Azazel
Also called Asasel, Azael.
Azazel is the wilderness figure of the biblical scapegoat ritual, later expanded into a leader of the fallen Watchers who taught humanity weaponry and adornment and was bound in punishment.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Biblical folkloreJewish folklore
- Region
- Desolate Barren Landscapes (unspecified) (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Land-Shapers
- Symbols
- Angel
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Angel is image-domain An angel is a messenger of supernatural revelation, ranked in nine choirs and morally ambiguous, holding the power to save and to annihilate alike.
why
That development casts Azazel as one of the leading Watchers, angels who descend to take human wives and father a race of giants, and credits him specifically with teaching forbidden crafts: metalworking and the making of swords, knives, shields, and armor, introducing organized violence, and the arts of cosmetics, dye, and jewelry taught to women, blamed for spreading vanity and seduction.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Behaviour
- Culture bringer teaches crafts
why
That development casts Azazel as one of the leading Watchers, angels who descend to take human wives and father a race of giants, and credits him specifically with teaching forbidden crafts: metalworking and the making of swords, knives, shields, and armor, introducing organized violence, and the arts of cosmetics, dye, and jewelry taught to women, blamed for spreading vanity and seduction.
Omens
- Bound monster breaks free at worlds end
why
As punishment the angel Raphael is sent to bind Azazel hand and foot and cast him into a desert pit, covered over with sharp rocks and darkness, to await a final judgment rather than being destroyed outright.
Utility powers
- Knowledge bestowal
why
That development casts Azazel as one of the leading Watchers, angels who descend to take human wives and father a race of giants, and credits him specifically with teaching forbidden crafts: metalworking and the making of swords, knives, shields, and armor, introducing organized violence, and the arts of cosmetics, dye, and jewelry taught to women, blamed for spreading vanity and seduction.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Shadow carries both readings
3 citations
- Ad de Vries, Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery, s.v. "Azazel."
- Carol Rose, Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins, s.v. "Azazel."
- Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews.