Instead of doing a boring blog telling you about me, I'm going to repost (I had another blog site I deleted due to cost) a blog I wrote a while ago. This will, honestly, tell you more about me than some boring biography. Feel free to comment, or DM me. (Contact info on the About Me page.)
I freely admit to being a nerd. I'm a book nerd, a nerd for legends and origins, anything fantasy or paranormal. It just kicks my imagination into overdrive. I love figuring out the origin of paranormal creatures and stories and have found almost all have some tie to religion.
In 2019, I wrote a short story for a literary contest based on Dragons and Gargoyles. (I will be reworking this to be a full-length YA Paranormal Romance). I enjoy books about both, but I wanted to do something different yet plausible. (If you suspend disbelief for a minute and believe that both are, in fact, possible.) So, being the nerd I am, I went down a rabbit hole of research.
It occurred to me that fallen angels, in particular the 8th Choir of Angels, the Grigori, Dragons, and Gargoyles, are tied together. Before you scoff, let me explain. The Bible, in some translations, mentions Satan, depicted as a Dragon, or a serpent, being cast out of Heaven. The Bible attributes the reason for Satan's rebellion to one of pride. However, it seems to be a combination of pride and envy. After God created Man, Lucifer became envious of their favored status. God declared all would bow to Man, that He would send his son to them, and that all (seemingly including the angels) would be Jesus' subjects.
Now, despite being an Angel who was perfect, or close to it, Lucifer became jealous of Man's greater importance. So he set out to corrupt Man. (Think Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The only problem is The Bible infers there are more than just Adam and Eve when the rebellion begins.) Lucifer rebels against God, and some of the Angels follow him. They are defeated and cast out of Heaven into Hell. So, the 'ruler' of Hell is a fallen Archangel described as a Dragon.
Although Dragons have been part of the world's legends for many centuries, Gargoyles have not. As far as I can tell, stories of Gargoyles did not start until 7th century France, specifically the Legend of Rouen (which has eerie similarities to the legend of St George). In this legend, a water-born dragon terrorized the village of Rouen, taking its virgins and destroying crops by spewing water. The villagers sacrificed a condemned criminal to it every year in the hopes the dragon would stop taking its virgins and terrorizing the town. Romanus arrived, saying he would slay the dragon if a church were built. (Hmm...Similar in theme to the Pied Piper of Hamlin). They did, and he slew the dragon. (With the help of that year's designated sacrifice.)
This dragon, named La Gargouille due to living in the River Seine and spewing water, was dragged to the town square and burned at the stake. His head, however, would not burn. So Romanus separated the head from its body and nailed it to the wall of the town. Anytime it rained, water would pour from the dragon's mouth, giving rise to Gargoyles. (Or, more accurately, the Grotesques on churches and cathedrals.)
So we have Lucifer, who is a fallen Archangel described in the Bible as being a dragon, and a dragon in 7th century France called La Gargouille (which translates as Gargoyle.) For my purposes, I'm going to 'assume' that the dragon of Rouen was called La Gargouille before his death. Do you see where I'm going with this yet?
Many believe the gargoyles (Grotesques) on churches and cathedrals are there to protect the parishioners by scaring away evil spirits. The Bible itself, nor does the Book of Enoch, as far as I'm aware, does not mention the Grigori specifically. Watchers, sentinels, or guardians are mentioned. It is told that during the rebellion, God created the 8th Choir of Angels, the watchers (named the Grigori at some point), to watch over and guide humans through the temptations sent by Lucifer.
It is also said these watchers were the most human of the angels and understood Man best of the angels. Some fell in love with human women and had children with them, thus causing them to fall as well. Putting all this together, in the world, I have created for my book, the Grigori are gargoyles sent to watch over humans who could be influential in a future war between God and Lucifer. However, the moment they fall in love with their charge, they fall and become dragons only redeemable by making the ultimate sacrifice. Their own lives for that of their charges.
See? I told you. Total nerd.
Sources:
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Grigori
http://amadan.org/Innomine/Grigori.html