by D. N. Carter
“Who is this?” Upside asked, puzzled.
“Oh, an old woman who seems to constantly pop up wherever we are, yet never actually wants to say anything of importance to us,” Paul explained.
“Is she a watcher?” Upside asked and pulled the water jug near.
“A watcher?” Paul asked back quizzically.
“Yes…you know, a watcher. Angels in disguise types,” Upside answered as if his comment was just an everyday accepted conversational remark. “Look, even you have to agree and accept that you and Alisha have something special about you…unique, am I right, Thomas?” Upside asked and looked at Thomas to confirm. “I bet if you think back, you will probably realise that old bat has been watching you since you can remember.”
Paul looked at Upside both puzzled and surprised that he was even aware of so-called watchers. He looked across at Theodoric, who just shrugged his shoulders.
“Where is Percival?” Paul asked trying to steer the conversation away from Upside’s comments feeling slightly embarrassed that he obviously thought of him and Alisha as being different and special.
“Where do you think…upstairs with Nyla. They have not left their room I don’t think since you returned,” Sister Lucy remarked and walked back into the kitchen.
“Upside has a point, my friend. ’Tis why we are all still here,” Thomas said and smiled.
“Then why do we not have this old woman in and question her and find out her exact intentions?” Paul asked as Theodoric started to chuckle to himself. “What?”
“You should try and do that some time. It would prove most interesting,” he replied.
“So you do know there is more to her than you tell,” Paul exclaimed.
“Perhaps,” Theodoric replied and paused. “’Tis why I asked Thomas to be ever watchful of her presence. You already know enough about her so no need for further explanation.”
“Is she bad?” Paul asked.
“Hey you have met her several times yourself, and remember, she did save my life.”
“I can recall seeing her in La Rochelle. She always sat at the dockside. Like you said, Upside, ever since I can remember…and she showed up with a little girl on my wedding day,” Paul recalled. “And again in Crac de O’spital…”
“Then ask yourself how come she only left La Rochelle after you left?” Upside asked and raised his eyebrows as Sister Lucy placed some dates and olives on the table as a snack. “And is here now?”
Paul looked at Theodoric, unsure.
“So…can you tell me more about her or what these watchers are, or birdmen?” Paul asked looking at Theodoric and Attar in turn as he remembered what the old lady had said to him back in La Rochelle: ‘The watchers… you know…the birdmen…they watch you.’
“Hope you are prepared to be up all night,” Sister Lucy joked.
“Remember before when I hinted about the watchers…and about your mother…and Alisha?” Theodoric asked in all seriousness.
“Yes, I remember, but I did not really take it all on board if I am honest,” Paul answered.
“Then recall how I explained how your parents wanted a child and how the old woman gave us a choice. She would call upon the people of the skies and lakes to let your mother fall with child, so long as I would swear my life to learning the secrets and teachings of the old ways of the High Kings, of the Druids?” Theodoric said and winked at Paul. “We have discussed the watchers many times, Paul, do you really need to know more?”
Paul’s mind raced as he also remembered that Theodoric had to take one of their own women until she too fell with child, the old woman. Was the little girl Theodoric’s, he wondered but immediately dispelled that notion for she was too young…did Sister Lucy know that part, he wondered. Theodoric raised his eyebrows and looked back at Sister Lucy. Most likely still not, Paul reasoned. He placed his hand upon his sword as he also remembered how his mother had been entrusted with it.
Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191
Sarah leaned across the table and gently pulled the sword around toward her. She looked closely at the simple leather scabbard then up at the old man.
“So that is how and why the sword is in such a simple scabbard. Made by his own son’s hands…,” she sighed and sat back down shaking her head.
“Old man, you have already told us much about the watchers. Is there more?” Gabirol asked.
“You say that Theodoric gave Nicholas the threefold water. Did it work?” Ayleth asked.
“Yes, yes it worked,” the old man answered and nodded.
“What more of the watchers though?” Peter asked bluntly.
“Well…Theodoric explained in further detail to Paul about the watchers,” the old man replied and paused for a moment before continuing. “You see, if what I know and understand is true, then every visible thing in the world is put under the charge of an angel. I did touch upon this before…there are many angels whom people pray to, and the Church does not like this fact. ’Tis why in time they will ban the veneration of many angels they do not deem fit nor worthy enough. I would go as far as to argue they will only allow those mentioned in the accepted Bible.”
“And they are?” Simon asked.
“Oh, just the three archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael,” the old man replied.
