Etrigan The Demon - Poem

Poem

The poem that releases Etrigan is:

Yarva Demonicus Etrigan.
Change, change the form of man.
Free the prince forever damned.
Free the might from fleshy mire.
Boil the blood in heart of fire.
Gone, gone the form of man,
Rise the demon Etrigan!

Jason Blood's first transformation into the Demon occurs when reading the inscription on the surface of a stone tomb:

Change! Change, O form of man!
Release the might from fleshy mire!
Boil the blood in heart of fire!
Gone! Gone! — the form of man —
Rise, the Demon Etrigan!!

The Demon #1 (August/September 1972), p. 22

Generally, only the last two lines are actively recited, and the words have been known to vary slightly; the phrase "yarva daemonicus etrigan" has occasionally been used, but not consistently.

The reverse spell has several different wordings, all with the basic form "Gone, gone, O Etrigan! / Resume once more the form of man!" Alternate words include, "Begone, begone, O Etrigan!" and "Rise again..." (or "once more"); virtually every combination has been used at one time or another. The spell itself does not need to be recited by Jason or Etrigan to be effective, merely within their range of hearing. In emergencies when Jason cannot speak (for instance, when he was turned into a fly), writing it is sometimes sufficient to effect the change. On one occasion, Blood released Etrigan by using a parody of the spell ("Gone, O little man so tame / And rise the demon Whatshisname").

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