Litanies and Rites of the Adeptus Astartes

[EmperorsChampion]

To: Adepts of the Librarium Online

From: Sergeant Valkyr of the Black Templars Sword Brethren

Date: 9/14/05

Subject: Litanies and Rites of the Adeptus Astartes

Thought for the Day: If a job's worth doing, it's worth dying for

Greetings Adepts of the Online Librarium, I've been playing a lot of 40k/reading a bunch of 40k books/obesessing over everything 40k and I couldn't find the one thing I've been looking for for quite a while, so I thought I'd take my quest to the forums.

What are the words to the Adeptus Astartes Litanies of Hate, Purity, Faith, etc?

And what are the Rites of Battle, Passage, etc?

What else along these lines are there?

I have the Space Marine Codexes from the third and fourth edition of 40k, but I still feel like there's a bunch missing. Does anyone else know what some of these are? I thank you in advance for you help.

Post Script: I apologize for the improper format of my message, the data recording of this forum does not have the required code to pull it off.

[justicar145]

the only two I know:

Born in darkness, a dream given life,
Holy warriors to bring forth the light.
Armed with zeal, armoured with faith,
Gods of battle at teh fore of the fight.
Swords of the emperor, shields of mankind,
destined for war, fated for death.
Protectors of the weak, slayers of evil,
we fight til we draw our last dying breath
There is no retreat, there is no surrender,
our hate of the foe drives us eternally on
while aliens live, while heresy festers,
there can be no peace until the last war is won.
Strengthen your heart harden your soul,
launch yourself gladly into death's hungry maw.
There is no time for peace, no respite, no forgiveness,
there is only war.


What is it that gives us purpose?
War
What is it that gives the war purpose?
To vanquish the foes of the emperor
What is the foe of the Emperor?
The heretic, the alien and the mutant.
What is it to be an enemy of the Emperor?
It is to be damned.
What is it to be the instrument of the emperor's damnation?
We, the space marines, the angels of death.
What is it to be a space marine?
It is to be pure, to be strong, to show no pity, nor mercy, nor remorse.
What is it to be pure?
to never know fear, to never waver in the fight.
What is it to be strong?
To fight on when others flee;to stand and die in the knowledge that death brings ultimate reward.
What is the ultimate reward?
To serve the emperor
Who do we serve?
We serve the emperor, and the Lion, and through them we serve mankind.
What is it to be dark angels?
It is to be first, the hounoured, the sons of the Lion.
What is our quest? To purge our shame through the death of those who turned on the Lion.
What is our victory?
To remake that which was broken, to earn the trust of the emperor once more.
What is the fate of the fallen we hunt?
Retribution and death!
Be pure in mind, body and spirit. As the water flows over you, let your hate flow through you. As the lost water is spilt, let us spill the blood of our foes. As the water dries, let us harden our hearts to fear. We are the Dark Angels, the chosen of the emperor, the holy knights of calibahn. The blood of the Lion flows through our veins. His strength beats in our hearts. His spirit resides within us.

(that litany was more for Dark Angels if you haven't noticed)

Keep in mind both of these are from a black library source, and aren't one of the most trustworthy sources. I'd stick with something by GW.

[EmperorsChampion]

Thanks a bunch Justicar. Btw, Black Library is a division of Games Workshop if you didn't know...

Anybody else have some?

[Xerxes]

Isn't there some of the catechism of hate in the SM Codex?

[mr_yano]

Grey Knights' Litanies:

1. Litany of 666

We Grey Knights are the hammer
We slay the darkness without fear
Founded in great mystery were we
Chapter Six Hundred and Sixty Six

Though on Titan we be hidden
Yet our eyes encompass the galaxy
No devil shall elude our gaze
No Daemon shall avoid it's fate

We shall be the keepers Immortal
All secrets shall be our knowledge
We are the guardians of mankind


2. I am the Hammer

I am the hammer, I am the hate
I am the woes of deamonkind, I am the right hand of my Emperor
The instrument of His will, the gauntlet about His fist
The tip of His Spear, the edge of His sword
From the frenzy, temptation, corruption and deceit
Deliver us, our Emperor, that the enemy might face us in Your wrath

I am the hammer, I am the sword in His hand
I am the point of His spear, I am the gauntlet about His fist
I am the bane of His foes and the woes of the treacherous
I am the end


3. Cry for the Holocaust

In war and abandonment, be thou my shield and my steed
Be thou retribution, and I shall be Your hand in the darkness
Light from the shadows, death from the dying, vengeance from the lost
And from the void shall rise only the pure


I'm not sure if they're official but they're pretty awesome to read.

[EmperorsChampion]

Thanks a bunch Yano. Emperor praise your soul

And yeah Xerxes, one of the Silver Skulls Catechisms of Hate are in the Space Marine codex. I'm beginning to wonder if the second edition space marine codex has anything...

[Xerxes]

There wasn't a single "space marine" codex in 2nd ed, just the chapter ones. They may have something, but I'm not sure.

[EmperorsChampion]

Any other places where I might be able to find this information?

[The_Giant_Mantis]

I'd imagine many litanies are chapter specific, like the Dark Angels one above. The rites of battle and passage I'm pretty sure are individual too, especially in non-codex chapters.

My advice, make it up, or look around other settings. GW hasn't written every prayer or litany a space marine will use.

[ze_poodle]

Be humble, for I bequeath onto thee a dose of great and terrible glory. Kneel and be glad that you have access to this example of the true brutality of the Imperial creed. Be thankful that this blessing is allowed unto you.

Clicky.