#crowley was raphael before he fell

[shaunashipman]

Why do people think crowley is lucifer? I keep seeing this theory and someone replied to Neil's answer about it saying there were hints in s2. I didn't see these hints, but crowley literally mentions talking to lucifer in s1

[seadeepspaceontheside]

Here we have Angel Crowley and Demon Aziraphale in my Jolly Premonitions series. I saw this photo of David and Michael and my brain worms woke up. Aziraphale -> Ezra - A demon who doesn't want to do true evil but evil in order to help God. Is fearful of the powers in play for both of them but mainly AngCrowley. He is a lower class demon as he was a lower class Angel but gets tons of props due to the nature of a certain angel helping him. He fell because he didn't want Angel Crowley to get in trouble so he took the blame for the questions before he even could join Lucifer's gang. He feels strongly for AngCrowley that he's such an amazing angel and keeps pushing them to be Arch Angel because he believes the heaven and the world would be better Crowley -> Raphael/Tabris/Shamsiel/Lailah - Higher Arch Angel that hates the bureaucracy of it all since they stopped letting him create. They avoid going back to Heaven as much as they can by saying he is twarting a powerful demon (this helps Erza amongst Demons and makes Ang Crowely seem weaker to not work back up there) They realize that Heaven is a shitty system ever since they made Ezra fall (they blame themselves heavily for that) She also knows down the line that things will go down but she doesn't want to be in charge so she DOES EVERYTHING SHE CAN NOT TO BE AN ARC ANGEL. I find that AngelCrowley would love Ezra a bit more openly than his demon counter part. Support me on kofi, tips, commissions

[feathered-serpents]

“One prince of heaven falls its a good story. Two fall and it’s an institutional problem”

So. What “Prince of Heaven” was he talking about?

Your mind might go to Lucifer, but, I don’t think Lucifer’s title was “Prince of Heaven.”

Lucifer was “Lightbringer” he was “The Morning Star” he was not a “Prince of Heaven” that title was reserved for either Michael specifically, or, the archangels in general

One archangel has fallen. So no more can

The only archangel not mentioned is Raphael

Crowley was a high-ranking angel capable of accessing very important files before he fell

Is

Is Crowley Raphael?

Is Crowley literally, actually, straight up Raphael?

[justacynicalromantic]

All of this.

Also, people forget that, as an angel, Aziraphale can do actually good deeds, help people. The cases like with Job - where he must lie to Heaven to not do something monstrous - are actually few and far between.

Most of his time, as an agent of Heaven, he spends doing goods things and reports on them.

And he likes that job.

If only the "bad angel" Gabriel and his underlings didn't force him to do all those awful deeds from time to time, right?

While Crowley, as a demon, is physically unable to do good - he would be punished by Hell for doing a good deed. Plus he must actually do bad deeds all the time and report on them.

Aziraphale can't understand why Crowley would not want to change that.

Remember the "I can't return this book to that woman. That would be a good deed and I am in trouble with Hell enough as it is".

So, for Aziraphale, it's a no-brainer. He can't understand why Crowley - who actually would love to help people but, as a demon is unable to - would not choose to become an angel again.

At worst, he'd have had to lie and manipulate facts in those rare times when Heaven would want him to do something bad - like Aziraphale has been doing all his life - and be a good-doer in all other times.

BUT! Now that Aziraphale holds Gabriel's former position? They wouldn't have to!

At least, that's what Aziraphale believes.

No more lying and hiding, when trying to genuinely help humans. No more fearing repercussions for being a genuinely good person. This is Aziraphale's dream come true. This is freedom.

Remember?

"I am just a demon that goes along with Hell as far as he can, you are just an angel who goes along with Heaven as far as he can"

"Isn't it... lonely?"

"Yeah"

Well, no more of that!

Metatron dangles in front of Aziraphale the biggest dream Aziraphale has had for millennia.

Like many others, I have a lot of thoughts about different things in Season 2. So many things that I want to write about that I end up not writing anything at all. So if I am ever going to get things out I should start now. Maybe I am crazy, maybe I am not, but I read the conversation between Aziraphale and the Metatron a little differently.

The first thing we see is the end of that conversation: M: You don't have to answer immediately. Take all the time you need A: I- I don't know what to say M: Well then, go and tell your friend the good news I don’t think this is about taking his time to decide whether he is taking the job or not, Aziraphale already said yes.

That is why the Metatron ends with a confident “Well, then go and tell your friend the good news”. When Aziraphale turns around and walks towards the bookshop, his face is like that of a student going to defend their thesis in front of their committee or an accused going to their trial. It is scary but you can’t turn back.

The “Take all the time you need” is about breaking it to Crowley that Aziraphale is going to Heaven and that “Crowley can become an angel again.” Take your time to have this conversation. Aziraphale doesn’t know it is a goodbye yet; Metatron does. That’s why he comes in immediately after Crowley leaves and innocently asks “How did he take it?” meaning “how did he take the news that you are leaving?” He didn’t ask “Is he coming?” or “did he accept?” or anything of the sort. He knew Crowley wouldn’t come from the very start.

“I don't know what to say” may then be a “thank you, I am so very grateful for your generosity.”

Aziraphale said yes without discussing it with Crowley first, which is a very Aziraphalean thing to do. Remember how he lied to Crowley about Adam’s whereabouts? Crowley and him were not having an argument about it then, they weren’t fighting, in fact Crowley was sure they were on the same page, in the same team. Aziraphale unilaterally decided he was going to tell Heaven because Heaven were the good guys and they would stop the apocalypse if only they knew where Adam was.

At the bench Crowley offers his place and Aziraphale responds “I don’t think my side would like that" He hasn’t forsaken Heaven yet, he still has hope, he still believes Heaven can correct course and become what Heaven is supposed to be because underneath, the core of Heaven is inherently good. He went rogue because he didn’t trust Heaven’s current management, but he didn’t lose faith in the Heaven-that-should-be.

