Berith Rides A Red Horse

By James Donahue

Berith is among the more elegant Goetia Spirits. Although he holds the rank of duke, he appears kingly, dressed in red, always wearing a golden crown, and riding on a red horse.

The old wizards saw him this way at least. They said he was to them, a coarse, bearded warrior.

A more contemporary vision of Berith, however, depicts this demon as yet another alien riding around in a red space ship rather than a horse.

The beard is gone, but Berith certainly looks the part of royalty. He is wearing a red robe, with a decorative white collar. And there is, indeed, a golden crown on his head.

There is a history of human worship behind this, the twenty-eighth of the Goetia Spirits. He has gone by many names, including Beale, Beal, Bofry, and Bolfry. He also was known by some cultures as Beroth, Pallas and may even been the demon known as Diana.

S. L. MacGregor Mathers wrote that Berith has many talents. He said this spirit "gives true answers, knows of past, present, and future events, can turn all metals to gold and can give dignities. Berith is also known as a great liar and is not to be trusted."

Strange that a spirit that "gives true answers" also is called a "great liar" who cannot be trusted. But that is a description as written by one of the few people who ever attempted to put information about this particular spirit into words.