Berith

The 28th Spirit of the Ars Goetia (Art by Louis Le Breton)

**Berith**  is the 28th demonic spirit of the Ars Goetia and a Great Duke of Hell.

## Overview

Berith is a particularly ruthless demon, holding the title of Great Duke of Hell, he is both powerful and terrible, with twenty-six legions of demons under his command. As violent as he is vile, he revels in war and have been causing it since his fall from grace in the ancient times. He is a genius in warfare, both in the actual battle and planning that involves it, Asmodeus himself calling Berith one of the greatest soldiers and generals in Infernal history.

Berith is also the chief secretary of Hell, head of its public archives, and the demon who tempted men to blasphemy and murder. When seated among the princes of Hell, he was usually seen as the Grand pontiff for Order of the Fly.

When he was once an angel, Berith was prince of the order of Cherubim, believed to have personally served under Satan himself.

He serves as a master of ceremonies, he notarizes Pacts with the Devil.

He is respected and worshipped by alchemists and necromancers. Berith was important to some alchemists, who believed he had the power to transmute all base metals into gold. He was tricky to conjure, however, and had to be summoned with magic rings bearing his Seal. He was known for making great promises, but also for being a great liar.

## Appearance

He rides a gigantic red horse and burns those without manners. He is depicted as a knight or soldier wearing red armour and a golden crown wielder either a sword, lance or trident, according to other grimoires his skin is red too.

## Personality

To describe Berith in one world, it would be violence. As the self-declared Lord of War, warfare is his focus and he revels in all types of it. He stands as one of the most brutal yet no less intelligent in battle, able to plan and scheme to gain victory even with the greatest of disadvantages. It with this that makes him very respected even among his fellow demons, with many envious of him as well. It was this brutality and tactical skills that made Asmodeus personally choose him as his top general in Hell's armadas.

Even in non-war situations, Berith is still quite intelligent and very good at whatever roles he takes, as seen with the many roles he holds. Strangely for the type of demon he is, Berith is very focused on making thing as ordered as possible even though he is a purely chaotic fiend. This is likely due to being both the chief secretary of Hell as well as head of its public archives. He is also quite adept with magic, especially with alchemy and necromancy, that even those who have trained with these arts since the beginning would not nearly have the amount of knowledge and experience that Berith holds.

Berith is quite an interesting demon, he can be spiteful, hostile and detached but at the same stand loyal and chivalrous. Berith takes pleasure in his purpose corrupting the strong-willed and arrogance of humans though he also enjoys being alone and drinking the blood of doves. Berith stands as one of the demons that hates humans in general, especially those who believe themselves to have power and do nothing with it. He is also quite a liar to humans, as when not asked an actual question, he would simply say a falsehood so convincingly that even skeptics would believe it.

No brutality and cruelty is too much for him, and he was willing to push King Xerxes to invade the Greek city-states just so he could feed upon the bloodshed it would result in. Even the god Hermes stated that Berith holds the best traits of Athena (her tactical genius and great planning skills) and Ares (his adaptability and overwhelming skill in battle) without any of their morality and care, with Ares himself seeing him as what he could have become if he allowed his lust for war to consume him.

## Power and Abilities

As a demons, Berith has the basic traits his race usually has such as superhuman strength and agility, the ability to shot fire from his weapons and even mouth along with the power to use magical gates to teleport all over Hell and Earth. In his demonic spirit form, his main power is that perspective manipulation which he uses by creating illusions to corrupt humans to sin by simply altering ones view on situations. He gives true answers to all things past, present and future as long as he is asked, but when not answering questions is a liar with his lies being so convincing that even the skeptical would believe it to be truthful.

He can turn any metal no matter its quality into pure gold, as well as give dignities to others and confirm them.

In fact, if he is lured by a handsome reward, he will ensure that great public dignities and manifold riches are bestowed upon the conjurer. Finally, he possesses the rather singular power or lending clarity of sound and ease of elocution to the voices of singers. The magician must use a ring to magically divert the flaming, noxious fumes from the mouth of the demon.

Other powers that he possess are as follow:

* **Divination**
* **Transmutation**: Berith can change his own shape and be whoever he wants desires, including that of world leaders which he has taken so he can create wars to feed on.
* **Inferna-Ergokinesis**: Berith is able to create constructs made by demonic energy of whatever he desires.
* **Creation of Weapons**: As Lord of War, Berith can create all manners of weapons including swords, daggers, spears, lances, tridents, halberds and even bows (which he uses to shoot arrows of demonic energy).
	+ **Dark Weapons**: Berith can create blades and bows (along with arrows that can assimilates the victim if struck) of pure shadow capable of killing lesser divinities.
* **Incitement to Murder**: Berith, through mind control or telepathy, can incite the victim to commit murders without question. It is even believed that he had created many serial killers who kill at his command.
* **Knowledge of the Past and the Future**: Berith knows the past of anyone and is able to use it to predict the future without any limit.

## History

Berith is a demonic spirit born from the fires of hell or a Fallen Angel who joined Lucifer, who's sole purpose was to corrupt human souls to damnation.

During his one of his possession he went for a easy target and and tried to drag the soul of a young male from Nepali to hell. However during the proses a guardian angel in the area detected his presence and tried to save the young human’s soul. In fear of his own safety Berith panicked and incinerated the human soul into nothingness and tried to escape, But before Berith could return to hell the angel merged the demonic spirit with the human body in order to properly end Berith's existence so he could no longer due harm to humanity. Berith instead was able to absorb the remaining human essence before entering Hell.

