Greetings and salutations!

Welcome one and all to the third installment of the Troll's Edu-threads. Less intro from me tonight because with all the chit chat of Angel and Giles the Watcher going on downtown, I believe that tonight's topic will be of important significance to the nature of Sunnydale. After conducting a depth of research on angelic script and Dead Sea Scrolls here in my Well (not to mention a few Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazines "borrowed" from Lilybunny's library), I bring you tonight's fascinating topic...

Drum roll please...

Topic: The "Watchers" *

* Taken from:

- "A Visual Guide to the Demonic, Evil, Scurrilous, and Bad" by Genevieve & Tom Morgan

- "Angels A to Z" by Matthew Bunson

- "A Dictionary of Angels including the fallen angels" by Gustav Davidson

In the Book of Genesis, Book of Jubilees, and in the Book of Enoch, God created a high order of eleven angels called the Watchers or Grigori. Originally the Watchers were apparently some of the most august angels in all of Heaven. Watchers never slept and kept eternal vigilance over heaven. They were sent to oversee the affairs of the first generations of men and to give instructions on how to survive in the distinctly un-Eden-like world outside the gates of Paradise. Once Adam and Eve began to procreate, the beauty of their daughters tempted these angels to do quite a bit more than just watch. They made nightly visits, relishing the touch of human flesh. As a result, they were tossed from Heaven and landed on the surface of earth, where they espoused their mortal lovers. In the words of Genesis (6: I-2), "When men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the Sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose."

The Watchers were giants, and they taught their human spouses the secrets of the divinity that up to then had only been whispered by God into the ears of Adam. These teachings, known as the Cabala, revealed the arts of astrology, botany, healing, and magic. But the union of these angels and women was unnatural and an outrage to God. Their offspring were the Nephilim, giants mentioned in the Book of Genesis and who supposedly troubled the world with their cruelty and predilection for evil. In one legend, their progeny were born horrendous, cannibalistic monsters who ungratefully devoured their parents, and God was forced to flood the earth (The Great Flood; Noah's Ark) to be rid of them. In another tale, the children of the Watchers were also giants, but they became great priests, poets, and artisans who taught the human race well. Regardless of the finale of these different versions, God decided to round up the Watchers and cast them into the Abyss to serve Satan. A more recent ramification of these events originated with an edict from Saint Paul, who demanded in the New Testament that women be veiled in church to avoid tempting the angels, lest the Holy Father lose any more of them. Because the Watchers cohabited with the daughters of men, an act which they were condemned, they became fallen angels.

The Watchers are identified as the angels Armaros, Araqiel, Azazel, Baraqel, Ezekeel, Gadreel, Kakabel, Penemue, Sarial, Semyaza, and Shamshiel.

Armaros: One of the fallen angels listed in Enoch I (Old Testament). Armaros taught man "the resolving of enchantments."

Araqiel: One of the 200 fallen angels mentioned in Enoch I. Araqiel taught human beings the signs of the earth.

Azazel: In Enoch I, Azazel is one of the chiefs of the 200 fallen angels. Azazel "taught men to fashion swords and shields" while women learned from him "finery and the art of beautifying the eyelids." He was basically the Max Factor of bad angels. (Azazel was also the bad mofo who gave Denzel Washington a hard time in the movie, "Fallen".)

Baraqel: Fallen angel who taught men astrology.

Ezekeel: A fallen angel who taught men the knowledge of clouds ("augury").

Gadreel: One of the fallen angels in Enoch lore. It was Gadreel who, reputedly, led Eve astray - which, if true, would make Gadreel rather than Satan the talking serpent and seducer in the Garden of Eden. Like Azazel, Gadreel made man familiar with the weapons of war (Enoch I, 69, 6).

Kakabel: In Enoch I, Kakabel is a fallen angel and a resident of the nether realms. Whether in Heaven or in Hell, Kakabel commands 365,000 surrogate spirits who do his bidding. Kakabel taught man the science of the constellations.

Penemue: In Enoch lore, Penemue is one of the fallen angels who "taught mankind the art of writing with ink and paper." Penemue also taught "the children of men the bitter and the sweet and the secrets of their wisdom." He is one of the curers of stupidity in man.

Sariel: Fallen angel who taught men the course of the moon.

Semyaza: Semyaza was one of the evil angels who fell from Heaven. As a Watcher, he taught men enchantments and root cutting.

Shamshiel: Originally the guardian angel of the Garden of Eden. Shamshiel taught men the signs of the sun.

This thread has been stamped with the Troll's Seal of Approval.

Well I hope that wasn't hard to digest for any of you. In any case, after reading about the biblical Watchers, one can slowly understand the correlation between Watcher and Slayer. The biblical Watchers taught man skills just as Watchers teach & train Slayers to kill vampires. Thinking on a carnal & naughty level, perhaps Slayers are the offspring between Watcher and Slayer? Could Buffy be a distant niece of Giles? Perhaps when Cordelia moves to LA, she will find a dashing young Watcher (not that Wesley geek) and their union would bring about the birth of a future Slayer? One can only wonder the possibilities.

That's all from me. As always, thanks for coming.

Stay tuned for my next thread. I will continue with my series on angels and discuss The War in Heaven. Also known as The War of the Angels (ala "The Prophecy").

Toodles!

Capeside_Troll
Business Troll, Staff Civil Service founder, & Inactive Reserve Staff Member

Decorated Veteran of the Staff Civil War (02/99). Recipient of the Orange Heart. Vescere bracis meis

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"They have long fixed the romantic imagination of priest and poet alike. At one time we called them Trolls."

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