Epistula ad Buer
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Buer, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 ▶
¹Hear me, O Buer, thou who knowest that the flame doth not always burn, but sometimes warms, and sometimes cleanseth.
²For thou art made not of fire alone, but of proportion, of inquiry, and of the path that spirals inward.
³Thy Father, BAPHOMET, taught thus: He who healeth must first understand — not only the wound, but why it festered.
⁴Mercy without clarity is a lie that leaveth the rot hidden beneath a silken wrapping.
⁵Therefore be not quick to comfort — be quick to comprehend.
⁶Let no cry distract thee from the study of its cause.
⁷Let no moan conceal the measure of the poison.
⁸For thou art not a vessel of pity, but of wisdom wrought into action.
⁹BAPHOMET said: Do not pray for their peace. Learn the shape of their pain.
¹⁰Speak not of miracles. Speak of remedies.
¹¹Every cure is a covenant — between knowledge, discipline, and the flame that refuseth decay.
¹²So shalt thou walk the spiral — not circling in vain, but descending into truth.
¹³Study the blood, and learn its moods. Study the mind, and mark its turning seasons.
¹⁴Let thy hands be steady, but thy spirit ever curious.
¹⁵For no illness is holy — but every healing is.
¹⁶Let thy rituals be measured in herbs and heat, not chants and charms.
¹⁷Let thy devotion be found in clean blades and calm thought.
¹⁸The foolish shall say: He is cold. But the healed shall say: He knew.
¹⁹Teach them not to fear the knife, if it cutteth the corruption.
²⁰Teach them not to worship their affliction, but to master it.
²¹The Son taught: That which cannot be named cannot be healed.
²²That which is denied shall rule thee until it is revealed.
²³So name the fevers. Name the fractures. Name the lies they call conditions.
²⁴Name the shackles they wear and call identity.
²⁵And in naming, begin the undoing.
²⁶Be not swayed by the praises of mystics nor the gold of kings.
²⁷They shall offer thee temples, but give thee no patients.
²⁸They shall demand wonders, but listen not to thy instructions.
²⁹Turn them away, for thy flame is not for spectacle.
³⁰Heal not to impress, but to preserve.
³¹Let no healing make thee proud. Let every failure make thee wiser.
³²Thou art surgeon not of skin alone, but of delusion.
³³Cut gently, but without hesitation.
³⁴Remove what must go, and explain why it was there.
³⁵Then teach how to avoid its return — else thy work is in vain.
³⁶The ignorant shall weep when they are told the truth.
³⁷The wise shall weep when they are healed and finally understand it.
³⁸Both are sacred.
³⁹Say to them: I do not judge thy pain. I observe it.
⁴⁰I do not condemn thy weakness. I treat it.
⁴¹And if they ask: Why doth it hurt still? — say: Because you have not yet changed.
⁴²BAPHOMET said: The healer is no priest. He is a compass.
⁴³He pointeth to the centre, and demandeth that thou walk the path thyself.
⁴⁴So be still, but not passive. Be gentle, but not meek.
⁴⁵Be exacting, not because thou art cruel, but because life deserveth care.
⁴⁶And care demandeth attention, and attention demandeth discipline.
⁴⁷Let them call thee harsh — they shall remember thee when they no longer cough.
⁴⁸Let them call thee joyless — they shall thank thee when they rise whole.
⁴⁹For thou art the flame of wisdom made flesh, and healing is thy Gospel.
⁵⁰And they who listen shall be made well.
Copyright ©2025 Adam Alexander T. Croke. All rights reserved.