Monday, August 16, 2010

Monday: Angel Profile (Samael)

(Samael, Sammael, Satanil, Samil, Satan, Seir, Salmael)

Samael’s name means poison angel from sam “poison” and el “angel.” However, according to The Encyclopedia of Angels, Samael means “blind god.” Either way, he’s considered to be both a holy angel and a fallen one.

Samael’s name is synonymous with Satan. He is considered by rabbinic literature as chief of the Satans and as an angel of death. The Secrets of Enoch also call him a prince of demons and a magician.

In his role as a holy angel, Samael is chief ruler of the 5th Heaven or sometimes the 7th Heaven. According to Gustav Davidson’s A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels, Samael is “one of the seven regents of the world served by two million angels.” However, Revelations 12 describes Samael as “that great serpent with twelve wings that draws after him, in his fall, the solar system.”

His roles have been many. The Encyclopedia of Angels notes a connection between Samael and Lucifer, in that his rank was higher than the Seraphim and he had twelve pairs of wings. In The Zohar (Vayishlah 170b), he is “the dark angel who wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, although Michael, Uriel, Metatron and others have been identified as this antagonist.”

Samael is also credited with the temptation of Eve in the Sayings of Rabbi Eliezer.

Sources:

Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels.
New York: The Free Press, 1971, pp. 255

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Angels.
New York: Checkmark Books, 2004, pp. 317

Lewis, James R. and Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy. Angels A to Z.
Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996, pp. 352

* * *

(Disclaimer: Death Sword and the characters described therein is a work of fiction and no actual resemblance to persons living or dead is intended or implied.)

Samael is the antagonist in Death Sword. Xariel’s former lover and current boss, he’s an angel of death restricted to desk duty because of his propensity to transform into a berserker if he kills too many people. His weapon is a swept-hilt rapier dipped in poison that can kill human and angel alike.

When the Seraphim learned of Samael and Xariel’s relationship, they separated the two, sending Xariel to earth and Samael to a thousand years in the Void. When Samael returns to his post as an angel of death and Chief of Satans, he finds that Xariel is cursed and can no longer be with another male at risk of losing his powers. Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop Samael from pursuing Xariel whenever he wants, with no thought of the younger angel’s feelings.

When Samael’s boss, Metatron, brings the half-human angel, Karla Black, into their lives, Samael is incensed. He sees her as a threat, not only to his relationship with Xariel but also his intent to take over Azrael’s role as the archangel of death.

He appears 36 years old. His build is wiry and he stands 6’10”. His eyes are amber and his hair and wings the color of dried blood. His wing span is about 14 feet.

Samael's story continues in the short novel Serpent Fire.

1 comment:

Nirnif said...

Samael, devious little rat. Did you colour your hair? Going everywhere and nowhere despite your blindness. I'm on your tail, dude.^^