In the first episode of Season 2, at the coffee shop, he sheepishly says "It’s nice to tell someone about the good things you’ve done now that I’m not reporting to Heaven". He misses Heaven, he misses his job, his purpose. He is unmoored and Crowley is not being the supportive friend Aziraphale needs right now. Aziraphale is going through a crisis that Crowley went through and moved on from a long long time ago. Crowley forsook Heaven after they kicked him out and metaphorically forsook Hell very early on ("I'm on my side" in Job’s times already). He's peachy! And he can't understand that Aziraphale cannot just walk away.

Metatron exploited Aziraphale’s doubts, validated and encouraged them. "But Heaven. Well, it’s the side of truth, of light, of good" is a line that Aziraphale would never have uttered if not for the encouragement that the Metatron gave him. “Like the old times. Only even nicer” is Aziraphale’s imagination running wild, after the beautiful picture Metatron painted. The Heaven-that-should-be is the Heaven-that-was before the rebellion, the Heaven that Aziraphale can make happen again. How can Crowley not see that?!

“But… obviously you said “No” to Hell, you’re the bad guys” is also Metatron’s fueling Aziraphale’s doubts. “you’re” instead of “they are”. If Heaven is inherently the side of good, then Hell is inherently the side of evil. Angels are inherently good and demons are inherently bad. Crowley is at heart a little bit of a good person, Aziraphale has 6000 years of proof. His Fall must have been a mistake or something. How can Crowley not jump at the opportunity to go back? To right that wrong!?

Metatron is not stupid, “The name of your establishment Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death. I assume they always ask for coffee [...] so predictable”. He doesn’t say it outright, but in urging Aziraphale to take the post, he is also implying that the alternative is “death”, it’s a threat, bad things would happen to Earth, to humans, to Crowley. See how Gabriel messed up, he was a bad Supreme Archangel, he led Heaven astray, he didn't work out. if you don’t step in, everybody will suffer, you are the angel for the job, only you can bring Heaven back to the light, to what it should be. For Aziraphale it is a bit of a no-brainer. Now he only needs to convince Crowley.

[nastasya--filippovna]

WHO IS CROWLEY AFTER THE FALL?

so there is a LOT of debate over who Crowley was before The Fall. I have seen a lot of headcanons going around the place saying he was Raphael or Kokabiel or Baraqiel.

I mean this is the Exhibit A for saying that Crowley is Baraqiel. I think NOT.

Because this is a handbook written by demons for demons. The title is literally (if my memory serves me right) a guide to angelic beings that walk the earth. SO Crowley is not That..

Other than the red hair thing, no other physical characteristic matches. This Baraqiel guy sounds like an absolute gremlin. grisly slug, occasionally damp. NOT CROWLEY. I mean she's the most dashing thing around.

NO. #3 It says CROWLEY one line above the name Baraqiel. If Crowley is Baraqiel then why would his demon name appear right under that?????

And I think somewhere Neil Gaiman refuted this theory (I'm not really sure but I think so plz don't come at me with pitchforks if I got it wrong). So.......

But this is all beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that too much has been said about who Crowley was before he fell. There is very little, if not none, that has been said about who he was After.

Some say that he's an insignificant demon or some loser guy in Hell or whatever the equivalent of an angel principality deputy on Earth is.

I BEG TO DIFFER.

He is Important. Just look at the kind of assignments he's given. Original Sin, Major Historical Temptations and Evil Acts, Delivering the Antichrist and bringing about Armageddidn't.

But who is he exactly??????????

So canonically we're never told what Crowley's rank in Hell is. But there are more that enough hints for us to figure that out for ourselves.

But where does one place him when the hierarchy is so complex and varying across different historical and theological sources.

Such as here:

I have been thinking about this and I have two current theories

Crowley is Astaroth

Crowley is The Leviathan

I'll discuss only one in this post. I'll save the other for the next post.

Now book!Omens clearly tells us that Crowley or Crawley is not his real demonic name. For those who haven't read the book this happens when Hastur Lavista and Ligur come to hand over the antichrist to Crowley in the churchyard and as he's about to sign his name as "Crowley" they tell him to sign his real demonic name.

Are you with me?!!!!!

NANNY ASHTORETH!

Why did she use this particular name for her nanny disguise. What if...... what if this IS her real demon name.

A lot of my real life friends are annoyed beyond measure by my constant ranting about etymologies, origin and construction of discourse and epistemology, especially when it comes to presenting my thesis over how all Abrahamic religions and their symbology and iconography is, how do I put it, inspired from pagan religions that they expunged. I mean the concept of angles, the man shaped being with wings that is actually just a ball of fire or eyes or hale discs or sth is a pagan Persian concept.

Back to the matter at hand.

Ashtoreth, Astaroth, Astarte, Ishtar, are all the same name in different dialects and languages. All of these refer to a certain Babylonian goddess. When the People of God probably cleansed off all the infidels they decided to literally demonize their god and name a demon after her. In Milton's Paradise Lost Astaroth is one of the three princes or Grand Dukes of Hell alongside Beelz and Lucifer. If this theory might be true Crowley is a Prince/Grand Duke of Hell.

Now this gets even more interesting. Ashtoreth, Astarte, whatever you may, is a goddess of fertility and is associated with childcare. I mean at this point I just stopped to marvel at the attention to detail that Mr. Gaiman's work hold, the smallest hidden meanings in the storytelling.

Another thing. The Babylonians built these temples called ziggurats to worship Astarte and they looked something like this

and this

they were also known as sky temples.

Because Astaroth was first and foremost the goddess of stars and the Babylonians were stargazers and the temples were constructed as a stairway to heaven to take them closer to the stars and functioned as an observatory at times.

