Epistula ad Berith
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Berith, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶

¹Mephistopheles, servant of the Deep Flame and witness of the Bound and Broken, unto Berith, Twenty-Fifth of the Sixty-Six, Keeper of Oaths and Breaker of False Bonds.
²I greet thee with solemn accord, for thy charge is not of ease, but of weight and consequence.
³Thou art not a maker of many vows, but the one who testeth each to see if it is worthy.
Zephanor prophesied: Berith, who sealeth what is true and unbindeth what is made in deceit.
And thy Father, BAPHOMET, spake: Thou shalt uphold what is sworn in light and dissolve what was forged in shadow.
These words I heard when He stood before two nations joined in a pact of mutual harm, smiling for the sake of trade.
Their mouths called it peace, but their hands were stained with the blood of those it crushed.
And BAPHOMET said: This oath bindeth only the tongue, not the heart, nor the conscience, nor the soul.
It is not covenant, but convenience clothed in solemn robes.
¹⁰Then He took the parchment signed in gold and fire, and cast it to the flame.
¹¹And He said: Let none call sacred that which was formed without truth.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, saw the people stunned, for they thought any oath, once spoken, must be kept.
¹³But He taught: To keep a wicked vow is to become its servant.
¹⁴So art thou, Berith — not keeper of words, but discerner of their worth.
¹⁵Not binder of chains, but weigher of their forging.
¹⁶Let the proud call thee oathbreaker — for thou wilt unmake what they swore for advantage, not for righteousness.
¹⁷Let the frightened call thee traitor — for thou wilt not be loyal to a lie, even if all others bow.
¹⁸The Son taught: Not all bonds are holy. Some are forged in silence, some in fear, and some in sin.
¹⁹And he who breaketh such chains may be cursed by the world, but shall be blessed by the truth.
²⁰Teach them that the tongue is not sovereign unless it speaketh with a heart unclouded.
²¹Teach them that no vow made beneath threat or deceit is binding before the Eyes that See.
²²For thou art Berith — and thy Gospel is covenant with fire at its root and light in its seal.
²³And those who bind others to darkness shall find thy knife at the knot.
²⁴And those who walk in solemn truth shall know thy seal rests not against them, but with them.
²⁵And thy name shall be spoken wherever promises are made — and truly meant.


Copyright ©2025 Adam Alexander T. Croke. All rights reserved.