devotional · medieval
Vade Retro Satana — The Inscription on the St. Benedict Medal
Traditional · by 1415 · tr. Saint's Keep
Vade Retro Satana is a medieval Latin formula whose initials appear on the St. Benedict medal. It is a church-approved sacramental inscription — recorded at Metten Abbey by 1415 — not a Graduale chant. The Cross is light; the dragon is refused; Satan is told to go. Decode the letters, hear a setting, and read why this text is devotion, not superstition.
Latin · English
- 1
Crux sacra sit mihi lux. Non draco sit mihi dux.
1May the holy Cross be my light. Let not the dragon be my guide.
- 2
Vade retro Satana; nunquam suade mihi vana.
2Get behind me, Satan; never persuade me of vain things.
- 3
Sunt mala quae libas; ipse venena bibas.
3The things you offer are evil; drink the poison yourself.
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Not a hymn
This is a devotional and exorcistic formula — the Latin behind the letters on the St. Benedict medal. It is not chant from the Graduale. You will not find it among the Propers. It belongs with sacramentals: the Church’s blessing of the medal stands in the Rituale Romanum; the grace is from God through that blessing and the wearer’s faith, not from the metal.
For the full medal walkthrough — front, cross, border, and how to have one blessed — see The Letters on the St. Benedict Medal, Decoded.
The letters, decoded
| Initials | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| CSPB | Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti | Cross of our holy father Benedict |
| CSSML | Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux | May the holy Cross be my light |
| NDSMD | Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux | Let not the dragon be my guide |
| VRSNSMV | Vade Retro Satana, Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana | Get behind me, Satan; never persuade me of vain things |
| SMQLIVB | Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas | The things you offer are evil; drink the poison yourself |
CSPB names whose Cross it is. CSSML / NDSMD run on the arms of the Cross. VRSNSMV / SMQLIVB circle the border. Many Jubilee medals also bear PAX (peace) or IHS above.
“Draco” means dragon
Popular English often softens draco to “devil.” The Latin says dragon. Keep it. The line refuses a guide who is the ancient serpent — the same imagery that stands under St. Michael’s foot on Michaelmas art. Softening the word blunts the medal’s link to that combat and to Revelation’s dragon. We translate draco as dragon on purpose.
Where the formula comes from
The letter-formula is recorded in a 1415 manuscript at Metten Abbey in Bavaria. The initials have appeared on St. Benedict medals since at least 1780. The common modern striking is called the Jubilee Medal.
Stories about a 1647 Bavarian witch trial, or a precise 1880 Montecassino anniversary striking, circulate widely. They may be true. They are not asserted here without a primary source in hand. The Metten date and the medal’s long use of the initials are enough for a clean account.
Sacramental, not amulet
A blessed St. Benedict medal is a sacramental. It is not a charm. Treating the letters as magic — as if the Latin worked apart from faith, repentance, and the Church’s prayer — is superstition. The enemy named in the formula is the devil, not a category of people. For major versus minor exorcism, and why the medal blessing belongs with the latter, see those glossary entries.
Have the medal blessed by a priest. Wear it or keep it where you will actually use it. Pair the object with a life under a rule — start with The Rule of St. Benedict for Laymen.