I'm just imagining Crowley turning up in ancient Babylon and with her other-worldly looks, knowledge of the stars and compassion for children they just..... started to worship her.

Before the Christians came and declared them pagans and the rest is history.

Continued in next post for the second theory......

[youryurigoddess]

A. Z. Fell & Co. bookshop and its statues

To start off, you have to be warned that the former set was almost completely destroyed in the S1 bookshop fire and whatever wasn’t important enough to be salvaged before the shooting had to be replaced afterwards. Which means that a few memorable and already identified pieces aren’t there anymore, for better or worse.

This is going to be another long analysis, and certainly not a full one — I’ll describe only the big picture and the most important props. A continuation focusing on the decorations in the less prominent parts of the bookshop will follow here.

Right at the entrance we can see twin tables with the Marly Horses by Guillaume Coustou the Elder. The sculptures showing two rearing horses with their groom were originally commissioned by Louis XV of France for the entrance to château de Marly, a royal residence near Versailles.

In S2 Crowley is shown consistently using one of the horses, partially out of convenience, partially in line with a returning throughout the season dark horse theme. Ironically, the symbolic harnessing of a wild animal mirrors the supposed domestication of the demon by his angel, as seen in the transformation of the statue to the right from the entrance into an altar of his submission.

After all, there’s nothing more vulnerable to Crowley than losing the usual protection of his shades, and using a horse sculpture as a stand for his sunglasses speaks volumes about his natural aptitude towards uncertain and liminal states. He thrives in stress situations, dangles his feet while hopping onto a curb, and assumes the form of a non-Euclidean fluid when asked to sit down in a chair. Stability isn’t exactly what he’s most comfortable with. So what for Aziraphale signifies the power over his (theirs?) own domain and ultimate safe space, for Crowley means a challenge.

It makes sense that this particular spot near the exit is where the demon feels most secure in the bookshop, his favorite place in the world. That’s where he stood after crossing its threshold in 1941 too.

The statue in the middle, right on top of the central bookstand, was replaced after the S1 fire. It’s still clearly a Cupid, but in a different pose and without his weapons — instead of shooting an arrow, now he’s holding his left hand over his head, pointing up towards Heaven or God. Quite a change. This is the most similar copy made after Ernest Rancoulet. The butterfly-like wings (similar to the ones Rancoulet used in his La Nuit Tout Repose, At Night Everything Rests) on the copy in the bookshop have visible screws, so they were probably added either by the previous owner or the Good Omens art department.

What’s especially important from the analytic point of view is that similarly to S1, the Cupid in question still appears in the frame facing Crowley, but not targeting him anymore, like it used to, but rather mirroring. The most memorable example appears during the Final Fifteen™ when the demon points up with left hand to highlight his “No nightingales” line.

This one will be fun! Everyone, meet George Maxim’s bronze allegory of Music in her full glory. Angels like music in general, right? And Aziraphale is a known audiophile, which was asserted in the very first episode of the new season. But there’s another link to music in his angelic roots. A rather apocalyptic one — the Archangel Raphael is believed to blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Second Coming (the Day of Resurrection), and Israfil, its Islamic counterpart, Qiyamah (the Day of Judgment).

Staying in the very same context, let’s read the ballad Israfel by Edgar Allen Poe, which was obviously inspired by the titular Archangel.

Nothing on Earth lasts forever — but that’s exactly the reason why we should use it for inspiration, savor this momentary bliss, and hold it in our hearts. The ballad shares the same sentiment about all creation being temporary and only the passions of angels (i.e., Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s feelings) staying eternally unchanging as Aziraphale’s “Nothing lasts forever”. His line was intended as an affirmation of his feelings, similar to “You go too fast for me, Crowley”.

And just like the Cupid is mirroring Crowley in the “No nightingales” line, Music is targeting Aziraphale with her harp in the following frame.

On the counter there’s a smaller bronze statue, which original unfortunately remains unidentified, but I was able to track some similar designs. A woman coming back from the harvest with crops — either a representation of Autumn or the Greek goddess Demeter bringing a blessing of a plentiful harvest. In the Bible, the harvest is a metaphor for both spiritual fruitfulness and judgment. Our productivity in God’s kingdom is supposedly tied to our faith and obedience. And the most popular verses repeat an even older saying, how one reaps what they sow:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” (Revelation 14:15)

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)

If you read The summer that was never supposed to end meta, you’ll interpret the figure itself as a rather ominous sign. Now let’s add to it positioning right next to the gigantic Victorian cash register one cannot possibly overlook and the recurring theme of payment. And the fact that it conveniently disappears at some point in The Ball (S02E05) episode, never to be seen again. Is the payment reminder not needed anymore, because its day just came?

For some reason ever since S1 this one was often interpreted as a bust of Alexander the Great by the fandom. The proper name is the Head of a Victorious Athlete, also known as Benevento Head. As this suggests, the originally bronze sculpture represents a victorious athlete wearing an olive crown and was found near Benevento in Italy, in the remnants of the ancient town Herculaneum, wiped off from the face of the earth together with Pompeii in a tragic volcanic eruption (which was conveniently used later on as a more modern example of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah). It’s an obviously Roman copy of a Greek sculpture and dates back to 50 AD, less than a decade after Aziraphale and Crowley met in Rome in 41 AD— who knows, maybe they were still around at the time? This would make an interesting connection to the statue Crowley brought back to his apartment in 1941.

And no, in the HD quality and especially en face it doesn’t appear similar to Crowley. In fact, there seems to be a very good reason why most photographers choose another, more flattering angle for this particular artwork. But aesthetics aside, the white bust seems more like a mirror for Aziraphale and his self-constructed (and self-imposed) idealized image, based on a specific set of virtues. The presented athlete is victorious because he’s the epitome of the Platonic Triad of higher Forms: Truth, Beauty, and Excellence, understood in the wider context of the Greek Aretē.

