The Book of Mephisto    Asenath Mason    Live Midnight March 11

Unlock the magic of the demon Mephistopheles with his first Left Hand Path grimoire and guide to occult art of the diabolical Faustian Tradition.

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Mephistopheles for the first time appears in occult literature at the close of the Middle Ages. His name is probably derived from the Hebrew words meaning “destroyer” and “slanderer.” Another theory is that the name is derived from Latin or Greek and translates to “not loving light” or “lover of the sulfurous fumes of hell.” E.M. Butler in her Ritual Magic proposes a theory that the name “Mephistopheles” is derived from the word “Lucifugum” and was coined due to a wrong translation. This gives a new perspective on the nature of Mephisto, possibly equating him with the spirit known from The Grand Grimoire as Lucifuge Rofocale. This etymology, however, is not entirely clear and there are also other interpretations of his name, which we will look into in The Book of Mephisto, explaining their possible origin and connection to his magical powers. We will also explore his connection with Lucifuge, both in legend and in a practical way.

According to medieval accounts, Mephistopheles was a cruel devil, mischievous and cunning. He fed on people’s suffering, ridiculed virtues and spread lies. On the other hand, he was easy to call and he had the power to give the magicians anything they desired and much, much more. The first known literary account of the spirit appears in the story of a mysterious scholar, Johann Faust, written by an anonymous German author and published in 1587. Translated into English in 1592, it quickly spread to other European countries. This and similar published accounts of Faust were known across Europe as “Faust chapbooks.” On the basis of these books, the popular English playwright, Christopher Marlowe, wrote a play which later became the source of numerous legends about the scholar who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and magical power. The play was entitled The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Following this release, the story of Faust was retold by a number of authors, and it is believed that there were at least 50 different versions of the legend.

Faust as a character is believed to be an authentic person, but the legend that arouse around him derives from life stories of famous magicians that preceded the appearance of the Faust myth. Among these famous characters we can mention both historical and mythical figures such as the Witch of Endor, Simon Magus, Merlin, Virgil, Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, Agrippa, and Paracelsus, to only mention a few. The ability to summon spirits, the descent to the underworld, the black dog familiar, alchemical experiments, creation of a homunculus, walking on water and flying in the air - all this is found in the stories of the above-mentioned characters and all of it is found within the Faustian Tradition.

In the Faustian Tradition, which includes a number of grimoires describing how to obtain the assistance of demonic forces to perform magical arts, the belief that the magician can command spirits is derived from legends of King Solomon, the greatest of magicians. According to those legends, he was granted the power over demons by God, thus being able to bind them and use their service in any task he wished. Following this conviction, grimoires such as The Grand Grimoire, Grimorium Verum, or Lemegeton, belong to the wide concept of Solomonic magic and their authorship is ascribed to King Solomon himself, while Doctor Faustus is believed to have authored texts such as e.g. The Black Raven, which feature a similar theme, only instead of Lucifuge Rofocale we have Mephistopheles. The large part of the Faustian Tradition is dedicated to making pacts with spirits, Mephistopheles and Lucifer in particular, and this is what we will discuss in The Book of Mephisto, among other themes. You will have a chance to learn what such a pact involves and what are the advantages and disadvantages of making pacts with spirits.

The Black Raven, the most famous grimoire of the Faustian Tradition describes ways to summon the so-called “Grand Dukes.” These are seven spirits with a high position in the infernal hierarchy. In the grimoire they are presented together with their attributes, powers and sigils. In this paradigm, Mephistopheles is “the grand master of many arts and of luck in general.” In the Faustian Tradition, the Grand Dukes are also called “Electors” and correspond to the seven planets used in Solomonic Magic (the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). In my book, I present a different approach to work with them, a ritual designed for a modern practitioner. It is not derived directly from the Faustian grimoire, but it has been adjusted and presented here as a curiosity of the Faustian Tradition. It has the original sigils of the spirits presented in The Black Raven, and the incantations summoning them are derived from The Seventh Book of Moses by Johann Scheibel from the 19th century.

Another theme occupying a large part of The Book of Mephisto is the spirit’s role as the initiator of the astral Sabbat. In Goethe’s Faust, Mephisto takes the scholar to the Brocken, where they both participate in the Walpurgis Night Sabbat. In my book, I present rituals derived from my personal practice with the spirit and inspired by the idea of traveling to the place where you can meet the Horned One, the Dark Man of the Witches’ Sabbats. It is based on the folklore of the Walpurgis Night described in the Faust legends, the concept of a journey to a liminal place or state of consciousness, and the legend of the meeting with the Old One that rules the forest and the wilderness.

