THE WATCHERS

The name Watcher, or Grigori, means "Those Who Watch", or "Those Who Are Awake", or "The Ones Who Never Sleep".

The mysterious eighth order of angels, the gentle Grigori were created by God to be Earthly shepherds of the first humans. The Grigori were both physically and spiritually gigantic, at least by the standards of the people who later wrote about them. They served early humanity as vast reservoirs of information concerning the finer points of civilization, and their selflessness was beyond compare. They were also called the Watchers, as it was their job to observe humanity, lending a helping hand when necessary but not interfering in the course of human development.

In the Book Of Enoch, it describes that God had sent a legion of angels to earth in order to watch over and assist man during the beginning of civilization. These angels taught man sciences which were forbidden by God such as the magick in herbs, reading the stars, divination and sorcery. Enoch goes on to say "...but they chose husbands and wives from among the humans and led greatly debauched lives, neglecting their heavenly duties..." This angered God greatly and he banished the "fallen".

Among the Strega the Watchers are called the Grigori. Originally there were 4 royal stars or Lords and they were called the Watchers. Each of these Lords ruled over one of the 4 cardinal points...North, South, East, West.

North - Formalhaut - who marked Winter Solstice
South - Regulus - who marked Summer Solstice
East - Aldebaran - who marked the Vernal Equinox
West - Antares - who marked Autumn Equinox

In the Strega Mythos, the Watchers were Gods who guarded the Heavens and Earth. Over time the Greeks made them Gods of the 4 winds, and the Christians made them creatures of the Air. In Stregheria we call the elements from the altar. The Grigori are of a "higher" realm and guard the portals to the gods.

The witch is watched and aided by the Grigori. Every act of magick is seen and noted by the Grigori. This does not mean that the Grigori will stop a working, we are each responsible for our actions. Just that all workings are noted and we all need to think about what we do - before - we do it. I personally view the Grigori as a sort of 'conscienceness' whereby I weigh the aspects for what I wish to do and the consequences thereof.. Our first encounter is when we cast the circle. We call forth the Watchers to 'watch' or oversee the ritual and whatever workings we may be doing.

In 'A Dictionary of Angels' by Gustav Davidson, the Watchers are portrayed as a high order of Angels, (Archangels), also known as Grigori or Irin.

Not all the Watchers descended: those that remained are the holy Watchers, and they reside in the 5th Heaven. The evil Watchers dwell either in the 3rd Heaven or in Hell.

1. Armaros: Taught men the resolving of enchantments
2. Araquiel: Taught men the signs of the earth
3. Azazel: Taught men to make knives, swords, and shields, and to devise ornaments and cosmetics.
4. Baraqijal: Taught men astrology
5. Ezequeel: Taught men the knowledge of the clouds.
6. Gadreel: Introduced weapons of war
7. Kokabel: Taught the science of constellations
8. Penemue: Instructed mankind in writing and taught children the bitter and sweet, and the secrets of wisdom.
9. Sariel: Taught men the course of the moon.
10. Semjaza: Taught men enchantments, root-cutting etc.
11. Shamshiel: Taught men the signs of the sun.

Taken in part from

Archangels Mailing List
The Book of Enoch
The Book of Jubilees
A Dictionary of Angels' by Gustav Davidson

THE WOMAN AND THE ANGEL
Robert Service

An angel was tired of heaven, as he lounged in the golden street;
His halo was tilted sideways, and his harp lay mute at his feet;
So the Master stooped, in His pity, and gave him a pass to go,
For the space of a moon, to the earth-world, to mix with the men below.

He doffed his celestial garments, scarce waiting to lay them straight;
He bade goodby to Peter, who stood by the golden gate;
The sexless singers of heaven chanted a fond farewell,
And the imps looked up as they pattered on the red-hot flags of hell.

Never was seen such an angel - eyes of heavenly blue,
Features that shamed Apollo, hair of a golden hue;
The women simply adored him; his lips were a Cupid's bow;
But he never ventured to use them - and so they voted him slow.

Till at last there came One Woman, a marvel of loveliness,
And she whispered to him, "Do you love me?" And he answered that woman, "Yes"
And she said: "Put your arms around me, and kiss me, and hold me - so -"
But fiercely he drew back, saying: "This thing is wrong, and I know."

Then sweetly she mocked his scruples, and softly she him beguiled:
"You, who are verily man among men, speak with the tongue of a child.
We have outlived the old standards; we have burst, like an overtight thong,
The ancient, outworn, Puritanic traditions of Right and Wrong."

