Behind the Folklore - Lazarus Rising

For Folklore Main Page Click Here

ANGELS/CASTIEL
An angel is a spiritual supernatural being found in many religions. Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition, in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, they often act as messengers from God. Other roles in religious traditions include acting as warrior or guard; the concept of a "guardian angel" is popular in modern Western culture.
Angels are usually viewed as emanations of a supreme divine being, sent to do the tasks of that being. Traditions vary as to whether angels have free will or are merely extensions of the supreme being's will. While the appearance of angels also varies, many views of angels give them a human shape.

Biblical lore on Angels is limited. Very little is found in the current books of the Bible, with only the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael being mentioned by name. Most Angelic lore comes from one of the apocryphal books (those that were once considered church canon, but have since been "removed" from the Bible) - the Book of Enoch. This are actually several books that were supposedly written by Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. The books tell of Enoch's encounters with the Angels and mentions a lot of them by name.

However, even this Book does not mention an Angel by the name of Castiel. The only reference to Castiel is that he is one of the Angels who presides over the day Thursday. This particular Angel could have been chosen by the writers simply because of the connection to the day that the show airs in the US.


OTHER REFERENCES
Dean: The name's Wedge Antilles.
Wedge was one of the X-Wing pilots that flies alongside Luke Skywalker to destroy the Death Star in the movie Star Wars.

Dean: I know. I should look like a Thriller video reject.
Referencing the Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983), a 13-minute music video for the song of the same name. Thriller was a horror film spoof featuring choreographed zombies performing with Jackson, and directed by John Landis.


Sources: Winchester Journals, Wikipedia, TV.com