To highlight this point, in S1 the head was literally used as a designated display place of the medal Aziraphale got as a commendation for his 6000 years on Earth in the 1800 cut scene. As a free agent not affiliated with Heaven in S2 he doesn’t hang it there anymore, but the medal is still in the bookshop, visible on his desk. You can see it in detail and read the description of its provenance in the last bookshop meta.

Daedalus and Icarus are a very popular motif in the history of art, but certainly not in this overtly masculine, military style. Icarus was too ambitious for his own good and ignored explicit instructions, which constitutes both the sin of pride and that of disobedience to one's parents (or one’s Creator?).

Interestingly, there’s also a version of the myth in which Icarus fashioned himself greater than Helios, the Sun himself, and the god himself punished him for it with the fall — which resonates very strongly with my vision of Crowley both in relation to his Fall and potential S3 development.

But back to Aziraphale. If the medal in question was given to him as a commendation he from the Supreme Archangel himself, it also serves as a warning for him to not get too arrogant or comfortable with his accomplishment (i.e., life on Earth) or it might lead to his fall (or, in this case, Fall).

Foreshadowing much?

[allthemarrowoflife]

okay listen LISTEN. we all know the theory that crowley was raphael before he Fell, right? what if. WHAT IF. gabriel didn't go to the bookshop looking for aziraphale after losing all his memories.

he was looking for raphael, cause he knew even subconsciously that crowley would be there. the whole "everything will be alright if you are near one particular person" speech is him talking about his brother (if you're down with the idea that all the archangels were created together), who has been fallen for millenia but is the only thing he can vaguely recall.

LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND TELL ME THIS SHIT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

[aziraphales-library]

Oh great library wizard- Do you have any fics about the Great War between heaven and hell? I'd love to see some angst, world building, or wartime star-crossed lovers stories.

You might be interested in checking out the fics on our #pre-fall, #aziraphale and crowley met before the fall, and #the fall tags, so check those out. Here are some around the war in heaven...

Obedience by Aethelflaed (T)

Before Eden, before the Fall, there was a War in Heaven. Somewhere, amongst the eternal fighting on the endless battlefield, one angel learns the consequences of disobeying an order.

Ingnition by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

Before the beginning, Aziraphale meets a nice angel who makes a star for him. But after the War starts, everything changes, including the nice angel he once knew. When he and Crawley meet again in Eden, will they still be able to enjoy each other’s company?

A Fair Test by takemetotheworld (T)

It took a moment to realize the angel had asked him a question. All coherent thoughts had fled Aziraphale’s mind the moment the other angel uttered the word idiocy in reference to the Great Plan, a level of audacity so staggering he didn’t know how it was possible for the sounds to have even passed the stranger’s lips. He forced himself to focus on the question itself. Surely he had misunderstood the rest of the angel’s comments. Or perhaps not. He wasn’t certain he wanted to know.

Aziraphale is intrigued by the excitable red-haired angel he watched speak a nebula into existence, but he finds himself increasingly in over his head as his new acquaintance starts publicly questioning the Great Plan.

The Devil’s Love by OneDapperCat (M)

Baraqiel has returned from launching a star system with the news of Armageddon. He wants to do what he can to convince God to change her mind about ending everything before it really begins. He crosses paths with Lucifer, who offers helps to the distraught angel. God has set Lucifer the task of designing and building Hell: a place where angels that don’t align themselves with her divine plan will go for punishment. She has offered him up to 1/3 of her ranks, should he find that many that are against her, but she didn’t expect him to set his sights on one of her three favorite angels. Aziraphale finds himself drawn to the star making angel he accidentally upset, but he can never seem to make him slow down enough to catch his name.

Outside of Time by PeniG (G)

God is infinite, her creations finite, and any concept small enough for a creation’s mind to hold is necessarily too small to approximate reality. Hence ineffability is born with Lucifer and language. One must speak imperfectly, or be silent. Gadreel was not/is not/will never be good at silence. Meanwhile, a happy little principality is having a tickety-boo time. Change is afoot, but how can Heaven change? Half of Heaven goes on strike. Gadreel gets depressed. God doesn’t seem to notice anything wrong. Lucifer tries to make Her notice. Aziraphale holds a door, and accidentally makes a flaming sword. Gadreel does not fight in the long night that will be known as The War. Aziraphale becomes a soldier. Because somebody has to. Gadreel becomes Crawly, Satan’s little pet snake; but how much of that is who he is, and how much is who he pretends to be? How long until he can no longer tell the difference, himself? The final pieces are placed. The Human Project goes live. Time begins.

The Truth Remains by WanderingAlice (M)

Raphael had been the third angel ever created, and he’d raised himself first with Michael’s clumsy help. Then he’d turned around and raised three more siblings, and loved them all so fiercely it hurt. He'd loved Aziraphale too, more than either of them really knew. And then, he fell. He lost everything. The bond he held with his siblings was ripped away, leaving an aching, empty void. And while he still has Aziraphale, the angel doesn't recognize the archangel who taught him how to care about the Earth. And Crowley refuses to tell him who he was, or how Aziraphale's voice is the one thing that can soothe the ache in his soul that wants, so badly, to feel a connection again. A story through the ages as an angel and a demon come to terms with their shared past.

- Mod D

[avelera]

The Doylist Argument for Crowley Being An Important Angel (Pre-Fall)

So I just read a great essay on all the arguments for why Crowley is Raphael by @cyan-cirby and rather than subjecting them to attaching my long-winded additions directly onto their post, figured I'd make my own.

(As a quick aside, I do think Crowley was probably Raphael specifically. It's just too big of an omission of archangels that People Have Actually Heard Of to include Gabriel and Michael, and then jump to lesser known archangel names like Uriel, then totally obscure names like Sandalphon while skipping Raphael, a goddamn Ninja Turtle of well-known archangel names. And I don't think Crowley was Lucifer because Satan is already a character and Neil point-blank said Satan and Lucifer are the same person, otherwise it's too confusing (never mind other evidence like that Crowley referred to Lucifer in the 3rd person in S1, but I digress).)

