Enochian
Dean: And the Enochian exorcism?
Castiel: Fake. It actually means "You breed with the mouth of a goat."
Castiel: It's funnier in Enochian.
Dean and Sam: ...– Dean and Castiel, 5.17 99 Problems
History
Enochian is an angelic language used by angels in Heaven. They communicate over angel radio using this language, though in more recent years, they began communicating in English predominately. The angels, the Knights of Hell, and the Men of Letters are also familiar with an archaic dialect of the angelic language called "Pre-Enochian" or "Old Enochian". Castiel used sigils from this Enochian dialect to bind Alastair in a devil's trap he made.[1] The Knights of Hell like Abaddon used the old Enochian sigil associated with them as their crest, leaving it behind in areas where they strike.[2] Belphegor reveals that very few demons like Lilith, Crowley, and Abaddon have been known to understand Enochian.[3]
Characteristics
Enochian sigils are powerful glyphs that can be used against angels and demons and protect an area from angelic and demonic interference.[4][5] Throughout Season 5, Castiel uses one to conceal Sam, Dean, and Adam from every angel in creation by carving it into their ribs.[6][7]
Enochian has also been used in reciting various spells that can be used against some of the most dangerous creatures in all creation. Lily Sunder became a practitioner of Enochian Magic after Ishim taught her all their secrets, using spells that burn off pieces of her soul in exchange for longevity and access to angelic powers until it's completely burned away.[8] The Whore of Babylon uses what appears to be an Enochian spell to harm Castiel.[9] Lucifer's Cage can be opened and closed with the rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and an Enochian phrase.[10]
When angels are reverted to their "factory settings", they relay any information hidden in their minds encrypted in Enochian.[11][12]
Episodes
2.18 Hollywood Babylon
The script for Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning by Walter Dixon is noted by Sam to contain Enochian summoning rituals.
4.15 Death Takes a Holiday
Alastair is trying to break one of the 66 Seals by killing two reapers under a solstice moon. He holds the reapers in a funeral home covered in "angel-proofing," symbols that bar angels from entering.
4.16 On the Head of a Pin
Castiel has bound Alastair a devil's trap which he wrote in old Enochian until Uriel frees him.
5.01 Sympathy for the Devil
Castiel engraves Enochian sigils into Sam and Dean's rib cages. He tells them they will hide the boys from all angels, including himself and Lucifer. As a result, Castiel is often seen contacting Sam and Dean via a mobile phone afterwards.
5.02 Good God, Y'All
While visiting Bobby in the hospital, Dean has an x-ray which reveals the sigils on his ribs. Their success in protection is also demonstrated when Castiel has to call them to get their location so he can find them.
- Partial translation of the sigils by bloggingchick.
- Partial translation of the sigils by lonely-street-of-dreams
5.03 Free to Be You and Me
Castiel summons Raphael using the Enochian Water Cup Ritual.
RAA GAH IO ES
rah ah gah ee oh es
Spirit of the East, one of the four that liveth forever
VIN NONCA ASPT POAMAL DE Z
vee nu nohno kee ah seh peh teh poh ah ma lah deh zod
I invoke you with holy fire into your palace (vessel)
Zod itself has many definitions and one of the words for vessel is ZIZOP (zohdee zodoh pah)- but I feel it's implied at the end here.
Either that or they were going for ZA (zoh-dah) which translates to "within."
5.10 Abandon All Hope...
Crowley's house is protected from angels by Enochian symbols.
5.13 The Song Remains the Same
The Winchesters still have the Enochian symbols burned into their ribs, which prevent Anna from locating them, so she must approach Dean in a dream. Castiel performs a ritual in Enochian to locate Anna.
ZAMRAN ROS(B) SA
Zod ah mah rah na ee es lah gee roh sah
Show yourself within this bitter sting
5.14 My Bloody Valentine
Sigils on the hearts of victims indicate that Cupid has touched the people.
5.16 Dark Side of the Moon
In Heaven Ash has rigged a PC to monitor angels as they speak Enochian by using string theory. Ash also says he understands Enochian.
