The Watchers

The Watchers, or Grigori, are ancient angelic beings associated with stellar lore that watch over witches. They are sometimes envisioned as the Watchtowers of the witch’s circle.

In the stellar cults of Mesopotamia there were fourstars known as Lords or Watchers. Each of these stars “ruled” over a cardinal point of the compass, circa 3000 BCE. Aldebaran was the star of the Vernal Equinox, and was the Watcher of the East. Regulus, star of the Summer Solstice was the Watcher of the South. Antares was the star of the Autumnal Equinox and was the Watcher of the West. Finally Formalhaut was the star of the Winter Solstice and Watcher of the North. Seven-stepped pyramid towers were constructed bearing symbols of each of these four stars and times of year. These ziggurats formed the first instance of the Watchtowers.

The Watchers are echoed in the four winds of the ancient Greeks, and in the four Archangels of Christian belief: Michael (Fire), Gabriel (Water), Raphael (Air), and Auriel (Earth). However, the Watchers are also mentioned as fallen angels in the apocryphal  Book of Enoch. These Watchers are said to have instructed the daughters of men in certain magical arts. The usual associations are as follows:

• Araqiel: signs of the earth
• Armaros: enchantments
• Azazel: masking, smithing, and witchcraft
• Barqel: astrology
• Ezequeel: signs of the clouds
• Gadreel: making weapons
• Kokabeel: stellar lore
• Penemue: written spells
• Sariel: lunar magic
• Semjaza: herbal magic
• Shamshiel: solar magic

These Enochian Watchers were said to have mated with the daughters of men and produced a race of giants, the Nephilim, who were gifted with magical powers. These Nephilim possessed odd genetic traits that are similar to the “Witches’ Marks” of old, such as giantism, extra teeth, polydactylism, and supernumery nipples. Indeed, some modern witches still claim descent from certain specific fallen angels.

The Pentagram

The Pentagram of the Witches is a five-pointed star formed by five straight lines, and encased in a circle, with one point upwards. The five points of the pentagram represent the five elements. The crowning point represents Spirit, and continuing in clockwise order, the remaining points symbolize Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. The circle is related to the magic circle of Power, and connects all of the elements together, all of which is under the dominion of Spirit.

When inscribed on a disk, it represents the Pentacle, or ritual tool of Earth. Small silver Pentagrams are favorite amulets of Witches, and are often worn as ritual jewelry.

The first known uses of the pentagram are found in Mesopotamian writings dating to about 3000 BC. The Sumerian pentagrams served as pictograms for the word "UB" meaning "corner, angle, nook; a small room, cavity, hole; pitfall".

The Pentagram is a very ancient magic sigil, and has been used by many groups under many names. Among the names are: Pentalpha (the five A's of Pythagoras), the Endless Knot, the Eastern Star (used in Masonry, and the star the Magi followed in Biblical myth), the Star of Knowledge, the Seal of the Templars, the Seal of Solomon (although this is a misattribution, as Solomon's Seal is actually a six-pointed star), the Pentagrammaton (or "the five letter word": YHShVH, the ineffable name of the God of the Hebrews when coupled with the Shekinah), the Goat of Mendes, the Seal of the Microcosm, Gawain's Garter (Gawain used this symbol on his escutcheon after defeating the Green Knight) the Witch's Foot, and the Goblin Cross.  Christians once used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Jesus.

The inverted pentagram represents Spirit triumphed by Matter, and is used as a symbol for the second degree in some traditions of Witchcraft.

The planet Venus traces a pentagram in the sky every 584 days, and the pentagram's associations with this planet – the morning star and the evening star – form some of the earliest stellar lore.

Cutting an apple in half reveals a pentagram within, formed by the seed cavities.  The apple blossom is five-petaled, as is the rowan, and the rose, all of which are associated with Witchcraft and magic.

The Pentagram is used magically as a portal.