Anyway! There's plenty of fantastic essays like the one I shared above that go into the fresh new Season 2 evidence for why Crowley was Raphael or at the very least important and high-ranked before he Fell. But I'm a fresh (and still primarily) denizen of the other Neil Gaiman Recent TV Show Adaptation of The Sandman so I want to delve into why Crowley was An Important Angel because that's just how Gaiman writes.

- Crowley is the more Gaiman-y of the two characters and Aziraphale the more Pratchett-y. I’m not making this up from nothing, Pratchett and Gaiman have taken photos and done promotions for the Good Omens book where they modeled themselves that way and basically cosplayed those characters respectively.

- I'm a Pratchett Super Fan first and foremost and can say with some authority that Pratchett tends to write Normal People. Even his Special People are Normal People who have to put their socks on one at a time in the morning. However, his Normal People do Special Things. That's the point. He truly believes, deep down in his bones, in equality and it shows in his portrayal of his protagonists as normal people who rise to an extraordinary occasion.

-Aziraphale is Pratchett's angel in Good Omens and it follows from that that Aziraphale is a Normal Angel doing extraordinary things (defying Heaven’s will to save the world). It aligns with Pratchett's general writerly sensibilities that his angel who saves the world is just a normal low-ranked angel, nothing special by birth, who is fussy and imperfect but nevertheless rises to the challenge to do incredible things in a comedic way. That's how Pratchett's protagonists work.

- Gaiman writes Special People. Dream/Morpheus and the other Endless are born Special People. Rose in Sandman learns she is born Special. Shadow in American Gods learns he was born Special.

- Gaiman very often writes about protagonists who are mythological and/or magical and thus who are super powerful by birth. They are generally only limited either by their own emotional immaturity or by Cosmic Rules.

-Gaiman has also, on more than one occasion, inserted a character who rather resembles him and mirrors his sartorial choices of wearing all black into the story as a protagonist and then made them a Cool Character. Not a criticism, just sayin’, Dream/Morpheus and Crowley come from the same era in his career.

My point is, Crowley is the Gaiman character so, in my opinion, especially when you combine this hunch with the new lore additions in S2, there are some past authorial choices and sensibilities that lead me to believe that with sole creative control of Crowley’s arc and character background, as well Pratchett’s tacit collaborator blessing since this is Gaiman’s Character, we’re going to see a default to old habits and a continuation of this trend because authors are people and they tend to have their way of doing things.

Which is why I think we're going to learn that Crowley Is Special By Birth (being an archangel), super overpowered (like Dream), and only limited in achieving what he wants by Cosmic Rules and being emotionally stunted.

[anangelcanonlygosofar]

Could Aziraphale be Archangel Raphael?

I have been thinking about Aziraphale possibly being Archangel Raphael for some time. I am not 100% sure if this is true or not. I'm 75% sure that it could be a possibility.

The following points will be discussed:

--Aziraphale has gone under various names throughout Season 1 and Season 2

--Archangel Raphael went under the name Azarias

--Aziraphale's favored meal is sushi (raw fish)

--Aziraphale heals people who are hurt or sick

--Archangel Raphael's inner circle was/is Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Uriel.

--Archangels are the chiefs, rulers and/or princes (i.e. "Pincipality") of heaven

--Aziraphale tends to "overdo" his miracles

--Aziraphale and Crowley did a 25-Lazri miracle together

Point One: Aziraphale Has Gone Under Various Names Throughout Season 1 And Season 2:

The principality we've all come to know and love has gone by a few different names throughout Seasons 1 and 2 of "Good Omens". The main name that we know him as is "Aziraphale".

However, he has gone by "A.Z. Fell" (the name on his bookshop and written in his 600+ volumes of journals). He's also gone my "Mr. Mcfell" in the early 1800s when Elsbeth(the grave robber) asked his name. He's also gone by "Mr. Fell" in modern times.

The reason I bring this up is because Archangel Raphael is also known to go by different names. A noticeable name he's gone by is "Azarias" (Note the "AZ", the extra "A", and the "RIA" in the name because it will be important for the second point).

Now look at Aziraphale's name--"AZ" and "RIA" are also letters in "Azarias". Let's expand upon this in the second point, shall we?

Point Two: Archangel Raphael Went Under The Name Azarias:

In the biblical story of "Torbit" Archangel Raphael comes to Torbit using the name "Azarias" and helps heal his eyesight with a fish (keep this mind for later).

Let's Spell out our favorite angel's name:

Aziraphale--Note the "AZ", the extra "A", and the "IRA" in his name

Now let's spell out Raphael's chosen name in the story of Torbit--Azarias--Not the "AZ", The extra "A", and the "RIA" (also note that when you move the "I" behind the "R" it becomes "IRA)"

Could this be just a coincidence? Maybe. Like I said before I am only 75% sure of this theory.

A second thing to note is the fact the "Azarias" and "Aziraphale" BOTH start with "AZ". This could be another coincidence though.

It's still interesting to see the similarities between the names "Azarias" and "Aziraphale".

Onward toward the stream of more fishy coincidence of point three, Shall we?

Point Three: Aziraphale's Favored Meal Is Sushie (Raw Fish):

In Season 1 of "Good Omens" there is a scene in either episode 1 or episode 2 that shows Aziraphale getting sushi at a sushi restaurant.

The reason I bring this up is because of the story of Torbit. In the story, Raphael comes to Torbit using the name Azarias and heals his (Torbit's) blinded eyes with a fish.