5.17 99 Problems
As a ruse to fool the townspeople, the Whore of Babylon, disguised as Leah, enlists demons to make controlled attacks on Blue Earth, Minnesota. Leah teaches the townspeople an Enochian "exorcism," but Castiel reveals that it actually means "you breed with the mouth of a goat."
What's said throughout the episode is: "beh-rah geh-dah eh-rah-mah leh-vee-tah-hoh-moh-nah-geh" or "BRGDA ERM LEVITHMONG" which translates to, "[You] sleep with the beasts of the field."
Later, Leah attacks Castiel with an Enochian chant, "Pizin noco Iad," which translates to, "Torment [the] servant of God." Upon hearing it, Castiel doubles over in pain while bleeding from the mouth.
5.18 Point of No Return
Castiel burns Enochian runes into Adam Milligan's ribs to hide him from the angels who resurrected him. Zachariah uses an Enochian incantation to summon Michael to Earth.
ZIRDO NOCO ABRAMG NAZPS
Zod ee reh doh noh koh ah beh rah ma geh nah zod peh sah geh
Your servant has prepared (your)Sword
ZIRDO = servant
NOCO= servant
5.20 The Devil You Know
Crowley squats in a rundown house that has what appear to be "angel-proofing" sigils on its windows.
5.22 Swan Song
Dean uses an Enochian incantation revealed to him by Death to open Lucifer's Cage. Dean says "Bvtmon Tabges Babalon" (which roughly translates "Open the mouth of the cave of the evil/wicked one") and the cage opens, but Lucifer shuts it by chanting a counter spell. Later in the episode, Sam uses the same incantation.
Dean/Sam opens the Cage:
BVTMON TABGES BABALON
Beh voh tah mo en tah beh geh sah bah bah loh en
(Open the) mouth (to the) cave (of the) wicked one
literal translation "Mouth cave and wicked one"
Lucifer closes the cage:
CHDR BVTMON
kah hee deh rah beh voh ta mo en
Close the mouth.
6.03 The Third Man
Cas finds Dean and Sam despite the Enochian symbols burned into their ribs. This may or may not be because they called him. He uses an Enochian ritual with myrrh, holy water, and human (Dean's) blood to locate Balthazar.
6.10 Caged Heat
Cas conducts a ritual involving herbs and candles in an attempt to locate Crowley, but is unable to find him.
6.15 The French Mistake
Balthazar draws an angelic rune that, once activated, sends Dean and Sam into an alternate Earth.
6.18 Frontierland
Injured, Castiel retreats to Bobby's place and draws a sigil in blood, warding off other angels.
6.20 The Man Who Would Be King
After discovering that Cas is in league with Crowley, Sam, Dean, and Bobby put "angel-proofing" sigils on the windows of Bobby's place to keep him out. There are errors in their work though, as Castiel is able to enter.
6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much
After Castiel removes the barrier in Sam's mind that keeps him from remembering his time in Hell, Sam is unconscious. Dean and Bobby lay him on a cot in Bobby's panic room to make sure he's safe while they go to confront Crowley and Castiel. In light of Castiel's actions, "angel-proofing" sigils are added to the walls of the panic room, and Balthazar confirms that the symbols are accurate and keep him from entering.
7.21 Reading Is Fundamental
After traveling to Rufus's cabin, Castiel puts sigils on the walls that make them invisible to angels, but doesn't put up ones that block angels out completely as he wouldn't be able to enter either. Their effectiveness is destroyed when Meg leaves to kill two demons and thus gives away their position. These symbols are seen in later episodes.
8.10 Torn and Frayed
In the abandoned factory where he is holding Samandriel captive, Crowley puts up Enochian sigils that block angels from sensing Samandriel's location or entering the factory. After he and Dean locate it, Castiel sends Sam and Dean in with instructions to destroy a specific sigil in four locations in the factory so he may enter. Locating the sigils, they spray-paint giant Xs over them, allowing Castiel to enter, but he is weakened by the other sigils. At the same time, when Samandriel is reverted to his "factory setting" by Viggo's torture, he starts speaking in Enochian which Crowley understands; he speaks of the Word of God tablets, including one on angels, before he is rescued. Later, suspicious of Castiel's behavior, Sam and Dean put up more sigils at Rufus' Cabin including the one Castiel showed them so he couldn't see or hear them while they discussed what happened.
