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.

His entry is one of the few to record the names a spirit had among different groups of people. Each part below carries a label for its layer, explained in how to read a spirit page.

At a glance

The 1904 entry

Historical The full entry from the 1904 edition, with footnote numbers and the dash after the heading left out and the heading set in ordinary type:

Berith. 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 is a Great Liar, and not to be trusted unto. He governeth 26 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, etc.

Berith is “a Mighty, Great, and Terrible Duke” with “two other Names given unto him by men of later times”, Beale (or Beal) and Bofry (or Bolfry). He appears as a soldier in red on a red horse, with a gold crown. He answers about past, present and future, must be called with a ring “as is before spoken of regarding Beleth”, turns all metals into gold, gives and confirms dignities, and speaks “with a very clear and subtle Voice”. Then comes the warning: “He is a Great Liar, and not to be trusted unto.”

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 The offices of Berith, in the order the 1904 text 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.

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.

Historical Weyer is more specific about the three names: “à quibusdam Beal, à Iudæis Berith, à necromanticis Bolfri”, Beal to some, Berith to the Jews, Bolfri to necromancers. The Latin also says “Mendax etiam est”, he is also a liar; the 1904 text makes this stronger, “a Great Liar, and not to be trusted unto”. Some later reprints and online transcriptions drop that sentence, so check which text you are reading. (About Weyer and Scot.)

Name and etymology

Historical Beal resembles Baal, and Berith the Hebrew word for covenant, discussed under later tradition below. Bolfri has no known meaning.

Seal and images

Historical The seal above is Berith’s as printed in 1904, and by the rules of the Observations it would be made in copper, the metal of his rank. Why seals were worn, why editions draw them differently and how to study one are explained in seals, circle and triangle.

Later tradition Le Breton’s 1863 plate shows a crowned rider on a rearing horse, close to the red soldier of the text.

Later tradition and modern practice

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

Lore about Berith’s personality, likes or chosen people is modern, not grimoire material; modern approaches explains where such claims come from.

Beginner’s quick reference

Before you burn or handle anything listed for Berith, read incense, plants and offerings.

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.

In the directory, Berith is not among the 30 spirits that fit the beginner criteria.

Try this: one question to study

List the three names in Weyer’s Latin and who used each, then compare the 1904 phrase “men of later times”.

What next

To compare Berith with other spirits of his rank, read Astaroth and Bune.

Later tradition In the Golden Dawn scheme of the decans, Berith is the day spirit of the first decan of Capricorn, which belongs to the Two of Pentacles; the night spirit of the same decan is Haures (spirit 64).