In The Book of Mephisto you will also have a chance to enter the realm of the mysterious “Mothers.” These mysterious chthonic goddesses are viewed as a personification of life and death. They are called “Mothers” because they give birth, but they can also take life away, and they are connected with the concept of the Mother Goddess in general. Their other titles were “Matrons” or “Matres” (deriving from Latin). They are believed to know all answers concerning both divine and earthly matters. You can ask them about the past, the future, or what bothers you at the moment, and you will receive an honest answer to any question you may ask. In my book, I have included a ritual explaining how to contact these mysterious goddesses with the help of Mephisto.

In modern times, the story of Faust and Mephistopheles is found in many famous works of literature. Among them we can mention Goethe’s Faust, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus, and many more. It has also been an inspiration for movies, music, or even video games. In The Book of Mephisto you will read about the origin of this timeless legend and you will learn how to apply it in the modern context for the sake of self-empowerment.

Believe it or not, I first wrote this groundbreaking book 18 years ago and it was my first published work. At that time, I was deeply fascinated with the idea of Mephisto — an abridged version of the name “Mephistopheles” used for the purpose of this book — as an embodiment of Personal Shadow and I was working extensively with grimoires that mentioned him in their catalogue of spirits.

Apart from that, I was also searching for his appearances in literature and popular culture, and discovered that although not appearing under his medieval and Renaissance disguise, Mephisto has accompanied man throughout all the following centuries and is still present in the modern world, tempting us with “forbidden” knowledge and igniting our desire of transcendence. It is especially true regarding the Luciferian ethos—the search of power through self-knowledge and self-sacrifice.

Now, after almost two decades of my work with Luciferian gnosis, I can add a lot more to what was written in this book before. However, I still want to keep this book centered on Mephisto, my first initiator and guide on the path of self-deification known today as the Left Hand Path.

This book was written with love and passion, both for the path and the whole Faustian idea that “knowledge is power,” and my wish is that by reading it you too will become passionate about your path and persistent in your study. I also hope that you will find Mephisto as great an assistant as he has always been to me. Let him become our guide and companion again, as it was in the old times, but from a new, modern perspective.

I personally welcome you to come on this magical and artistic journey with me back to medieval time, to closely look at meaning and etymology behind Mephistopheles, unmask his numerous connections to other demons, inspect his presence in historic, classical artwork in paintings, operas, occult literature, plays, and more. No grimoire dedicated 100% to Mephisto had existed prior to my The Book of Mephisto — even though Mephisto is the backbone of all Western Demonology as you and I know it today.

The Book of Mephisto becomes live at midnight night of Monday, March 11 in New York City time zone. I will see you there. As a gift, please download a FREE ebook chapter called The Adversary to sample it in advance at your convenience.

My work with the Qliphoth began over 15 years ago, when I was introduced to the subject through the writings of Kenneth Grant, Aleister Crowley, and other magicians who peered into the dark side of the Tree of Life and shared the results of their work through their publications.

The idea of a shadow realm existing behind the veil of the world as we know it has always fascinated me, and after studying many magical systems and traditions, I found that the Tree of Qliphoth was truly the path I sought – the path offering individual power instead of submission to any higher forces, leading to concrete and tangible results in a relatively short time, advocating freedom, individuality, and self-awareness.

I’ve written this book for other practitioners like myself – for those who seek growth and initiation through simple but effective methods of work, those who don’t fear to tear down the veil of prejudice concealing the power of spirits and deities of the Dark Tree, and those who don’t want to rely on blind faith or obscure dogmas and prefer a magical system that will inspire and challenge them on every single step on the path.

This is not your grandmother’s Wicca nor witchcraft for children. The naïve innocence of their white magic does not appear in the pages of this taboo grimoire, which would certainly horrify them. Its intoxicating sorcery ushers you into the most forbidden realms of the Tree of Death, where the Demonic Kings and Queens live.

Are you a courageous explorer? Do you find beauty in darkness? Are you an ally of the Left Hand Path? If so, then you will feel at home here. You will feel like you belong for the first time and fall in love with the Qliphothic spirits. Qliphothic Meditations has almost completely SOLD OUT. I suggest that you place your order right now to embark on this magical journey with me, Lilith, and the Dark Gods...

Darkest Blessings,