28. Berith: a duke of the Ars Goetia

How to read the labels Historical what the old sources say. Later tradition what later writers added. Modern modern practice and my own notes.

Berith is number 28 in the catalog of 72 spirits that opens the Lesser Key of Solomon. The 1904 edition by S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley calls him a duke ruling 26 legions, and the first office it gives him is this: Berith gives true answers, past, present, and to come.

Here I go through his entry layer by layer: the old text first, then what later centuries added, then modern practice, each part labeled so you can see how old it is.

If you came here wondering whether Berith suits a beginner, the short answer is in the Practical notes below: he does not meet the three beginner criteria I use, and I explain why.

At a glance

Historical These are the facts of the entry itself, from the 1904 text and its Observations.

• Number: 28 of 72, in the 1904 order.
• Name and spellings: Berith in 1904; other spellings: Beale, Beal, Bofry, Bolfry (1904), Beall (Weyer, Scot), Baal-Berith.
• Rank and legions: Duke, 26 legions.
• Metal of his rank (Observations): copper.
• Hours for dukes (Observations): “From Sunrise till Noonday in Clear Weather.”
• In Weyer’s catalog (1577): yes, as the source comparison below shows.

The Observations also say to work only when the Moon is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 days old. These rules show how the Goetia imagined its spirits, as officials with office hours. You do not need them to read the entry, and the facts table above gives the short version.

The seal (1904)

Historical The seal shown above is Berith’s seal as printed in the 1904 edition, in a faithful vector drawing of that public-domain printing. The Observations ask for each seal to be made in the metal of the spirit’s rank, which for Berith means copper. In the text’s world the seal identifies the spirit and protects the magician; several entries say it is worn on the breast as a lamen.

Seals are not identical from one source to the next. The 1904 versions follow the manuscripts Mathers used, and later books and websites sometimes redraw, simplify or mix them. If two seals for the same spirit disagree, ask which edition each one follows.

Modern Looking at a seal does nothing on its own; it is a drawing in an old book. Modern practitioners almost always draw seals on paper rather than casting them in metal. Copying Berith’s seal slowly by hand is also a good study exercise, because you notice lines and circles that the eye skips.

Appearance

Historical Berith is “a Mighty, Great, and Terrible Duke.” He appears “in the Form of a Soldier with Red Clothing, riding upon a Red Horse, and having a Crown of Gold upon his head.” He “speaketh with a very clear and subtle Voice.”

Offices in the Ars Goetia

Historical These are all the offices the 1904 text gives him, in the order it gives them.

• Gives true answers, past, present, and to come.
• Can turn all metals into gold.
• Can give dignities and confirm them.
• Is “a Great Liar, and not to be trusted unto.”

Mathers notes that this “hardly agrees” with the claim that Berith gives true answers. He governs 26 legions. The magician must use a ring in calling him, “as is before spoken of regarding Beleth.”

The text adds that “he hath two other Names given unto him by men of later times,” Beale or Beal, and Bofry or Bolfry.

Offices of harm or compulsion are part of the historical record, and reporting them is not endorsing them. For how offices work across the 72, see ranks and offices.

Source comparison: Weyer and Scot

Historical Scot’s Weyer says Berith “hath three names. Of some he is called Beall; of the Jewes Berith; of Nigromancers Bolfry.” He comes as “a red souldier, with red clothing, and upon a horsse of that colour, and a crowne on his head.” Weyer also says he is compelled at a certain hour “by a ring of art magicke.” Scot’s margin calls him “a golden divell,” for his gold-making office. Both give 26 legions.

Weyer’s catalog appeared in 1577 and Reginald Scot translated it into English in 1584. Comparing the two with the 1904 text shows how much the Goetia owes to them, and where it changed or added things. More in Weyer and Scot.

Later tradition

Later tradition The name Berith comes from Hebrew berit, “covenant.” The Hebrew Bible mentions a god called Baal-Berith, “lord of the covenant,” worshipped at Shechem (Judges 8:33 and 9:4). Christian demonology turned this into a demon’s name. The link is a name, not a preserved cult.

Modern practice and pop culture

Modern Modern writers often present Berith as a spirit of alchemy, because of the gold office.

Some things said about Berith online are not in any grimoire at all: personalities, favorite foods, signs that a spirit has “picked” someone, or birth demons. They come from modern writing and social media. Treat them as one person’s experience, not as facts about the old text.

Beginner’s quick reference

Each line below is labeled by layer, so you can see how old each piece is.

• Rank metal and hours (Goetia): Duke: copper; sunrise to noon, in clear weather.
• Planet (later tradition: Golden Dawn and Crowley’s 777): Venus.
• Decan and day or night spirit (later tradition: 777): Capricorn, first decan (0 to 10 degrees); day spirit. 777 decan incense: asafetida (irritating smoke; not for beginners).
• Commonly reported color, incense, and plant (modern UPG; sources copy each other): Color green; incense sandalwood; plant heliotrope (reported in some sources; toxic: do not burn, ingest, or handle).
• Associated symbols: Goetia image: a soldier in red on a red horse, with a gold crown; a clear voice. 777 Magical Image: the same, adding bad breath. Le Breton engraving (1863): a crowned rider on a horse. Modern Demonolatry/UPG: the seal, used as an altar image.
• Associated offerings: Modern practice, not in the Goetia manuscripts: most often listed, sandalwood.

Incense means smoke. If you burn any, use a stick or cone with a window open, no charcoal indoors, and none at all in a home with pet birds or anyone with asthma. A plant listed here is a correspondence, not something to eat or burn, and a plant without a warning is not automatically safe. Modern offering lists copy one another, so “most often listed” means widely copied, not confirmed. Water, light, time or a note of thanks is always enough.

Practical notes

Berith is a duke, but the text calls him “Terrible” and requires the ring. His offices are divination, gold-making, and dignities, with no teaching office, and the text calls him a great liar. This spirit falls outside the beginner criteria. Alchemy as a historical subject is fascinating and can be studied through books, without any contact work.

The beginner criteria I use have three parts: the spirit is not a king, at least one office is teaching, and the entry does not center on harm, deception or compulsion. In the directory, Berith is not among the 31 spirits that fit.

To compare Berith with other spirits of his rank, read Astaroth and Bune. Dukes are the largest group in the Goetia. The 1904 Classified List counts 23 of them, and their offices range from teaching languages to causing storms. A duke sits below kings and princes in the court the text imagines, and in the Observations dukes have the shortest hours: from sunrise to noon, in clear weather.

How to study this entry

Studying Berith needs only the texts, a notebook and some patience. This is the method I suggest for every entry.

1. Read the offices above in order and write each one in your own words.
2. Compare the 1904 wording with Scot’s English in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (Book 15, chapter 2), which is free to read online.
3. Copy the seal by hand, slowly, and note anything you missed at first glance.
4. Keep a two-column log: what the text says on the left, and what you have read online or feel about it on the right.

Then go back to all 72 spirits and read a neighbor or two. The entries make more sense side by side than alone.