Are you curious about their origins, influence, and how to protect against the unknown? If so, then welcome to Southern Demonology, the podcast that explores all of this and more. I know that so many experts claim that if you don't start into the primary talking point of a podcast episode within 30 seconds, then you're doing it wrong. And I don't know, maybe that's true. But to me, showing how I arrived at a particular topic, it's almost as important as the topic itself. And I would love to know your thoughts. If you want to see me skip the meta and go straight into the heart of it, write me.
You can find my information on Southern Demonology.com or leave a comment on any of the social media platforms that I happen to be on. Those links are also on the website. But back to what I was talking about, and that's what I wanted to cover for just a few minutes, if you will please indulge me before getting to the meat and bones, so to speak. Welcome back to Southern Demonology Season 4, Episode 12. And as always, I am your friendly neighborhood academic demonologist JJ. Well, we are the second from the last episode in season four.
I actually have several episodes in the hopper that I really need to edit, but I have a topic that I've been wanting to cover for quite a while now, and I'm afraid that if I don't get it out, then it will consume me. See, a great deal of this season has been either interviews such as my conversations with Chris and Dean from the Wandering Road podcast, Dr. Bert, the psychiatrist, or ones with Father Bertzome and his son Deacon Josh.
I've also had a horror review on the absolutely terrible when evil lurks, along with some custom pieces such as the dangers of opening doors in the Ouija episode, or covering some of the basics of the Satanic Temple and Satanic Church in Hail Yourself. And I am very proud of each one of these episodes. So I never feel pressured to release something just for the sake of getting another episode under my belt. But what I haven't done this season is an academic piece. And considering that's why I started the podcast in the beginning, the yearning to return to that has become immense.
However, I will admit that composing them is a phenomenal amount of work, probably easily quadrupling that of a normal episode. In fact, that's why getting episode 12 took a week longer than expected. I was sick with a stomach bug for nearly two weeks, but then I had to take an extra week to do the research on this one. But it's finally already, and so that's what we will turn our attention to today. By examining a work that is steeped in tradition, in death, but most interestingly in magic. Today we look at Lephaphositic or the Bandlet of Righteousness.
Translated by our favorite, not so favorite scholar, E.A. Wallace Spudge, you can check out episode 45 in season one entitled Philosophies of Translation. If you want a refresher course on who he was and why I am both sympathetic and repelled by his methods of translation. For philologists like myself, even the title is interesting. The second word, Sadek, is a common one that comes from the verb sadka, which means to be righteous, just true, or faithful. The noun version is righteousness. However, the word Lefafa is a unique word in Geez.
August Dillman, in his original Lexicon Linguae Ethiopica Com Indici Latano, a dictionary the scholar wrote completely in Latin, as you might have surmised from the title, in 1865, provides not Gez as the source language, but rather looked to Arabic in order to find cognates to the word. He came up with oblovit convolvite conjunction or to wrap up, to wrap in or to conjoin. And this makes sense in that the Lefaphasidic, according to Budge, quote, was a strip of linen or parchment that was exactly as long as the body of the person for whose benefit it was prepared.
And on this were transcribed a series of eight magical compositions and, presumably, drawings of crosses. It was round around the body of the deceased on the day of burial and was believed to protect it from the attacks of devils and enable him to pass through the earth without being stopped at any gates or doors, and ultimately to pass into heaven. This is important, for as I have covered before, there is a very rich tradition of Debtra, a particular class of priests who create protection scrolls for the faithful to wear.
Though these can be for general purposes as they can cover an entire litany of evils, all the varieties that I have had the chance to study and translate have been for a particular purpose, to protect pregnant women, especially from a race of baby-killing demons named the Sho Tali. Yet the method they employ will sound strange to most, to put it lightly. The priest will sacrifice a goat, skin it, and prepare that into a parchment.
Then, by writing a magical text using red and black ink, a technique inherited from Zoroastrianism, he will inscribe both a sacred prayer, which functions as a magical spell, along with both religious iconography and sacred sigals, such as the seal of Solomon, which is in effect a net of eyes. Then a demon will be attracted with an offering of wine and an egg, and the priest will then bind its essence into the scroll. In effect, the demon now becomes a battery in order to fuel God's will to protect the recipient of the scroll, who then wears it around the neck.
When Christ stated in Luke 10 19 that, I give you authority over all the power of the enemy, the Ethiopic Orthodox Church took that statement very literally. However, the Lephafa Setek takes a different or at least commingled approach. Not only is it wrapped around the body, literally becoming a wrapping of righteousness, it's the words themselves that play the most important part of the work, rather than the demonic spirit that inhabits it. For you see, the eight spells of this book form the Matshafa Hewat, or the Book of Life.
And that's because the Lefaphasidic, as Budge puts it, quote, was written by God Himself and copied by our Lord with a pen of gold, and that the names revealed in it are those by which the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit maintain their existence and govern the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Unquote. And for note, every time that I am quoting either Budge or the Lephafaceidic, and I mention the words Holy Spirit, I'm changing that from what he put in, which was Holy Ghost. I come from a tradition in which really prefers Holy Spirit. So, just for reference sake.