“What about those mentioned in the Book of Enoch?” Peter called out loudly with a raised hand.
“Peter, the Book of Enoch was banned remember and not included within the Bible. But according to the apocryphal and the Book of Enoch, it is Michael, Gabriel and Raphael who were responsible for binding the wicked fallen angels or watchers who had supposedly transgressed God’s law.”
“Why was the book banned then?” Ayleth asked quietly.
“Why…it was excluded from the authorised version of the Bible because it described these fallen angels and their activities. Activities that greatly concern the Church,” the old man explained in answer. “You see, in Genesis 6:1–4 it says: ‘When men began to multiply on the face of the Earth, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and took them wives of all which they chose.’ Traditionally the Ben Eloha or ‘sons of God’ numbered several hundred and they descended to earth on Mount Harmon. Significantly this was a sacred place to both the Canaanites and the Hebrews who invaded their land. In later times shrines to the gods Baal, Zeus, Helios and Pan and the goddess Astarte were built on its slopes. These Ben Elohim or ‘fallen angels’ were also known as the Watchers, the Grigori and the Irin. In Jewish mythology the Grigori were originally a superior order of angels who dwelt in the highest heaven with God and resembled human beings in their appearance. The title ‘watcher’ simply means ‘one who watches’, ‘those who watch’, ‘those who are awake’ or ‘those who do not sleep’. In esoteric traditions they were a special higher order of angelic beings created by God to be earthly shepherds of early mankind to observe and watch over us. However, they were confined by the divine prime directive not to interfere in human evolution. This is very much in keeping with what Kratos still does and the beings that appear to both Alisha and Paul. Unfortunately they decided to ignore God’s command and defy his orders and became teachers to the human race, with unfortunate repercussions for both themselves and humanity. Just as Kratos told Paul.”
“Who exactly is this Enoch?” the farrier asked.
“In the Bible the prophet Enoch, from the Hebrew ‘hanokh’ or instructor, is a mysterious figure. In Genesis 4:16–23 he is described as the son of Cain, the ‘first murderer’. In Genesis 5:18–19, and several generations later, Enoch is named as the son of Jared, and it is during his lifetime that the watchers either arrive or incarnate in human bodies,” the old man explained.
“Reincarnated as you explained before, yes?” Sarah interrupted.
“In a fashion yes.”
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“Like Alisha and Paul then…are they watchers?” Ayleth asked excitedly.
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nbsp; “No, they are not watchers,” the old man smiled. “In the Book of Jubilee, allegedly dictated by an angel of the Lord to Moses on Mount Sinai, when he also received the Ten Commandments, it says that Enoch was the first among men that are born on earth who learn writing, knowledge and wisdom. It says that Enoch wrote down ‘the signs of Heaven’.”
“The zodiac?” Gabirol asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
“Yes and more,” the old man acknowledged and continued. “He did this so that man would know the seasons and months and years in relation to their respective stellar and planetary influences. Two hundred of the ‘fallen angels’ descended from the heavenly realm onto the summit of Mount Herman or Hermon as some say and they were so smitten by the beauty of human women that, using their new material bodies, they mated with them. This further incurred Yahweh’s wrath and the consequence of this union between the Fallen Ones and mortals led to the creation of half-angelic, half-human offspring.”
“Where does it say that?” Gabirol asked.
“In Genesis 6:4. These children were called the Nefelim or Nephilim and they were the giant race that once inhabited Old Earth. The fallen angels taught their wives and children a variety of new skills, magical knowledge and occult wisdom. So called magical powers were originally an ancient inheritance from the angelic realm given to early humans.”
“Ah…I think I have heard of this before,” Gabirol interrupted, raising his quill. “Is this not known in spiritual and metaphorical terms as the ‘witch blood’, ‘elven blood’ or ‘fairy blood’ that is possessed by witches and wizards…like the different types of blood groups you mentioned before?”
“Originally yes. But remember, magic is essentially just the higher understanding of nature…now in the Book of Enoch it states that the leader of the fallen angels was called Azazel, and he is often identified with Lucifer, which actually means ‘the light bringer’ or Lumiel ‘the light of God’. He taught men to forge swords and make shields and armour. Azazel taught metallurgy and how to mine from the earth and use different metals. To the women he taught the art of making bracelets, ornaments, rings and necklaces from precious metals and stones. He also showed them how to ‘beautify their eyelids’ with the use of cosmetic tricks to attract and seduce the opposite sex. From these practices Enoch says there came much ‘godlessness’ and men and women committed fornication and were led astray and became corrupt in their ways. This was the basis for the early Church condemning the fallen angels for teaching women to make necklaces from pieces of gold and bracelets for their arms. Saint Paul said that women should cover their head in the synagogue (Corinthians: 11:5–6). This was because the fallen angels were attracted to human females with long flowing hair.”