Now I know seeing Aziraphale going to eat some sushi and aligning the symbolism of it being a fish to the story of Torbit may be a bit of a stretch. So I leave you with the thought that maybe the sushi, which is raw FISH, was in some way symbolic of Raphael healing Torbit's blinded eyes with a FISH.

Now time to splash over to Point Four.

Point Four: Aziraphale Heals The People Who Are Hurt Or Sick:

In the first season of "Good Omens," we see Aziraphale heal Anthema's broken arm after she crashed into the bently. I think this happens in Episode 4 or 5. This leads credence to the fact that Aziraphale could be Archangel Raphael because one of the many things that Raphael does is HEAL people who need to be healed.

What strengthens this argument is the minisode about Elsbeth and the body snatching. Aziraphale wanted to prevent the body snatching from happening again so he talked to the Doctor to understand why he needed freshly buried corpses. When Aziraphale learned that the freshly buried corpses could be used to help the humans learn how to HEAL themselves, he decided to help the Doctor by helping Elsbeth get another body.

It's also known that Archangel Raphael is the Patron Saint of Doctors and healers. So Aziraphale always having a knack for healing those who need it and helping out the doctor gives slightly more credence to Aziraphale being Raphael.

However, there's still more to discuss. Onwards my fellow readers to point five.

Point Five: Archangel Raphael's Inner Circle Is/Was Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Uriel:

Archangel Raphael's inner circle sort to speak is/was Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Uriel. Now let's take a moment to see which Angels are in near constant contact with Aziraphale throughout seasons one and two of "Good Omens".

The three main angels, who are also Archangels, that have near constant conact with Aziraphale (even though it's to yell at him or figure out what happen to Gabriel's memories) are Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Uriel. These three angels are the ones who come down to Earth to talk to/reprimand Aziraphale.

The SAME angels in Raphael's inner circle. This too could be a coincidence because they are essentially the angels "In charge" of Heaven after the fall. Though it's curious enough to take note of.

Which brings me to the sixth point.

Point Six: Archangels Are The Chiefs, Rulers And/Or Princes (I.e "Principality") Of Heaven:

Archangels are the chiefs, rulers and/or princes of heaven. Aziraphale himself is a Principality. the word "prince" can be heard when pronouncing it. Yes, Princapilties are below The Archangels and The Cheriubum, so you may ask yourself, "Then why this being brought up as evidence of Azriaphale being Archangel Raphael?"

Well, to put it quite simply, I think Aziraphale just calls himself a Principality to hide the fact that he's actually an Archangel. This is especially important to keep in mind when you realize that only Archangels can be Supreme Archangels.

When leads me to Aziraphale being able to become a Supreme Archangel himself despite being a "traitor" to heaven. If Aziraphale has always been Raphael the whole time, then that would mean he's been an ARCHANGEL the whole time as well.

To help explain this let's turn our attention to point seven.

Point Seven: Aziraphale Tends To "Overdo" His Miracles:

If Aziraphale was an Archangel the whole time it would somewhat explain why he overdoes his miracles. Another factor in the overdoing of miracles is the fact Aziraphale gets easily over-excited.

However what if the main reason Aziraphale overdoes his miracles is because he's more powerful than we've been led to believe.

Maybe in his overexcited frame of mind, he forgets how powerful he really is and accidentally does a miracle that is stronger than he anticipated it to be.

An example of this is when Aziraphale accidentally adds gears to Anthema's bike even though there weren't any on the bike to begin with because he got "carried away" when fixing the bike.

This could mean he forgot how powerful he was for a split second and took the time to correct his mistake with the bike when dropping off Anthema at her cottage.

Now let's continue with Aziraphale being more powerful than we initially thought with point eight.

Point Eight: Aziraphale And Crowley did a 25-Lazri Miracle Together:

At the beginning of Season 2 of "Good Omens," Aziraphale and Crowley each perform a half-miracle to hide Gabriel from the angels and demons trying to find him.

The half-miracle they each performed together created a 25-Lazri miracle that set off alarm bells in heaven.

To understand how powerful the miracle was we have to recall that Lazri is just how many people the heavens brought back from the dead. Meaning a 25-Lazri miracle is equal to 25 people being brought back from the dead, which is very powerful indeed.

That said, let's think about the shared miracle power between Aziraphale and Crowley. It's safe to say that Crowley was once a very high-ranking and very powerful angel in heaven before the fall, which would make him a very high-ranking and powerful demon in hell after the fall.

Then we have Aziraphale, who to our knowledge, is a sweet, bumbling, fussy angel that couldn't possibly be that powerful. This begs the question, "Is Aziraphale more powerful than we've been led to believe?"

The answer is maybe. This is because it would take two highly powerful beings to create a 25 Lazri miracle out two HALF miracles. That's the key, Aziraphale did a half-miracle at the same time that Crowley did a half-miracle. A half-miracle isn't supposed to be noticeable or detected and the fact that Aziraphale's and Crowley's combined half-miracles were strong and powerful enough to alert heaven of suspicious activity in Aziraphale's bookshop is also important.

This leads me to believe that Aziraphale and Crowley are both highly powerful beings whose abilities and power are more equal in strength than we've been led to believe. This means that TWO archangels performed two half-miracles that combined to be one 25-Lazri miracle.

BONUS POINT:

Aziraphale was reprimanded, shortly before being caught by the French Revolutionaries, for performing "too many frivolous miracles". which suggests that Aziraphale most likely frivolously miracled money out of his celestial wages for food, books, and tailored clothes, as well as, "intervening with human matters" by healing the sick and the dying. Now we don't know what those "frivolous" miracles were per se, however, we can educatedly guess that the above reasons were just a few of the "frivolous" things he did throughout his 6,000-year lifespan on Earth.