VA TE CA RA
vah teh kah rah
work, arise abide
SAL- (VL) -D*
sal voch teh
wonders
SALD= (wonders)
VL= work (the first letter is pronounced "vah")v
This fits because it is when the bush catches fire
Z BALIT
zoh bah leh ta
They (are) righteous
SA TVLE
sah teh voch leh
remain also the last (or remain until the end)
Crowley translates this whole piece to: “You, celestial being, have been created to be an angel of the Lord.”
VOHIM PAR LVS*
voh meh pah rah less
Mighty they (are)
LVSD is the closest word I could find here and it means feet, therefore - mighty feet?
However- I think they were actually going for PATRALX which translates to "stone"
ZOL (TA)FA
zod leh fah
Hands of poison
(Crowley says "demon tablet")
BN(G) SA I
bah nah sah ee
Remains guarded by
AR DS EFE
ar doh zah feh
Those who reign
PAID RA
pah deh rah
Always and forever
8.12 As Time Goes By
Henry Winchester uses an Enochian invocation as part of the blood spell to transport him to the future.
CNILA PVGO CNILA
kah-nee-lah puh-goh kah-nee-lah
Blood unto blood
CNILA PVGO CNILA kah-nee-lah puh-goh kah-nee-lah Blood unto blood
8.14 Trial and Error
Sam and Dean learn from Kevin Tran that in order to close the Gates of Hell, someone must complete three trials and recite an Enochian spell after each one. After completing the first trial by killing a hellhound, Sam recites the spell. It is also shown that Sam and Dean are able to read Enochian as the spell is written in that language.
CANA(L) OM DARR
Kah Nah Om Dar
We work as (your) instrument
or -
We work to understand, obey and transform
or maybe more loosely
We will work to undertake what is written on the tablets
Again, the first part here is made out of partial words.
Kah-nah-leh translates to workmen, so I believe Kah-nah in this context is work
Om translates to "we"
Oh-meh (which is written OM in Enochian) translates to "understanding" or "knowledge"
Now for the interesting part- DARR has only one translation and that's "philosopher's stone"
however, DARBS Dar-bess is "obey."
8.17 Goodbye Stranger
After finding the right crypt, Sam and Meg demon-proof the building with Enochian symbols, but when Crowley shows up, he tells them the symbols won't keep him out for long. This is later proven when he gets into the crypt.
8.19 Taxi Driver
After rescuing Bobby Singer's soul from Hell and releasing it into Heaven, Sam chants Kah Nah Om Dar again to complete the second trial.
Freaking out over hearing Crowley's voice in his head, Kevin paints Enochian demon-warding symbols on the windows of Garth's houseboat, but when Crowley arrives, he simply shatters the windows and the symbols, allowing him in. Other Enochian symbols can be seen throughout the boat's main room during the episode due to Kevin's paranoia. When Crowley leaves with Kevin, he fixes the windows and thus the symbols so it looks like Kevin just ran away.
8.21 The Great Escapist
After capturing Kevin Tran, Crowley puts up Enochian angel-warding to prevent angels from rescuing him. However, the angelic scribe Metatron manages to do it anyway and later explains to Dean that as the Scribe of God, he was able to simply erase the wards.
9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
Learning that angels are coming to the hospital to try to find Castiel for revenge, Dean puts up Enochian warding on Sam's room that keeps them out, though it allows Ezekiel to remain in. Dean takes on the two angels that show up, but they overpower him and use a fire axe to start chopping through the room door which has some of the warding on it. Dean banishes the angels and then starts to destroy the symbols himself when Ezekiel reveals he is too weak to heal Sam. Eventually, with Ezekiel possessing Sam, they leave, leaving Ezekiel's original vessel in the room filled with symbols. After Dean and Ezekiel/Sam leave, a doctor enters the room and is confused by the symbols.
