So one of the ideas for the title of this blog was the Latin version of “Step Back Satan” – Vade Retro Satana.  But I figured that such a title would be hard to remember and not very exciting.

But anyways, this phrase is a Medieval Catholic formula for exorcism, recorded in a 1415 manuscript found in the Benedictine Metten Abbey in Bavaria.  Its origin is thought to be associated with the Benedictines.  In current Catholic tradition, this phrase is used to repel evil and is found engraved on Saint Benedict Medals. The phrase received the approval of Pope Benedict XIV, and became part of the Roman Catholic ritual in 1742.

So the Latin prayer that goes with this phrase is as follows:

Crux sancta sit mihi lux / Non draco sit mihi dux

Vade retro satana / Numquam suade mihi vana

Sunt mala quae libas / Ipse venena bibas

In English:

“Let the Holy Cross be my light / Let not the dragon be my guide

Step back Satan / Never tempt me with vain things

What you offer me is evil / You drink the poison yourself.”