Pausing for a fannish moment...

Edit (06/05/2008): Please visit the exorcism article at supernaturalwiki.com for the most up-to-date translation of the ritual, broken down by how it appeared in each episode in which an exorcism has been used. I will be continually updating there as I have time to analyze each of the episodes in question.

This all has to do with the tv show Supernatural, a subject near and dear to my heart and one that I've mentioned here before though not often. For the benefit of my fellow obsessive fans, as well as myself, I've been deciphering the Latin exorcism rituals used on the show. The rest of this post will be a long and detailed breakdown of these rituals and may not be of interest to anyone other than myself. ;D

For a while, I've been working to figure out the exorcism rituals in the Supernatual episodes "Devil's Trap," "Crossroad Blues" and "Born Under a Bad Sign." I started working from the Latin given on Super-wiki and tried to fill in holes by listening to the exorcisms in the episodes ad nauseam. Once I had gotten as much as I thought I could get from there, I started looking up the different parts online to see if I could get confirmation or clarification of anything from existing Latin/Catholic ritual/hymns/etc. I did find quite a lot. Then I went back to the video and double-checked that it all fit and seemed to be correct. The following below is what I've come up with and I've translated most of it as best I can with two semesters of excellent instruction in Classical Latin.

Here are clips of the pertinent scenes:

Clips of Meg's exorcism in "Devil's Trap"
Parts of Meg's Exorcism
Parts of Meg's Exorcism continued

Clip from "Crossroad Blues"


Clip of Sam's exorcism in "Born Under a Bad Sign"
Exorcism-Supernatural

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This is all of the ritual pieced together as best as I can manage (the ritual is split according to what appeared in each version of the ritual below, along with the best translations I can manage with some of my notes):

Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino
Kingdoms of Earth, sing to God, praises to the Lord (This is from part of Psalm 67(68 in some Vulgate versions))
qui fertis ("ascendit" in the psalm, but it is very clearly something more like "fertis") super caelum
that you carry above the sky
caeli ad Orientem
of heaven to the east.
Ecce dabit voci suae (in the hymn, it is "suae;" Dean clearly says "suum," but that would be incorrect according to Latin grammar, so - "suae".) vocem virtutis,
Behold, he sends forth (?) his own voice, the voice of virtue,
tribuite virtutem deo.
Attribute the virtue to God. (This line is completely different in the Latin version of Psalm 67, but both versions have a similar meaning in English...)
[from a 17th century hymn which uses these same lines taken from Psalm 67, obviously not a literal translation from the Latin: 32 Sing unto God, O ye kingdoms of the earth; * O sing praises unto the Lord; 33 Who sitteth in the heavens over all from the beginning: * lo, he doth send out his voice; yea, and that a mighty voice. 34 Ascribe ye the power to God ]

[This part is only in "Crossroad Blues"]
Deus caeli, deus terrae,
The god of heaven, the god of earth,
humiliter majestati gloriae tuae supplicamus
humbly by the majesty of Your Glory we implore
ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate,
that from every power of the infernal spirits,
laqueo, deceptione et nequitia,
from their snare, their deception and their wickedness,
omnis fallaciae, libera nos, domine.
from every deceit, free us, lord.

Vade, Satana, inventor et magister
Go away, Satan, inventor and master
omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis.
of all deceit, enemy of humanity's salvation.
Humiliare sub potenti manu dei--[Dean stops here in "Crossroad Blues"])
To be humble under the powerful hand of god--

Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus
We exorcise you, every impure spirit
omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
every satanic power, every incursion
infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,
of the infernal adversary, every legion
omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.
every congregation and diabolical sect.

Ergo...

[*1 In "Devil's Trap," the rest of the line and more is mostly unintelligible - however, this is what was lifted in between "ergo" and "perditionis" (which begins the next part that Sam says clearly) from the Rituale Romanum online: draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te (up to here I'm pretty sure I can hear it, or the rhythm at least) per Deum + vivum, per Deum + verum, per Deum + sanctum, per Deum, qui sic dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis, qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternae: (with everything in between that cut out and Sam maybe picking it up here:) cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae... (- because there was not time for Sam to say all of that; they must have edited a bit, and what Bobby says in the "Born Under A Bad Sign" version seems to support this way of editing the original Catholic ritual... this is what I think they say:]

Ergo draco maledicte
Thus cursed demon
et omnis legio diabolica
and every diabolical legion
adjuramus te.
we adjure you.
Cessa decipere humanas creaturas,
Cease to deceive human creatures
eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare.
and to give to them the poison of eternal Perdition.

Vade, Satana, inventor et magister
Go away, Satan, the inventer and master
omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis.
of all deceit, the enemy of humanity's salvation.
Humiliare sub potenti manu dei,
To be humble under the powerful hand of god --
contremisce et effuge, invocato a
tremble and flee -- I envoke by
nobis sancto et terribili nomine,
us the sacred and terrible name
quem inferi tremunt.
at which those down below tremble.
[Or more readable: By us, I envoke the sacred and terrible name, at which those down below tremble, to humble, under the powerful hand of god (tremble and flee).]

Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine.
From the snares of the devil, free us, lord.
Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire
That your Church may serve you in safety (this I got from an online English translation of the ritual because I was having a hard time trying to translate it literally, but I think it's pretty close, and certainly as close as it's going to get as far as what I can do with it)
te rogamus, audi nos.
we ask you, hear us.
Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae humiliare digneris,
That you may destroy the enemies of your sacred Church, (again, same problem as above)
te rogamus, audi nos.
we ask you, hear us!

(2* Sam pauses when Demon-Possessed!Meg starts talking... when he starts the ritual again, it goes like this:)

Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae,
[but without "humiliare digneris" there is no verb, it only says:] That ... the enemies of the sacred Church [I think]
te rogamus, audi nos.
we ask you, hear us!

[3* This next part took some doing, but I'm pretty sure this is it now, despite the fact that it *really* sounds like Sam says "In nominis deus" - but the cases are all wrong for that to have been what he said - "in nominis deus" is something like "The god of the name in". "In nomine dei" would be correct, but the "is" and "us" are pretty clear, so this makes me think Sam said something else entirely. And pretty much everything else matches up with some Latin versions of verse 36(35 of some) of Pslam 67(68), which would kinda go along with the "regna terrae" part of the ritual which is from the same Psalm.]

Terribilis Deus de sanctuario suo. [It really sounds like Sam says "tuo" here, but as explained above and below, there are issues with this whole part of the ritual.]
God is frightening about his own sacred place. [I've seen other translations of this line, but I don't like them. It's difficult to translate. I don't think it really is the present continuous verb tense being used here, but that's how I've translated it. It could be another tense of the same verb that just sounds very similar to this form, not sure. I'm still hoping for another exorcism using these lines so I can try to hear it again. For now, this is the best I can figure.]
Deus [It sounds like Sam says "Dei" here, but that doesn't make sense grammatically.] Israhel ipse truderit virtutem
The God of Israel Himself will have thrust excellence
et fortitudinem plebi Suae.
and strength to His Own people.
Benedictus deus. Gloria patri.
Blessed God. The Glory of the Father.


Evil!Sam in "Born Under A Bad Sign" says something like this (I haven't reviewed this at all and I haven't even begun to attempt to consider a translation):
Spiritus immundus glorum (?) suorum (?)
imitate (?) palate (?) iram, domine... [the rest is totally inaudible after that b/c that's when the fireplace explodes.]


"Devil's Trap" Ritual:

Regna terrae, cantate Deo,
psallite Domino
qui fertis super caelum
caeli ad Orientem
Ecce dabit voci suae
vocem virtutis,
tribuite virtutem deo.

Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus
omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,
omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.

Ergo draco maledicte
et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te.
cessa decipere humanas creaturas,
eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare. [*1 See note about the problem with this section above.]

Vade, Satana, inventor et magister
omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis.
Humiliare sub potenti manu dei,
contremisce et effuge, invocato a
nobis sancto et terribili nomine,
quem inferi tremunt.

Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine.
Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias
libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae humiliare digneris,
te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae
te rogamus, audi nos. [2* see problem with this section detailed above]

Terribilis Deus de sanctuario suo. [3*]
Deus Israhel ipse truderit virtutem
et fortitudinem plebi Suae.
Benedictus deus. Gloria patri.

Translation:
Kingdoms of the Earth, sing unto God,
Praises to the Lord
that carry above the sky
of heaven to the East.
Behold, He sends forth His Own Voice,
the Voice of Virtue.
Attribute the Virtue to God.

We exorcise you, every impure spirit,
every satanic power, every incursion
of the infernal adversary, every legion,
every congregation and diabolical sect.

Thus, cursed demon
and every diabolical legion, we adjure you.
Cease to deceive human creatures,
and to give to them the Poison of Eternal Perdition.

Go away, Satan, inventor and master
of all deceit, enemy of humanity's salvation.
To be humble under the Powerful Hand of God --
tremble and flee -- I invoke by
us the Sacred and Terrible Name
at which those down below tremble.

From the snares of the devil, free us, Lord.
That Your Church may serve You in safety
we ask You, hear us.
That You may destroy the enemies of Your Sacred Church,
we ask You, hear us!

That ... the enemies of Your sacred Church [2* see issue noted above]
we ask You, hear us!

God is frightening about his own sacred place. [3*]
The God of Israel Himself will have thrust excellence
and strength to His Own people.
Blessed God. The Glory of the Father.


"Crossroad Blues" Exorcism Ritual:

Regna terrae, cantate Deo,
psallite Domino
qui fertis super caelum
caeli ad Orientem
Ecce dabit voci suae
vocem virtutis,
tribuite virtutem deo.

Deus caeli, deus terrae,
humiliter majestati gloriae tuae supplicamus
ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate,
laqueo, deceptione et nequitia,
omnis fallaciae, libera nos, domine.

Vade, Satana, inventor et magister
omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis.
Humiliare sub potenti manu dei-- [This is where Dean cuts off.]

Translation:
Kingdoms of the Earth, sing unto God,
Praises to the Lord
that carry above the sky
of heaven to the East.
Behold, He sends forth His Own Voice,
the Voice of Virtue.
Attribute the Virtue to God.

God of Heaven, God of the Earth,
humbly by the Majesty of Your Glory we implore
that from every power of the infernal spirits,
from their snare, their deception and their wickedness,
from every deceit, free us, Lord.
[Or, less literally, but perhaps more easily understood: God of Heaven, God of the Earth, humbly we implore, by the Majesty of Your Glory, that You free us, Lord, from every power of the infernal spirits, from their snare, their deception and their wickedness, from every deceit.]

Go away, Satan, inventor and master
of all deceit, enemy of humanity's salvation.
To be humble under the Powerful Hand of God--


"Born Under a Bad Sign" Ritual:

Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus
omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio
infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,
omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.

Ergo draco maledicte
et omnis légio diabólica adjurámus te.
cessa decípere humánas creatúras,
eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare. [Bobby pauses.]

[skips two lines that are in the other exorcisms.]
Humiliare sub potenti manu dei-- [Bobby stops cause it's not working...]

Translation:
We exorcise you, every impure spirit,
every satanic power, every incursion
of the infernal adversary, every legion,
every congregation and diabolical sect.

Thus cursed demon
and every diabolical legion, we adjure you.
Cease to deceive human creatures,
and to give to them the Poison of Eternal Perdition.

To be humble under the Powerful Hand of God--