9.03 I'm No Angel
After Castiel becomes aware that angels are hunting him, he gets a tattoo in Enochian which will make him unable to be tracked by angels. It is very effective, forcing Bartholomew to use rogue reapers to track him.
9.10 Road Trip
When Crowley breaks into Gadreel's "factory settings," Gadreel says "zir noco iad Gadreel. Zir noco iad Gadreel." (Zee-rah noh-koh ee-yod Gadreel). According to Castiel, he is telling them that his name is Gadreel. Literally translated it means "I am (the) servant of the eternal god, Gadreel."
9.11 First Born
Searching for answers about why Sam still has some of Gadreel's grace inside of him, Castiel finds a book in the Bunker that basically states in Enochian that part of the angel remains inside their vessel when they leave it. He realizes that this refers to the grace, but it is harmless to the vessel.
9.16 Blade Runners
After failing to locate Magnus' mansion, Abaddon has her demons carve a message into the side of the Impala in Enochian for Crowley, which reads: "Be afraid - your Queen."
9.17 Mother's Little Helper
Investigating St. Bonaventure's Convent back in 1958, Josie Sands and Henry Winchester find the walls of Sister Mary Catherine's room covered in blood and a sigil carved onto the drywall. They identify the language as Pre-Enochian and the sigil itself as a crest for the Knights of Hell.
9.18 Meta Fiction
Sam and Dean spray paint the building they are keeping Gadreel prisoner in with angel warding.
9.21 King of the Damned
Angel warding can be seen painted on the door to Ezra's "prison cell."
9.22 Stairway to Heaven
Angels, claiming to be followers of Castiel, have taken to suicide bombing rival angels by carving Enochian runes in their chests that focus the energy of the angel. Once fatally stabbed with an angel blade it unleashes all the angel's power, effectively atomizing their intended target.
While searching for the angel Josiah, Sam and Castiel end up at an abandoned building where all the entrances are sealed with a riddle written in Enochian over the front entrance. Once it is solved, they are granted entry into the building.
9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles?
Gadreel carves the same sigil the suicide bomber angels used into his chest and then kills himself, sacrificing himself to blow open Castiel's cell in Heaven's dungeon so he can escape and stop Metatron.
10.01 Black
The angels Daniel and Adina's truck and campsite have been adorned with Enochian warding sigils to hide them from other angels attempting to force them back to Heaven.
10.18 Book of the Damned
Metatron uses an Enochian blood spell to incapacitate Castiel.
10.19 The Werther Project
The abandoned building Sam imprisons Rowena in has warding sigils spray painted on the windows, most of which appear to be Enochian.
11.21 All in the Family
Believing Donatello Redfield to be a new prophet, Sam shows Donatello a piece of paper with Enochian. Donatello initially tells Sam he has no idea what the paper says before surprising himself by reading "Behold the face of God."
12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On
When Ms. Watt confronts Dean and Castiel, she is wearing brass knuckles with Enochian spellwork etched into them. With Metatron's spell still in effect, Castiel's weakened state makes him all the more vulnerable to the spellwork, allowing Ms. Watt to make short work of Cas and Dean.
12.02 Mamma Mia
After capturing Dean Winchester, Lady Toni dons her own pair of Enochian brass knuckles and begins to beat Dean with them.
12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets
Lily Sunder spent over a century honing Enochian magic. Using this type of magic comes with a price; with each use a piece of Lily's soul burns away and will continue to do so until there is nothing left.
13.07 War of the Worlds
Kevin Tran of the Apocalypse World performs an Enochian spell which opens a new rift between the two Earths.
Mah ray, fay doh, em lah.
Kah day, em lah! Kah day, em lah.
13.12 Various & Sundry Villains
To keep Castiel and Lucifer imprisoned in Needham Asylum, Asmodeus has put strong angel warding in place in their prison cells. The Enochian script becomes highlighted as Lucifer makes contact with the cell bars, causing him immense pain.
13.14 Good Intentions
To summon Gog and Magog, Castiel recites an Enochian incantation.