Then the Master feared for His angel, and called him again to His side,
For oh, the woman was wondrous, and oh, the angel was tried!
And deep in his hell sang the devil, and this was the strain of his song:
"The ancient, outworn, Puritanic traditions of Right and Wrong."

There is an ancient legend about the "Watchers".

The story goes....(remember this is not Scripture)...

God formed a tenth choir of angels....he called them the "Watchers" and charged them with the responsibility of watching mankind develop and to be sure the development was going as God intended.

This task the Grigori (another name for these angels who were very big angels) accepted and watched man for many centuries.

The angels began to wonder about the sensations of the flesh. They longed to know the taste of food, the feel of air on their skin, the sensation of an embrace.

And they were enchanted by the daughters of man!

One day, when they could stand it no longer, they made a pact, all two hundred of them, that they would go down to earth and experience these things.

When the angels came to earth and saw the daughters of man they were awed by their beauty and could not resist wanting them.

So the angels, forsaking Heaven, took the daughters of man as wives and had children with them.

These children, all sons, of the angels and the women were beautiful and bright and strong and healthy. They had none of the characteristics of the angels. They were completely human.

The villagers loved these miraculous children and doted on them. They watched with great admiration as the children grew, and grew, and grew.

The children, called the NEPHILIM, grew into giants.

The people toiled endlessly to supply enough food for these giants but were finally unable to produce enough.

When the giants found they had no food to eat they began to eat the people.

And then there arose from earth a mournful cry from the people, begging God to save them from the giants.

When God saw what had happened He was angry!

He was most displeased with his angels, the Watchers. These angels he banished to a part of Heaven called Tartarus; a place worse than any Hell. There the Watchers would await God's judgment at the end of time. They would wait in abject misery, never knowing what became of their wives or their children.

God punished the people by sending the Great Flood to cover the earth and rid the world of the giants.

That's the end of the legend....but there are many love stories of the angels and people that have not been told.

Nathaneal saved his beloved Sarah by tucking her under his mighty wings and flying to another planet where it is said they live to this day.

Lea Docken is writing the first story....of Sarah and Natheneal.

Used by permission of Lea Docken. Thank you

An Angel, a wartime romance and a Cotswold mansion are the magic ingredients of a tale which is set to earn a man from Stroud in the UK, £350,000. Stroud architect and researcher into the paranormal, Danny Sullivan, 45, bought a 50 year-old film and a case of documents at a junk shop in Monmouth for £15. It was a bargain of a lifetime. The film, believed to show footage of an Angel at Woodchester Mansion, and the papers have been bought by Hollywood director Tony Kaye, who plans to collaborate with Marlon Brando to make the romantic epic.

The story began during World War One when British soldiers reportedly saw an Angel leading them into battle at Mons in France in August 1914. After the war, returning soldier William Doidge, began his obsessive quest to find out more about the Angel after losing contact with his wartime love, a Belgian woman, identified only as Marie.

He wrote to various societies connected with the supernatural and in 1952 received a letter from an American veteran of World War Two, who had also witnessed the Angel. The serviceman, identified in letters to Doidge only as Doug, had seen the Angel at Woodchester Mansion as an omen of tragedy about to happen.

American and Canadian troops had been stationed at Woodchester Mansion during the Second World War. Disaster struck there in 1944 when around 20 men were drowned in a lake following the apparent collapse of a pontoon bridge. Doug claimed the evening before the tragedy he had seen the Angel hovering over the lake.

He wrote. 'I could see what looked like long white robes. It had no feet and there were shapes like wings behind its shoulders. I can't prove what I saw was an angel, but I swear it's the truth.' Doidge began a vigil at Woodchester Mansion and in the winter of 1952 he captured the Angel on cine camera.

Fifty years later the film, which lasts just a few minutes, was found by Danny Sullivan among the case of papers at the junk shop in Monmouth.

He showed his find to public relations boss Mark Borkowski, who lives near Stroud who told film director Tony Kaye who was enthralled by the tale. Danny, is keeping his feet on the ground, at least until the deal has been finalised. 'Last week I was jumping up and down with excitement,' he said. 'It is the closest we have on film to proof of an angel,' he said. 'I've spent much of my life looking at special visual effects and this is an effect for which I have no explanation.'

Mr Sullivan had failed to get all of Doidge’s papers from the trunk, recently returned to Bonita’s for the missing documents. But the trunk was gone, and with it the end of Doidge’s story. Mr Read Smith (the owner of the shop) said he had no idea what happened to the remaining documents.