Vade retro satana  

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Vade retro satana ("Step back, Satan") is a Medieval Catholic formula for exorcism, recorded in a 1415 manuscript found in the Abbey of Metten in Bavaria and traditionally attributed to Saint Benedict (480–547).

In current Catholic tradition, the formula (sometimes reduced to the vade retro verse) is used to repel any possible evil thing or happening, as a "spoken amulet". The initials of this formula (VRSNSMV SMQLIVB or VRS:NSMV:SMQL:IVB) were often engraved around crucifixes or Catholic religious medals featuring Saint Benedict.

The phrase vade retro satana (often spelled vade retro satanas) is also used as a witty or scholarly prose device, dissociated from its religious implications, to express strong rejection of an unacceptable (but possibly tempting) proposal, or dread of some looming menace. Namely, in the sense of "do not tempt me!", "I will have nothing to do with that", "will someone deliver us from that", and so on.

Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Vade retro satana" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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