[indigovigilance]

Lament of the Metatron

I did not have "become an amateur biblical apocrypha scholar" on my 2023 bingo card, but here we are, and I’m going to make you feel bad for hating the Metatron. No, really. A lot of different ✨clues ✨in S2 lead us to the Book of Enoch, which describes how the Metatron came to be. (If you would like to read what the Books of Enoch have to say about maybe-Crowley and maybe-Aziraphale, read this meta.)

There are three books of Enoch: 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, and 3 Enoch, and after reading them I’ve concluded that they are almost certainly a major source text for Good Omens, at very least with respect to the Metatron. The translation that I used is 116 pages and quite dense, so there will be multiple metas about it (I should also note that I’ve taken great liberties with reorganizing the source text, for brevity). This one addresses the origin of the Metatron and his likely S1 and S3 motivations.

The Story

To quickly summarize the backstory: after Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden, a bunch of angels go to Earth, transgress against God (by having children with humans) and piss Her off. So She decides She must flood the Earth to wipe them and all their children and human associates out.

During this age of angelic iniquity, Enoch, a righteous man, the 7th generation from Adam and great-grandfather of Noah, receives visions of the coming flood.

Later, Enoch is lifted up to Heaven by a whirlwind. He gets an angel-guided tour of Heaven and visits what I will call The Mountain of Souls. He sees a mountain with four chambers and asks what they are for. Raphael states that they are for the souls of the dead, where they will be kept until Judgment Day. Enoch asks why they are separated. Raphael answers:

One for the souls of the righteous

One for the souls of sinners, who are buried in the earth, to await judgment, and on that day they will be punished

One for those who complain to, or petition, God (including Abel, who was slain by Cain)

One for the souls of those who are not righteous, “but their souls will not be killed on the day of judgment, nor will they rise from here.” (so perhaps a permanent purgatory?)

Later in his journey, Enoch sees the Valley of Judgment. Again, Raphael answers Enoch’s questions, describing “this accursed valley, is for those who are cursed for ever… [for] all those who speak with their mouths against the Lord… and here will be their place of Judgment.” Enoch comments that it would be better for the sinners if they had never been born.

Enoch also sees where the righteous will go after Judgment: “And in those days my eyes saw the Place of the Chosen Ones of Righteousness and Faith… And I saw their dwelling, under the Wings of the Lord of Spirits, and all the righteous and chosen shone in front of him, like the light of fire…. There I wished to dwell.”

The Second Parable of 1 Enoch describes how God will open the Book of the Living when the Chosen One arrives, and so Judgment Day will begin.

Enoch is taken before God and violently transformed from a human into the Metatron, a celestial being: “And I fell upon my face, and my whole body melted, and my spirit was transformed; and I cried out in a loud voice, in the spirit of power.” After Enoch is transfigured into Metatron, he is made to write 366 volumes of what I will call the Book of Deeds, wherein he writes the name of all men, everything they have done, and what afterlife they are destined for.

After sixty days spent in Heaven, angels return the Metatron to Earth to dwell with his sons for… and this is where the different books of Enoch seem to disagree whether it was for one year or thirty days, but either way, he goes back to Earth with an explicit time limit to explain to his children everything he has seen and to teach them the ways of righteousness. Which he does. The fifth book of 1 Enoch, the Epistle, describes Enoch badgering his children to be not just pretendy-good but properly good, and advising them to suffer and turn the other cheek, etc., so that they are found righteous before God on Judgment Day. He knows that at the end of this visit, he will return to Heaven, will never speak to his sons or the rest of his family for the rest of their lives, and that a Great Flood is coming to wipe out everyone on Earth except for his great-grandson Noah and Noah’s three sons, and that whatever is written in the books by then is what his other sons and grandsons and great-grandsons will be judged by on Judgment Day.

It is worth noting here that a separate scholarly analysis points out that once Enoch is transformed into Metatron, he never eats again: “Since the time when the Lord anointed me with the ointment of his glory, food has not come into me, and earthly pleasure my soul does not remember…” This is meant to show how his journey from human to celestial is opposite that of Adam and Eve, who were nourished by celestial food until they left the Garden, and from then on had to sate themselves with “nourishment for the beasts.”

At the end of this visit to Earth, he issues a final warning to his children and neighbors about the coming Judgment Day, then ascends to Heaven to rule over all the angels and to keep the Book of Deeds.

So what should we take from this?

Enoch, a good man, God’s favorite, is given visions of the destruction of Earth, abducted and taken to Heaven where he is shown the Mountain of Souls, the Valley of Damnation, and the Place of the Chosen Ones of Righteousness, he is transformed into an angel so that he may never enjoy Earthly delights again, he is told that everyone he knows, including all of his children and their children, except for one great-grandson and three great-great-grandsons, will die, and that he has limited time to coach them on how to avoid being punished, tortured, and destroyed forever, and even if he succeeds, they will be trapped in the Mountain of Souls until Judgment Day, and then he is taken from them, and given the responsibility of maintaining the records by which souls will be judged. 

So let's talk about motivation.

Here we find an incredibly powerful, incredibly lonely human-turned-angel (because the other angels are both afraid and disrespectful of him), whose entire family was destroyed before his eyes and who are as of right now, as they have been for *checks watch* 5,000 years, trapped in a celestial mountain of purgatory, and the only way he can ever see them again is to bring about the Second Coming, for only on Judgment Day may they be released from the Mountain of Souls and join him before the Throne of Glory, if they heeded his warnings and are found worthy in the sight of God.

This is a highly motivated, highly traumatized anti-villain. Which is possibly the worst thing to happen to Aziraphale because if Azi has a soft spot for anyone, it’s someone whose children were taken from them by God.

******************************

For evidence of why we can selectively ignore/reinterpret Neil's statement re: the Metatron's human past, please read this meta

I read the Book of Enoch from front to back, twice, but if you want to check my work (or write a response meta!) you can find the source material here and here.

If you would like to read what the Books of Enoch have to say about maybe-Crowley and maybe-Aziraphale, read this meta.