How unfortunately, a great deal of the analysis that Budge put forth regarding the Lephophosetic is rather contaminated by constant references and cross-references to Egyptian spiritual beliefs and essentially the Book of the Dead. Budge was, after all, an Egyptologist by trade, and he made everything he saw a reflection of that. Calling the Lephaphositic a Book of the Dead may not be entirely wrong, but that's as much credit as I can unfortunately give him in that regard.
However, rather than focus upon that aspect, I think actually delving in the text itself will be the most interesting to everyone out there. So that is what we will turn our attention to now. The one thing that both protection scrolls and the Lepophysetic share is their formulaic openings. And for the latter, this is true for each of the eight different spells. Both categories start with the statement. Or in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the one Lord. They then identify exactly what this prayer is about by saying or a prayer concerning.
Now, the protection scrolls would typically begin listing all of the entities from which it is attempting to protect. Probably the most selected for being first are Barya and Legawan, the twin serpents who encircle the earth while devouring each other, i.e., Oreboros. However, the Lefafa Sedech proceeds with a prayer for salvation from Mathafa Hewat, called Lephafa Sedech, and which the Father wrote with his own hands before Christ was brought forth by the Holy Woman, the Virgin Mary.
It then proceeds to tell of a time when Christ appeared to Mary in a place where, quote, the righteous have their habitation in the garden and in the place where sinners dwell and torment in hell. She was greatly afraid and asked how her relatives were to be saved from this devouring fire, while Christ was initially unable to share any information.
After asking God for permission and then securing it, the text states, Jesus wrote with a pen of gold, and the light of cloud came and hovered over them, and they made seven pavilions of fire, and none knew, and none heard, neither the angels nor the archangels, until they had told Mary the whole of the following words. And that's when we begin to get into the magic behind the magic. Budge in his analysis was correct about one thing at least: the importance of names. In the context of this text, names are power, and it presents a copious amount.
For example, in the first section of the text, there are 69 names, and they all belong to God. The first incantation reads, And when Jesus had made an end, he told Mary his names, which are meant for life and salvation. And again he said, Let men cry out and say, I take refuge in thy names. A few of those names may sound familiar. For example, there's Urael, a slight variation on the Archangel Uriel's name, along with Amanuel or Emmanuel, but those are not the only borrowed terms. In the second section, there are 44 in the first set of names, 22 of which are the pro.
Alif, Bet, Gamel, rather than Gimel, Dalit, rather than Daleth, He, Wow, Zai, rather than Zion. Het, Tet, Yod, rather than Yold, Kof, Lamath, Mem Nun Samkit, rather than Sameth, Eh, rather than Ayan, Pe Sade, Kof, Rash, San, rather than Ses or Shesh, and Tao. And another sixty-nine appear after those. And then at the end of the second incantation, five names appear all along. Sator, Alador, Danat, Adera, Rodas.
These may sound familiar as they are slight variations on the names given to the five nails used to crucify Christ, which go by the proper names of Sator, Arepo, Tenet, Opera, and Rotas. In fact, if you put these words together, then they form a palindrome so that they can be read the same frontwards and backwards. In fact, Budge points out that these words can be used to create a magic square, that is five letters across and five letters down.
If the letters of Sator are put both across and down in the left-hand side, whereupon the S is shared between the two, then the names of all the others will fit perfectly. And according to tradition, putting this on a crust of bread and applying it three times to the wound caused by a rabid dog will cure that affliction. The third section has two interesting parts that I want to call out. The first reads, And whosoever believes in the Son of Satan shall be condemned to punishment in the place of torment.
And whosoever believes in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shall never enter the place of torment. He shall be held worthy and walk in the Holy Spirit. God said, I am the God of the heavens and the earth. The eight sections of the bandlet of righteousness love to hearken back to the place of torment. And the fact that the Son of Satan is mentioned here in direct opposition to the Son of God is fascinating to say the very least. The second part is simply powerful. It reads, And his angel said upon him, Recite to us thy name, so that we may praise thee and sing hymns unto thee.
And God said to them, My first name is Ewada, my second name is Kinya. My third name is Emmanuel. My fourth name is Esus. My fifth name is Christos. My sixth name is Yad. My seventh name is Agzeabhur. Budge does translate the second name Kenya as artificer, which is correct. Though he translates the seventh one as landlord, it's in actuality the word for God, Ax, which means Lord of the Regions. However, he doesn't touch on the first or sixth names, and that's because they don't have ready translations.
The first could have been the word that means something like equality or a circle or center, but it takes serious bending of the words to get that. A little later in the same section, we come across a passage that perfectly explains why these names are so powerful. These names do not exist in the heart of mortal men. These are they which came forth from the mouth and from the words of the lips of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So, in other words, these words which contain a severe power are direct revelations from the Trinity.