He was also quite a voluble sort: according to the Admirable History written by Father Sebastien Michaelis in 1612, Berith once possessed a nun in Aix-en-Provence. In the process of the exorcism, Berith volunteered not only his own name and the names of all the other demons possessing her, but the names of the saints who would be most effective in opposing them. It seems that Lord Berith has a bit of history with the kings and churches that came after his time.

Long ago Berith was the patron god of the city of Canaan. He was beloved by all of his people; so much so that they made small figurines of him and carried them around, occasionally pulling them out to kiss them as worship. He was even more popular than the kings of the region, so when his subjects in the area began uprising, King Abimelech of the Philistines destroyed Berith's temple and banished any worship of him. Those who continued to worship him were persecuted and became considered idolaters. Thus, his once good name became demonized by those who wanted control of his city and people.

It seems he took offense to how quickly his own people turned their backs on him and seems to have great disdain for the organized religions that followed his downfall.

### Prophecy

After the slave uprising in Pandemonium, several demons attempted to enter to the mortal world. Berith was one of such that seduced a mortal named Trent to become his vessel. Ashley Strode prevented him from fully crossing over and sent him back to Hell.

## Myth and Legends

Berith is the Hebrew word for covenant, it was originated from the Akkanadian (Babylonian) word 'Biritu' which means to 'fetter' or 'to bond'. Baal Berith was a form of Baal worshiped in Berith (Beirut), Phoenicia. He is also called Beal, Berithi, Bofry, Bolfry and Bolfri by necromancers. In Alchemy Berith was the element with which all metals could be transmuted into gold, surely derived from the name of the demon Berith.

Although he might not be as well-known as Abaddon - the demon in charge of arranging aggressions against humans - Berith is a formidable and tricky demon. Serving a dual role as both the Duke of Hell and Satan's secretary, he is responsible for a variety of tasks, including formalizing Satan's pacts with mortals.

In “Le tresor d’Albert Petit”, a method of conjuring him under a form resembling can be found. On a Monday night a black chicken is bled at a crossroads. One must say:

*Berith will do all my work for twenty years and I shall recompense him.*

Or else one may write the spell on a piece of virgin parchment with the chicken's blood. The demon thus evoked will appear the same day, and put himself completely at the conjurer's disposal. But after twenty years, Berith will claim his reward for services rendered.

Original text from the Ars Goetia

*"The Twenty-eighth Spirit in Order, as Solomon bound them, is named Berith. He is a Mighty, Great, and Terrible Duke. He hath two other Names given unto him by men of later times, viz.: BEALE, or BEAL, and BOFRY or BOLFRY. He appeareth in the Form of a Soldier with Red Clothing, riding upon a Red Horse, and having a Crown of Gold upon his head. He giveth true answers, Past, Present, and to Come. Thou must make use of a Ring in calling him forth, as is before spoken of regarding Beleth. He can turn all metals into Gold. He can give Dignities, and can confirm them unto Man. He speaketh with a, very clear and subtle Voice. He governeth 26 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, etc."*

From Tikaboo

*"He is a Mighty, Great, and Terrible Duke. He hath two other Names given unto him by men of later times, viz.: BEALE, or BEAL, and BOFRY or BOLFRY. He appeareth in the Form of a Soldier with Red Clothing, riding upon a Red Horse, and having a Crown of Gold upon his head. He giveth true answers, Past, Present, and to Come. Thou must make use of a Ring in calling him forth, as is before spoken of regarding Beleth. He can turn all metals into Gold. He can give Dignities, and can confirm them unto Man. He speaketh with a, very clear and subtle Voice. He governeth 26 Legions of Spirits."*

From the Luciferian Goetia by Michael Ford

*"In an initiatory context, Berith may be a tool in the understanding of the self – including the ‘turning of gold’, i.e. the self coming into being or strengthening in form. The fiery essence of the self. Berith proves a powerful Goetic servitor to summon and guard when introspective rites of self exploration."*

From the Daemonolatry Goetia by S. Connolly

*"Berith seems to prefer the magician come to the correct answer on his own and will often impart mistruths to impart lessons. This seems to be a method of instruction rather than something done underhandedly. A daemon of alchemy. Can teach the magician to help himself."*

### Equivalents

He has a connection with the pagan deity Baal-Berith, a god worshiped in Canaan before he came to be viewed as a demon by the Church, either as his son or as a demonized form.

The term is considered by some to be too abstract to have been occasioned by a single set of conditions. Moreover, the temple of the god in Shechem implies a permanent establishment. Probably the name and the cult were widespread and ancient, though it is mentioned only in connection with the affairs of Shechem. According to the Book of Judges, his temple was destroyed when Abimelech quelled the rising of his subjects. He is also worshipped by the Sichemites, and possibly the same as Beroth of Sanchoniaton, whom some believe to be Pallas or Diana.

## Trivia

* In order to speak with him the conjurer must wear a silver ring and hold it before his face.
* According to some demonologists, his power is stronger in June and his adversary is St. Barnabas.
* In Michaelis' classification of demons, he tempts people with murder, contention, strife and blasphemy. He is one of the demons at the Louviers possession case.
* According to the some sources, Berith is no more than a goblin or elf. Others believe him to be a mandrake or a sylph. Berith himself is understandably perplexed by the beliefs.