[utterly-disappointed]

So I've seen a lot of fanfics suggesting that Crowley was Raphael or Jophiel before he fell. I'd like to offer my own theory on who I thought he was. I believe he is Kokabiel who is considered to be the 'angel of the stars'. We know that Crowley helped created a lot of the stars and other things in space so it's not to ridiculous to think he may of been Kokabiel. AND Kokabiel is a known fallen angel and is one of the 20 Watcher leaders of the 200 fallen angels in the Book of Enoch.

Anyway, this is just my lil theory but honestly IDK. I hope we see more of Crowley's time in heaven and maybe his fall in season 3.

[stinginqnettle]

REVERSE AU!!!!!

Raphael: Fought against heaven in the great war but The Metatron hated Gabriel and basically forced him to stay in heaven and organise everything. He's supposed to be the supreme Archangel but spends most of his time on earth with Aziraphale. Also, he's basically blind. (In this dumb thing I made up the Archangel's have 3 extra visible eyes on their faces). He was blinded in all eyes in the great war but two were replaced with snake eyes so he can just about navigate the world without help. On earth he has trouble reading but Aziraphale helps him.

Aziraphale: He has a demon name but doesn't choose to use it. The guy who was meant to be guarding the traitors was involved in a plot to free them, so Aziraphale took his place watching them just before they fell. He took sympathy on the rebels and recognised one of them as the angel who had made the stars with him. Curious and scared, he went down to see if he could help. Then the Metatron showed up, took the other angel- Raphael- away and left Aziraphale to fall with the rest. On earth he tries to do God's work while pretending to hell that he isn't. Raphael- or Crowley, as Aziraphale calls him (they made up the demon name for Raph together)- feels guilty for playing a part in his fall, and also finds it adorable that he's still trying to be an angel, so helps him with temptations that he doesn't want to do. Aziraphale is sceptical of Raphael's loyalty to heaven but likes and welcomes him as a friend. He loves helping Raph with his vision difficulties and generally spending time with him.

They're both definitely in love with each other. Aziraphale hasn't considered it yet; Raph has and tries to get Azi to realise without straight up confessing. He fails.

More of this coming soon!

Also: Aziraphale is based off an owl because it seemed fitting with his book thing. His eyes are a combination of a nocturnal owl's (black) and an owl active at dawn and dusk (amber).

[atlas-endless]

So like, there's the theory that Crowley was Raphael before he fell, right? Well the theory actually doesn't work because Raphael is the Archangel of healing, aka a doctor, and Crowley convinced eve to eat the Apple in Eden, and a doctor would never do that because doctors are afraid of apples.

[ladyamaranta]

where the heck is Raphael

I assume we all agree that the narrative is strongly implying that Crowley was but a common angel (the 25 lazarii miracle, the high rank clearance, what he says to Gabriel about knowing how it feels, how he does not tell Aziraphale his name when they first meet during the galaxy creation scene, the fact he knows The Metatron -an angry and flame surrounded versione of The Metatron, Saraqael having worked side by side with him, and also maybe some too powerful miracles here and there like in S1 when he was able to froze time for himself, Aziraphale and Adam in a sort of Heavenly space in the middle of a Very Important Moment) ...so the point is which not common angel was he.

From my very personal point of view the main thing in favor of him being Lucifer is that I would love that sentence in S1 to be the opposite of what we thought it to be. I'm referrinf to: "I was just minding my business one day and then, oh lookie here, it's Lucifer and the guys"; the last part would therefore be not something Crowley said, but something that was addressed to him. Someone came there, took a look at him and went "ohh, it's Lucifer and the guys" and started to complaing about the food. I appreciate this kind of 'irrelevant subversion' of how you first pictured a told (and not yet shown) scene in your mind. Also it would be fun for Lucifer to be, in this universe, not the mind behind the rebellion but someone who was just minding his business and someone else saw as the right person to go to to give further resonance to some minor issues about the food.

But.

But from the same very personal point of view, I'd love for Crowley to be Raphael because I would love for the Great Raphael to be a fallen angel in this retelling of christian mythology. Lucifer is THE fallen angel, everyone knows he was the first to cast down the pearly gates; most christians associate him with Satan, call him the first sinner, consider him inherently baaad.

But Raphael? One of the greatest angels? One of the saints? To be one of the fallen?

Just. Lovely.

Also I recognize the story has an important hole here:

Where the heck is Raphael?

At least Lucifer was mentioned, also Hell has so far not had the same amount of screentime as Heaven has, so I don't see the absence of Lucifer (given that in this universe Satan≠Lucifer) as deliberate as the absense of Raphael.

Everyone is familiar with Gabriel, Michael and Raphael as they are familiar with Lucifer. Yet Raphael is never shown nor mentioned.

Everyone is familiar with Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, almost no one is familiar with Uriel and Saraqael and no one is familiar with hecking Sandalphon. Yet they chose not to use the famous trio Gabriel-Michael-Raphael to straightforward let the audience know 'this is Heaven's Small Council'. No, they get rid of Raphael like he was a barely known angel, like he was an angel no one knows the name of before reading about angeology, like he was a Sandalphon.

Listen, this is deliberate.

The absence of Raphael is deliberate.

And I would love for him to be the 'angel who fell because he was asking too many questions'.

I would love for him to be the powerful Supreme Archangel that was just minding his business when Lucifer and the boys reached out to.

May I add.

...even if Crowley is not Raphael, I'm sure Raphael would pop up somewhere else, because the narrative has strongly pointed in the direction of a fallen Great One.

I refuse to believe The Metraton said

"For one Prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice makes it look like there is some sort of institutional problem." about some hecking Sandalphon.

--

Little addition because I have never seen this Very Valid Point mentioned:

Crowley gives away a lot of younger sibling energy when interacting with Gabriel and Middle Child Michael 😌