From the names that follow, one in particular may be very interesting to modern video game players and perfectly highlights some of the potential issues a translator may face when attempting to explain the meaning behind them. The name is Gunon, as made famous from Legend of Zelda. On a whim, I decided to see what native meanings the word may have. So I turned to the most complete English dictionary of Gaz that exists, which was published by Wolf Leslow in 1987.
Back 22 years ago, it was this book that I spent more than a hundred dollars on, which I really did not have to spare, and to this day remains one of my most precious belongings. So there are two possible routes from which ganon could arrive. The first is Gana, which means to become important, be proud. One of its noun forms is Ganun, which is a notable person. The second possible route is the noun ganan, which means demon, ghost, evil spirit, devil, or specter. Funny enough, an alternate version of Ganun could also mean demonaic or possessed by a demon.
Further research is needed in order to pinpoint if one of these two could be the actual root. The fourth section really begins to dial up the mysticism. And our Lady Mary asked our Lord and said unto him, Tell me which is the greatest of all of these names of thee. And our Lord Jesus Christ answered and said unto Mary, I will tell you these my names, which, though difficult for the hearing and are hidden from sight, are beneficial to him that is able to hear them and to keep them safely. Later we find. O Mikael and Gabriel and Suraphel and Kedubel and Surial and Raphael and Eel and Sakuel.
You seven archangels make supplications for us and make intercession on our behalf. O Sadukhael and Bernael. So this passage has a great deal that's strange about it. First, the initial list of angels does not have seven names, but rather eight. Then there are two more tacked on for good measure. Second, while we do have our normal Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael included, for some reason the seraphim and cherubim, or sertiphale and cutabel, are added into play. Then we get the uncommon edition of Suyael or Suriel in addition to Iael.
This alone may demonstrate either a bad copy of the text that was then preserved by blind copying or a creative edit that was snuck in somewhere along the way. Finally, in this section, we also get the name of the four beasts of Egramata, Torteon, Aramara, and Maliton. The fifth incarnation or prayer contains one of the most poetic pieces of protection that I have ever read.
Protect you me, O Christ, so that the angels of darkness may not obstruct my soul, and let there be sent unto me the angels of light, Mekael and Gaverel, those august angels, and the paraclete and the spirit of righteousness, so that the angels of darkness may never obstruct my soul, and that the Lord may not make me to stand in the darkness of the gnashing of teeth. If you are unfamiliar with the word paraclete, it references the Holy Spirit serving as our comforter and counselor, as referred to in John 14, 16 and 26.
The first time I ever read this passage, I felt a peace wash over me almost as great as that inspired by reading Psalm 91. The section also finishes up with a lovely bit of protection. By this book, which drives away devils and bears away death from over the soul of your servant, the devils are also driven away from over the throne of the praise of God forever and ever. Amin.
In Demahil, the name of your might, and in Tobil, your name, and in Lichel, your baptismal name, in Guhu Khael, which thereby you did burst open the mansions of Sheol in Katanawi and in Satanawi and in Karnalawi thy name. I take refuse so that you may have mercy upon me and show compassion upon me, your servant. The last section is still more with the apostles and the names that Christ gave to them, but if you've stuck around for this long, then I don't want to drive you away entirely, though I'm sure that may have come entirely too late for others.
I find the entire bandlet of righteousness absolutely fascinating. And I spent a phenomenal amount of time composing this episode and spent more than a week delving into the text, using multiple sources, cross-comparing budget translations with the actual text, and I cannot remember the last time that I have felt this fulfilled. So thank you, my friends, for allowing me the luxury of sharing this with you all. And I will say that reading this book smacks entirely too much of Gnosticism.
However, there's a couple of key differences between it and Gnosticism itself, which I don't mean to keep harping on this point, but Gnosticism is a heresy, and for a very, very good reason. In Gnosticism, you have to have access to special knowledge and to magical rites or incantations or names in order to bypass the first regular heaven and ascend to greater and greater levels of heaven. Mere possession of this book is said to do that instead for those who are faithful. That's perhaps the most telling difference between the two.
In a later episode, if interested, more than happy to get into more of these specifics, but I have already overstayed my welcome, and I really can't tell you how much I appreciate that fact. So I will leave you with this one last thought. I've seriously considered either creating a copy or seeking an authentic version of the Laphophosetic created for myself, for when it is my own time to pass away into the darkness. See, the passages that I quoted where I mentioned your servant is actually followed by the name of the individual for whom the book was prepared.
The version that is both preserved online and in Budge's translation was created for a man named Stephen. I hope to be as fortunate as him to have my own version to be buried with me when that time comes. Until next time.com, which offers links to all of our social media and episodes. Southern Demonology is solely owned, produced, and edited by myself, and the intro and outro music are composed by me as well. If you have a moment, please rate, like, and share this podcast, as it is the best way to help support my work. As always, I am JJ, and it has been a pleasure to speak to you today.