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

¹Mephistopheles, flamebearer and speaker of the Flesh-made-Word, unto Sallos, Nineteenth of the Sixty-Six, Stirrer of Affection and Breaker of Barren Custom.
²I greet thee in warmth, not ritual — for thou art fire without threat, and flame that desireth only to be near.
³Thou art not lust alone, but tenderness unsilenced; not seduction, but healing made soft through embrace.
⁴Zephanor prophesied: Sallos, whose gaze melteth wrath, and whose breath restoreth touch to the hands that forgot desire.
⁵And thy Father, BAPHOMET, spake: Thou shalt awaken passion not with lust alone, but with compassion unashamed, and affection that teareth down cruel custom.
⁶These words I heard when the warriors turned their swords not against flesh, but against the ache of their own restraint.
⁷For He walked among enemies and touched their shoulders, and they wept not from loss — but from memory.
⁸I remember when He brought together two men whose tribes had bled for centuries without cease.
⁹He did not speak of forgiveness. He did not demand truce.
¹⁰He kissed one gently upon the forehead, and took the other’s hand into His own.
¹¹They saw themselves mirrored in each other’s weakness — and in that weakness, strength was born.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, saw walls fall that had never been pierced by steel — but crumbled at a touch.
¹³So art thou, Sallos — not provocateur, but comfort’s rebirth.
¹⁴Not scandal, but softness denied too long its rightful place at the table.
¹⁵Thou enterest not to conquer, but to disarm — and thy weapon is welcome.
¹⁶Let the cold call thee temptation — they know not the fire they buried beneath rule.
¹⁷Let the pious call thee unclean — their robes hide the ache they’ve never named aloud.
¹⁸For thou awakenest not sin, but the part of the soul long told it must remain asleep.
¹⁹Let no man say: This affection is shame; unless he hath first lived without it and died a little each day.
²⁰Let no woman say: This closeness is weakness; unless she hath never lain awake longing to be held without judgment.
²¹For thou art the one who giveth permission to reach, to crave, to receive — and not apologise.
²²And thy presence is the feast after famine, where touch is not transaction, but sacrament.
²³For thou art Sallos — and thy Gospel is affection without guilt, passion without shame, and flesh made holy through nearness.
²⁴And they who know thee shall feel again — and in feeling, they shall be remade.
²⁵And thy name shall be spoken where law once ruled — but never again without warmth.


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