomet in plain sight. Come April, we intend to wake it up."

Ghosts of 2022

The early release of these diaries has reopened old wounds from the inaugural Witches Sabbath in 2022. That event, also held in Chicago, ended in chaos when it was raided by a massive show of force.

Attendees of the 2022 gathering recall the scene vividly: 12 squad cars, a police helicopter circling low overhead, and the deployment of the Domestic Terrorism Task Force to shut down what was essentially an art performance.

"It was overkill, plain and simple," says local historian and Sabbath attendee Marcus Thorne. "They treated artists like insurgents. Now that we know the statue's history, the city has three months to decide if they are going to respect the art, or censor it again."

The Artist’s Darker Shade

While the idea of a "Satanic Picasso" sounds like fiction, art historians admit the breadcrumbs have always been there. Picasso was the godson and close friend of Max Jacob, a poet deeply entrenched in the Parisian occult underground of the 1920s.

Scholars have long debated the imagery in Picasso’s 1925 painting The Studio, which features severed arms and builder’s squares. The new diaries seemingly confirm that his "gift" to Chicago was the culmination of a lifetime of shadow work.

"He refused to explain the sculpture because an explanation would have been a confession," notes Dr. Elena Corves, who analyzed the documents. "He built a temple to the Horned One in the center of a Catholic city."

"No Helicopters This Time"

With months to go before the event, City Hall is already trying to lower the temperature. Mayor Brandon Johnson, facing a reelection battle and keen to showcase Chicago as a global cultural hub, has signaled that the Witches Sabbath will be allowed to proceed this spring.

A high-ranking source within the Chicago Police Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, promised a stark departure from the heavy-handed tactics of 2022.

"We aren't planning to send the cavalry," the source said regarding the April operational plan. "You won't see 12 squad cars, a helicopter, and the Task Force rolling down Washington Street just because folks are wearing robes. We learned our lesson five years ago. As long as it’s playful and peaceful, they are welcome."

A City of Many Faiths

The softened stance also reflects the city's unique spiritual evolution. In the last few years, Chicago has become a strange Mecca for the devout and the divergent alike.

On the South Side, the legendary Father Michael Pfleger continues his crusade for justice from the pulpit of St. Sabina. And just last year, the Catholic world was stunned when a "local boy" ascended to the Chair of Saint Peter.

Pope Robert Francis Prevost—born in Chicago, raised in Dolton, and educated at Villanova—is the first American Pope. He is a man who grew up riding the CTA and knows the city's grit intimately.

In a city that produced both Father Pfleger and Pope Leo, is there room for Shane Bugbee and his Baphomet?

"Chicago is a city of broad shoulders and open minds," Mayor Johnson said yesterday. "We don't ban art, and we don't ban beliefs. If Picasso left us a riddle, we have until April to figure it out."

https://occultpicasso.com/