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The `Watchers are called, or evoked, to guard the circle and to witness the ritual. 'The guarding of a ceremonial circle is self-explanatory, but why are the rites to be witnessed?
from the text
Found in Stregheria, and common to most Wiccan traditions, is the concept of the Watchers, who are viewed differently by the various systems. In this chapter we will look at the oldest concept of the Watchers, dating back to the early Stellar Cults. Among the Strega these beings are called the Grigori, and particularly so by the Tannarric Witches who are known as the "Star Witches." The Tannara have preserved the ancient Stellar Mysteries, and it is through their teachings that we can better understand who the Watchers/Grigori really are.
In the early Stellar Cults of Persia there were four "royal" stars (known as Lords) that were called the Watchers. Each one of these stars "ruled" over one of the four cardinal points common to astrology. This particular system would date from approximately 3000 B.c. The ancient ritual godforms of the Watchers, pictured in this chapter, are performed at the associated cardinal points, while evoking them during the casting of a ritual circle (see Figures 7-10). There is a definite link between the "powers" of a Witch and the rapport with the Watchers. To assume the posture of one of these Watcher positions is to invoke the nature of that Watcher within your own psyche.
The Star Aldebaran, when it marked the Vernal Equinox, held the position of Watcher of the East. Regulus, marking the Summer Solstice, was Watcher of the South. Antares, marking the Autumn Equinox, was Watcher of the West. Fomalhaut, marking the Winter Solstice, was Watcher of the North.
Towers were constructed bearing the symbols of the Watchers as a form of worship, and their symbols were set upon the Towers for the purpose of evocation. During the "Rites of Calling," these symbols were traced in the air, using torches or ritual wands, and the secret names of the Watchers were called out.
In the Stellar Mythos, the Grigori themselves were gods who guarded the heavens and the Earth. Their nature, as well as their "rank," was altered by the successive lunar and solar cults which replaced the stellar cults. Eventually the Greeks reduced them to the Gods of the Four Winds, and the Christians to principalities of the air. Their connection with the stars is vaguely recalled in the Christian concept of heavenly angels.
Cabalists organized them into Archangels, which I assume they derived from the early Hebrew concept of a similar order of angels known as the Watchers. According to this belief, the Watchers were ruled over by four great Watchers known as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Auriel. The Hebrews, no doubt, borrowed this whole concept from the surrounding cultures that were stellar and lunar in nature. The Hebrew religion was highly eclectic in ancient times.
In Italian Witchcraft, these ancient beings are the Guardians of the Dimensional Planes, protectors of the ritual circle, and witnesses to the rites that have been kept down through the ages. Each of the ruling Grigori oversees a "Watchtower," which is now a portal marking one of the four quarters of the ritual circle. In ancient times, a "Tower" was a term for a military fighting unit, and a "Watchtower" was a defending home unit, similar to a National Guard. In Italian Witchlore, the stars were once thought of as the campfires of the Grigori legions.
Originally, the Grigori were "lesser gods" who watched over the Earth and the Heavens. In the Aridian Mythos, they are the Guardians of the Four Entrances to the Realm of Aster, which is the home of the gods in Strega mythology. Outside of the Wiccan structure, the Watchers are most easily linked to the Judaic/Christian concept of "guardian angels." In the Old Testament (Daniel 4:13-17), reference is made to the Irin, or Watchers, who appear to be an order of angels (in early Hebrew lore, the Irin were a high order of angels who sat on the Supreme Judgment Council of the Heavenly Court). In the Apocryphal Books of Enoch and Jubilees, the Watchers are mentioned as "fallen angels" who originally were sent to Earth to teach men law and justice. In the Secret Book of Enoch, the Watchers (called therein Grigori) are listed as rebellious angels who followed Sataniel in a heavenly war.
Figure 7 Watcher Posture of the North
Figure 8 Watcher Posture of the East
Figure 9 Watcher Posture of the South
Figure 10 Watcher Posture of the West
Gustav Davidson, in his Dictionary ofAngels, portrays the Watchers as a high order of angels, known also as the Grigori. In Rabbinic and Cabalistic lore, the "good" Watchers dwell in the Fifth Heaven, and "evil" Watchers dwell in the Third Heaven. The Watchers of the Fifth Heaven are ruled over by the archangels Uriel, Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel. In the Apocryphon of Genesis, it is said that Noah is the offspring of a Watcher who slept with Bat-Enosh, his mother.
In the Dictionary of Angels, the Watchers are listed as the Fallen Angels who instructed humankind in the ancient arts. The most common associations found in various texts on medieval magick regarding the Watchers are as follows:
Araqiel: taught the signs of the earth
Armaros: taught the resolving of enchantments
Azazel: taught the art of cosmetics
Barqel: taught astrology
Ezequeel: taught the knowledge of the clouds
Gadreel: taught the making of weapons of war
Kokabeel: taught the mystery of the stars
Penemue: taught writing
Sariel: taught the knowledge of the Moon
Semjaza: taught herbal enchantments
Shamshiel: taught the signs of the Sun
It is these same angels who are referred to as the "Sons of God" in the Book of Genesis 6:4. According to Christian mythology, their "sins" filled the Earth with violence and the world was destroyed as a result of their intervention. This, of course, is the Biblical account and has little to do with Strega beliefs.