“Oh I always wondered why we had to cover our hair in church,” Sarah said and pulled a mock grimace as she bunched up her hair.
“’Tis also a custom in Islam. The fallen angel Shemyaza, another form of Azazel, is said by Enoch to have taught humans the magical art of enchantment; the fallen angel Armaros taught the resolving or banishing of enchantments; Baraqijal taught astrology; Kokabiel, the knowledge of the constellations; Chazaqiel, the knowledge of the clouds and the sky, weather lore and divination; Shamsiel, the signs of the sun and the solar mysteries; Sariel the courses of the moon and the lunar cycles used in horticulture and agriculture and the esoteric lunar mysteries; Penemuel instructed humans in the art of writing and reading; and Kashdejan taught the diagnosis and healing of diseases and the science of medicine.”
“Are they not all good and godly things to learn?” Simon asked, looking confused again.
“The watchers were the bringers of culture and civilisation to the early human race. It is therefore strange that in orthodox Judeo-Christian religious texts they are misrepresented as evil corrupters of humanity. Azazel, the leader of the watchers, as mentioned before, was identified with Lucifer or Lumiel. In the Qur’an it is said that Lucifer-Lumiel (Iblis) rebelled against Allah because he was told to bow down and worship the clay-born ‘man of earth’ Adam and refused as I explained previously. He was forced to fight a battle in Heaven with the Archangel Mikael or Michael and his Army of the Lord. As a result Lumiel and his rebel angels were cast out of Heaven and fell down to earth. Here Lumiel became the Lord of the World and in Christian mythology he was falsely identified with Satan. However, esoterically Lumiel or Lumial is not an evil satanic figure luring humankind into temptation and acts of evil as the Church represents him. He is the angel of God who rebelled against the static, established cosmic order and set in motion the forces of change and evolution…the right to free agency and free choice.”
“Can I sink ever lower into confusion?” Simon asked with a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.
“Probably,” Sarah joked back.
“Simon, as I have said before, all that you hear does go in and you will remember it again,” the old man said reassuringly. “I can tell you that Lumiel originated in Canaan as Shahar, the god of the morning star, Venus. He had a twin called Shalem, who was also symbolised by the planet Venus, but as the evening star.”
“Is that not the same as the appellation to Jesus, as the bright morning and evening star?” Peter asked.
“Yes, you could say so,” the old man answered and paused, but Peter simply nodded his head. “These divine bright and dark twins represented the solar light emerging from the darkness of night at dawn and descending into it at dusk. They were the children of the goddess Asherah, whom the Hebrews adopted and worshipped when they settled in Canaan and practised it alongside reverence of the tribal storm god Yahweh.”
“Yahweh…a storm god! But I thought that is the Jewish name for God…not a storm god?” Ayleth asked, looking shocked.
“That is correct. They are one and the same,” the old man replied. “Also understand that the Old Testament has several references to the continued worship of Asherah as ‘Queen of Heaven’ by the Hebrews.”
“But they are monotheistic are they not?” the wealthy tailor asked, surprised.
