Mephistopheles—aka Mephistophilus, Mephistophilis, Mephostopheles, Mephisto, Mephastophilis—has a long history in literature.
He, or it, is a demon-like figure of German folklore in relation to Dr. Faust. Goethe refers to it as “part of the power that still works for good, while ever scheming for ill.”
In the attached slide show you will see an illustration is from Manly P. Halls’ book Secret Teachings of All Ages from 1928 AD. He/it also appears in 1527 AD in a Renaissance magical text, Praxis Magia Faustiana.
What you will see in the images and/or video below are some similarities between the illustration in Hall’s book, Yoda from the Star Wars saga, creatures depicted in the supposedly true story of Whitley Strieber depicted in the book and movie Communion, illustrations from alleged UFO aliens encounters and many more could be added such as the gnomes of ancient lore.
John Velez is an artist who believes he has been abducted by aliens who states that besides the gray aliens:
…there’s another group that are smaller, maybe two feet high, that wear these burlapy, very rough fabric robes; and have bluish or purplish skin—very dark skin.
Interestingly, the Philosophical Research Society notes:
…the Mephistopheles of ceremonial magic, who rises from the invisible at the demand of the conjuror, limping into view as a grotesque dwarf, and woe to the unwary who falls under his control.
This may mean nothing but it is very interesting that they specify that he/it comes “limping into view as a grotesque dwarf” as this perfectly describes Yoda.
Yoda, as one comedian has stated, is supposed to be the wisest being in the universe but can’t even talk, “G.E.D. need I.” But seriously, Yoda looks like a grotesque dwarf and walks with the aid of a cane and so literally limps. Yoda imparts secret, occult, esoteric knowledge from the mystery school secret society known as the Jedi. Yet, he will only do so to the initiate, those who adhere to the view that there is a universal “Force” (which in the real world is called Ki, Qi, Chi, Prana, universal energy, etc.) that can be used for “good” or “evil.”
This, by the way, is magick 101: some claim to practice white “good” magick and some black “evil” magick. And yet, they are all pulling from and employing the very same force. Moreover, since this is a dualistic system, by any other name, there is no way to actually differentiate between “good” and “evil.” This actually comes up in one of the Star Wars movies wherein Anakin Skywalker is initiated into the “dark side” of the Force and thus, becomes a Sith.
His Sith overlord makes the point that the Jedi are the ones who use the Force for their own selfish purposes (note, by the way, that Anakin is clearly derived from the Biblical Anakim, see Strong’s H6062, and in the original script his last name was originally Starkiller).
In the mythos Faust is successful in worldly terms and yet is displeased with his life and thus, seeks to makes a pact with the devil; harkening back to the exchange in Genesis 3 (turning away, sinning again, YHVH in exchange for the “knowledge of good and evil”) as Faust seeks unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The name or term “Faust” is High German for “first.”
The exchange was, of course, knowledge and magickal power for a certain number of years at the end of which Faust’s soul would be given over to the devil:
During the term of the bargain, Faust makes use of Mephistopheles in various ways. In many versions of the story, particularly Goethe’s drama, Mephistopheles helps him to seduce a beautiful and innocent girl, usually named Gretchen, whose life is ultimately destroyed. However, Gretchen’s innocence saves her in the end, and she enters Heaven. In Goethe’s rendition, Faust is saved by God’s grace via his constant striving—in combination with Gretchen’s pleadings with God in the form of the Eternal Feminine. However, in the early tales, Faust is irrevocably corrupted and believes his sins cannot be forgiven; when the term ends, the Devil carries him off to Hell. [see here for more background on Faust]
The legend of Faust or Faustus waging his soul with the devil is based upon Johann Faust (aka D. Johann Fausten aka Johann Georg Faust, etc.) who is said to have been a necromancer and conjurer. The legend contains a text titled Praxis Magia Faustiana which references Mephostophiles and which dates to 1527 AD. It is also mentioned in Faust chapbooks dating to the 16th century AD and in the 1725 AD version of the story which was read by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who ended up writing a play based on the story. Christopher Marlowe likewise wrote a play based on this legend that was titled The Tragicall [sic] History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus or succinctly Doctor Faustus first published in 1604 AD with a 1616 AD edition wherein Mephostophiles is changed to Mephistophilis.
Mephistophilis is specifically depicted as small in stature in the reworking of the story by Meyer Lutz in Mephistopheles or Faust and Marguerite from 1855 AD, Arrigo Boito in Mefistofele from 1868 AD, Franz Liszt in Mephisto Waltzes composed between 1859-1885 AD (and made into a movie in 1971 AD) and Klaus Mann in Mephisto 1936 AD.
Mephistophilis has appeared in many pop cultural and entertainment contexts from Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor (Act1, Sc1, line 128 as “Mephistophilus”) and Sonic the Hedgehog (the children’s cartoon and video game character) as Mephiles the Dark (for more such references see Mephistopheles in popular culture) and, more recently, a character in the comic book and movie “Ghost Rider.”
Willard Farnham makes an interesting point (Twentieth Century Interpretations of Doctor Faustus, 1969 AD, p. 6):
Nor does Mephistophiles first appear to Faustus as a devil who walks up and down in earth to tempt and corrupt any man encountered. He appears because he senses in Faustus’ magical summons that Faustus is already corrupt, that indeed he is already “in danger to be damned.”
Mephistopheles is not “that old serpent called the devil and satan” (Revelation 12:9). He works for the devil as a styled soul collector but actually warns Faust that he ought not make a pact with the devil by selling his soul to him:
Mephistophilis, an agent of Lucifer, appears and at first advises Faust not to forgo the promise of heaven to pursue his goals. (Farnham)
And there is much more to the character, for example:
Mephistopheles acts as a guide to Faustus. Mephistopheles is not only a speaker for the Devil, but he is also seen as a possible lover to the character.
—Graham L. Hammill, “Faustus’ Fortunes: Commodification, Exchange, and the Form of Literary Subjectivity,” English Literary History, 63 (1996 AD): 324-329
This is thought to derive from Christopher Marlowe writing of a play based on the Faust mythos which was influenced by Marlowe’s own homosexuality.
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