Zoh nuh ray nuh rah juh.
Kohrahx oh.
Ee zee zohp ah.
Mah oh.
Ee vee gee.
14.08 Byzantium
When Jack is revived, he casts a spell which burns a small piece of his soul to prolong his life. This spell has been used by Lily Sunder for over a century, and she tells the Winchesters that Jack won't notice as long as he only uses her magic to prolong his life. He recites the following Enochian incantation:
Oh, koh nuh ga ma fuh luh gah,
ah oh ee vee ah ee ee duh luh vah
oh ee vee ah ee, ee duh luh vah juh ah um kah dah.
14.12 Prophet and Loss
Premature prophet Tony Alvarez has been hearing voices whispering in Enochian, which eventually drives him mad, and he kills two people, believing he is enacting divine retributions. He carves Enochian runes onto the chest of his second victim which translate to "I am the Word." He also has a tattoo on his right forearm which translates to "The Word." It's eventually revealed that he has been hearing Donatello's fractured mind struggling to reassemble itself, and reciting the Word of God in Enochian. Dr. Rashad took a video of Donatello reciting a phrase in Enochian, believing it to be meaningless babble:
Boh ray, kah lah teh nee hoh.
Rah may lah ray kee doh.
Castiel is able to translate this phrase as "I will strike down the firstborn in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgement."
15.03 The Rupture
The box in Lilith's Chamber containing Lilith's Crook is revealed to be sealed with an Enochian prayer to Lucifer. As only Lilith knew the language, it prevented the demons from getting to the Crook. Castiel is forced to sing the prayer to open the box and get the Crook.
15.09 The Trap
15.19 Inherit the Earth
Enochian in Lore
Enochian
Enochian is a name often applied to an occult or angelic language recorded in the private journals of Dr. John Dee and his seer Edward Kelley in the late 16th century. The men claimed that it was revealed to them by angels, while some contemporary scholars of magic consider it a constructed language.
– Pad of Definitions (2.18 Hollywood Babylon), Official Website
The term is derived from the Biblical Patriarch, Enoch or Henoch. Enoch was, according to Hebrew folklore, the most righteous man of his time. Two angels appeared to him one day, claiming to have fathered children with mortal women. They asked Enoch to speak to God on their behalf. In order to speak to God, the angels took Enoch up into Heaven, where he took down secrets of the universe and how angels used their magic and transcendent powers. God, unconvinced of the renegade angels' sincerity and remorse, sent a flood to destroy the angel halfbreeds and banished the angels from Heaven. Enoch was returned to earth with his newfound knowledge of magic and the summoning of angels and spirits. At the age of 365, Enoch was visited by God and transfigured into God's most powerful and fiery angel, the High Seraph Metatron, and taken into Heaven to serve as God's chief angel.
The Enochian language was in reality invented by occultist John Dee.
See also
References
- ↑ 4.16 On the Head of a Pin
- ↑ 9.17 Mother's Little Helper
- ↑ 15.03 The Rupture
- ↑ 4.15 Death Takes a Holiday
- ↑ 5.10 Abandon All Hope...
- ↑ 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil
- ↑ 5.18 Point of No Return
- ↑ 12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets
- ↑ 5.17 99 Problems
- ↑ 5.22 Swan Song
- ↑ 8.10 Torn and Frayed
- ↑ 9.10 Road Trip
External links and translation resources
- Angel Radio (Translations of all Enochian in Supernatural seasons 1-9) by monicawoe (February 2013); archive link
- Abaddon Can’t Spell, and That Shit Is All Backwards Anyway by beespatellas (March 2014); archive link
- Castiel's Tattoo: A failure in a show's mythology by warkitt3nz (August 2015); archive link
- Angelic Alphabet with Correspondences by enochian101, elizabethrobertajones (March 2015); archive link
- The Writing on the Wall in 13.18 (untitled) by gay-golden-trickster, akhuna01 (April 2018); archive link
Other Resources
- Enochian Language Database archive link
- Enochian Linguistics: Links and Essays archive link