“Yes, apparently, but they did this and worship took place at shrines in sacred groves on hills where they made offerings to her. In Canaanite mythology, Shahar was Lord of the Morning Star, who was cast down from heaven for defying the high god El in the form of a lightning bolt. In that form he fertilised Mother Earth with his divine phallic force. Azazel is represented as a metal-smith and a fire-working sorcerer or magician. He has also been compared to the biblical first smith Tubal-Cain, a descendant of Cain. The actual name Azazel can be translated as ‘god of victory’, ‘the strength of God’, ‘the strong god’ and even ‘the goat god’. In the apocryphal Apocalypse of Abraham, he is called ‘the lord of heathens’ suggesting he was originally a pagan god. He has also been identified with the serpent in the Eden myth that seduced the first woman, Eve. In a Persian text known as the Urm al-Khibab or The Primordial Book, dating from the eighth century BC, the angel Azazil or Azazel is said to have refused to acknowledge the superiority of Adam over the angels. As a result Allah expelled him and his rebel angels from the heavenly realm to live on earth. More generally in Islamic lore Azazel or Azrael is the angel of death and he acts as a guide for the souls of the dead. In Leviticus 16:8–10 and in a curious Hebrew ritual is recorded that features Azazel as the name for the ‘scapegoat’ that takes on the communal sins of Israel. It says that the high priest Aaron took two goats from the flock and cast lots, which in itself is practised divination, to choose which one would be the scapegoat and sacrificed as a ‘sin offering’. The high priest confessed all the ‘impurities of the children of Israel’ over the head of the Azazel goat. By this ritually symbolic act he transferred to the unfortunate animal all their guilt and sins so they could be absolved of them. The goat was then either cast out into the wilderness to die or thrown over a cliff to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. This ancient and archetypal concept of the scapegoat sacrificed for the sins of the human race and abandoned in the wilderness is a
powerful and potent motif that appears several times in biblical myths. It is seen in the story of Cain, who becomes an exiled wanderer on the earth after being marked by God and banished ‘east of Eden’ after killing his brother Abel. In one Jewish legend the wise King Solomon, a powerful magician who could summon and control demons, fell from grace because he ‘whored after foreign gods’. He was forced by God to leave Jerusalem and wander in the desert disguised as a beggar. Also after their exodus from slavery in Egypt, Moses and the Israelites were forced to spend forty years wandering in the desert before they were allowed to enter the Promised Land. In Ancient Egyptian mythology, the dark god Set is represented as a divine outcast who dwells in the desert and after she left Adam his first wife Lilith or Liliya fled to the wilderness away from human habitation.”
“What…Adam had a first wife?” Ayleth asked, very surprised.
“Yes. I explained this before briefly when you first arrived,” the old man answered.
“And Lilith is also connected to the lily and fleur de lys,” Simon stated proudly.
The old man smiled at Simon then continued.
“In the New Testament Jesus wandered in the wilderness for forty days and nights. He was not accepted as a teacher in his own town of Nazareth and was rejected as the promised messiah by his people. When Jesus was crucified he symbolically took on the role of the sacrificial scapegoat who dies to cleanse the sins of the human race.”
“But also to stop further human sacrifices…is that not what you said before?” Simon asked.
“That is also correct,” the old man replied, smiling, then continued. “Originally a goat would have been selected by means of a divination ritual and then offered to a desert god or demon that had to be placated by the shedding of blood. Eventually the sacrifice was made to Yahweh as a petition to forgive the sins of his followers. Azazel had a retinue of hairy he-goat demons known as the se’irim who, like the watchers, lusted after human women. It cannot be a total coincidence that the Church imagines the Devil or Satan in the form of a hairy half-human he-goat with a massive erect phallus who has sexual intercourse with his female worshippers at the Witches’ Sabbath. Shemyaza is seen by some as either the emissary of Lumiel or one of his avatars as an incarnated divine being in human form. He not only fell in love with human women, but also with the Babylonian deity Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. She promised to have sex with him if he would reveal the secret name of God. When Shemyaza told her, Ishtar used this forbidden knowledge to ascend to the stars and she reigned over the constellation of Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. While the other watchers were rounded up by the archangels and punished by God, Shemyaza voluntarily repented his error and sentenced himself to hang upside down in the constellation of Orion the Hunter, with whom he is sometimes identified. In the Cabbalistic tradition, Naamah, the sister of the biblical first smith Tubal-Cain, seduced Azazel and she has been associated with Ishtar. The end result of the illicit relationships between the watchers and ‘the daughters of men’ was, according to Judeo-Christian propaganda, the spawning of a monstrous race of warlike, blood-drinking cannibalistic giants called the Nephilim. Genesis 6:4 less dramatically describes them as ‘the mighty men of old, men of renown’. At first they were fed manna, ambrosia or the food of the gods by Yahweh to stop them consuming human flesh, but they rejected it. They slaughtered animals for food instead and then began to hunt down and eat human prey. In the biblical myth of Cain and Abel the dispute between the two brothers that led to the first murder is over the nature of the offerings made to Yahweh. Abel, a ‘keeper of sheep’ or nomadic herdsman, offered the ‘firstlings of the flock’, and Cain, who was ‘a tiller of the ground’ or farmer-gardener, offered ‘the fruit of the ground’ (Genesis 4:2–4). Abel’s burnt offerings of animal flesh and blood were pleasing to Yahweh, but he rejected the vegetables, cereal and fruit offered by his brother.”