Richard Cavendish, in his book The Powers of Evil, makes references to the possibility of the giants mentioned in Genesis 6:4 being the giants or Titans of Greek mythology. He also lists the Watchers as the "Fallen Angels" which magicians call forth in ceremonial magick. (Read Genesis 6:1-7 for the background in Biblical reference.) Despite the debatable accuracy of information in books by Cavendish, he does draw some interesting parallels and even mentions that the Watchers were so named because they were stars, the "eyes of night."
St. Paul, in the New Testament, calls the Fallen Angels "principalities": for we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers ... against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in High Places. It was also St. Paul who called Satan the prince of power of the air, and thus made the connection of Satan (himself connected to "a star," Isaiah 14:12-14) and etheric beings, for they were later known as demons and as principalities of the air.
This theme was developed further by Sinistrari, a French theologian of the sixteenth century, who spoke of an order of beings existing between humans and angels. He called them demons and associated them with the elemental natures of earth, air, fire, and water. This, however, was not a new concept, but was taught by certain Gnostic sects in the early days of Christianity.
Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, attributed the movement of the stars and the control of the four Elements to Angelic Beings. Sinistrari attributed bodies of fire, air, earth, and water to these Beings, and concluded that the Watchers were made of fire and air.
Cardinal Newman, writing in the mid-1800s, proposed that certain angels existed who were neither totally good nor evil, and had only "partially fallen" from the Heavens. This would seem to support Davidson's text, which places the Watchers in two different "heavens."
My purpose in presenting these associations is to show some examples of how a central theme can be divided and transformed. Today, even among Craft Traditions, there exists a great deal of confusion concerning the Watchers. Some systems view them as elemental rulers, demi-gods, guardians, spiritual teachers, or planetary intelligences. All of these concepts are indeed aspects of the Watchers. Do the Watchers have any association with the Judaic/Christian angels? Yes, but those associations are so distorted and biased that they serve only to cloud the issue.
To really understand the Grigori, we need only look to their role in Witchcraft as a Religion. Our first encounter with these entities usually occurs when casting a ritual circle in which to practice the rites. The Watchers are called, or evoked, to guard the circle and to witness the ritual (see Figures 7-10). The guarding of a ceremonial circle is selfexplanatory, but why are the rites to be witnessed?
In answering this question, let us consider the relationship that exists between a Witch and the Watchers. When someone is first initiated, he or she is brought before the quarters where the Watchers have been evoked. The initiate is then presented before the Watcher and the initiate's Craft name is revealed. This is the first step in the bonding which must take place. From that moment on, the Initiate is "watched" and aided. This bond also serves as a safeguard, for every act of magick that a Witch performs is observed and noted by the Grigori.
The Watchers guard the portals to the Astral Realms, and can allow a magickal act to establish itself in the Astral substance, or can dispel the charge. This is why certain gestures and signs of evocation such as the pentagram were designed, so as to "announce" the presence of a trained practitioner to the presence of the Watchers (that is, one who had sworn not to misuse the arts). Once such signs and symbols are acknowledged by the Watchers, then the portals to other realities open more readily.
In the lore of Witchcraft, it is the Watchers who assist in the spiritual growth of a Witch and who "escort" the Witch to the next realm after physical death. Nothing is ever hidden from the Watchers, and in the end a Witch may come to know them as either the "Dread Lords of the outer spaces," or as the "Mighty Ones, the Guardians." This is not to be viewed as a situation in which these entities will "get you" if you're not "good," but rather as an assurance that karma will be delivered promptly.
As we saw in the first part of this chapter, the Watchers were linked to certain stars that marked the Solstices and Equinoxes, being the cornerstones of the year, if you will. On a greater scale, the Watchers oversaw the "seasons" of the Heavens as well. It is important to remember that the Watchers are stellar beings, not lunar. Their association with a lunar cult, rather than a solar, is obvious on a mundane scale. Stars are associated with the night, as is the Moon, for they share the heavens together. The Sun is seemingly alone (at least most of the time). The stellar and lunar cults are older than the solar cults, which later adopted (and adapted) the inner teachings of the previous ones.
Ancient lore reveals that the Watchers once had bodies of physical matter, but they evolved beyond the need for physical expression long before the rise of humankind. They became "Beings of Light," and this was most likely one of the first parallels between Watchers and angels. Yet, these Beings of Light were linked to the stars even before their evolution, for the old legends state that the Watchers came from the stars. In the early stellar cults, this association was so strong that the Watchers were considered to be stars who had descended to Earth.
From their original worship as demi-gods, the Watchers have come to be honored as a spiritual race that oversees the Worlds. In between, we have seen what became of them. Today, we acknowledge them as Guardians of the entrances and exits to and from the Worlds that connect to the Physical Plane. We also know them as the "Keepers of the Ancient Wisdom" and "Guardians of the Art."