In 'From The Ashes of Angels', Andrew Collins writes:

"That these metal images (sanjaqs) became identified with the peacock bird is a complete mystery since peacocks are not indiginous to Kurdistan. Some were introduced to Baghdad during the Middle Ages. There were also to be found in Persia, which is probably why Aristotle refered to them as the 'Persian bird'. Yet it is in the Indian state of Rajasthan than the peacock is most revered. Hindus here see it as sacred to Indra, the god - or asura * - of thunder, rains and war. Much folklore and superstition also surrounds this bird in India. For instance, in similar with its mythical counterpart
Garuda **, it is said to be able to attack and kill snakes....

...The striking blue, black and green eyes on a peacock's feather must also have played a major role in extablishing the bird's sanctity among the Yezidi, especially since the colour blue is given such respect by their faith. Another curious superstition concerning the peacock feather is its believed ability to prevent the decay of any item placed with it, perhaps a distant echo of the connection between the Simurgh and the drug of immortality." (pgs. 181-183)

* My note: Indra is not considered by Hindus to be an asura or anti-god, but a god or deva and an early pre-Aryan form of Shiva.

** "Garuda is said to represent the hermetic utterances of the Vedas, the magic words on whose wings man can be transported from one world to another with the rapidity of light, the strength of lightning." (from 'Hindu Polytheism' by Sri Alain Danielou) (Sounds suspiciously seraphimic to me :) The name Garuda means 'Wings of Speech. He is often portrayed as a man with the head and wings of an eagle, and is the vamana or vehicle of the Hindu god Vishnu.

Two examples of sanjaqs, the metal bird icons venerated by
the angel-worshipping Yezidi of Kurdistan. On the left is one
seen by Sir Austen Henry Layard in 1849, and on the right is
another sketched by Mrs. Badger in 1850. Are these strange
icons abstract memories of Kurdistan's protoneolithic vulture
shamans? (Caption from 'Ashes' ~ pg. 182) Note: Collins
says that these appear to be made of brass or copper.

********

CONSTRUCTING A TIME FRAME

I've drawn from a couple of different sources to put the 'advent' of Azazel into a time frame. One of these sources is the Necronomicon. Many people believe that this work is a complete fiction from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft. There are others who believe that the book 'Liber Logaeth' by Dr. John Dee was Lovecraft's inspiration for the Necronomicon. Whatever it's source, the rites of conjuring Watchers include the use of a ritual copper dagger or sword. According to the 'Tales of the Patriarchs' from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Watchers came down in the time of Jared to take human wives (Col 4). According to my expansion of Gardner's calculations (which appear to me to be about 90 years short) this would put the descent of the Watchers at some time between 3500 and 2500 BCE. Jared lived for 962 years. I believe that the Watchers were around well before this time, but this coincides well with the true beginnings of the Bronze Age. I am also looking at the current dating on the so called 'Noah's Flood' which is today tentatively set at around 4000 BCE. It has been argued that this was a 'localized' flood and not a worldwide catastrophic event - which if such a thing did happen, probably occured around 10,500 BCE at the end of the last Ice Age. All these dates fall within the period of the Copper and Bronze Ages, and so I feel that this is a rather safe assumption as a starting place.

THE MASTER SMITH

As it has been noted at least twice on this site, the eighth chapter of the Book of Enoch states that "... Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures." In other words, Azazel was a master smith -familiar with sintering, smelting and refining techniques; the properties of ores and their various forms and by-products, which included powders that were used for cosmetics, dyes (colouring tinctures) and pigments, and precious and semi-precious stones. Antimony, as mentioned elsewhere, is also an important element in alchemical processes and is known as the 'white lead'. Smelting Antimony also produces
by-products of Sulphur and Mercury. Sulphur, sulphuric oxides and acids are important as reduction and refining agents in Metallurgy. Mercury is a key element in alchemical workings.

THE COPPER AND BRONZE AGES

Copper domestic vessels were regularly made in Sumer during the 4th millennium BC. It wasn't until approximately 3800 B.C. that bronze was produced in Tepe Yahya, Iran from the accidental blending of copper with other metals. This new mixture exhibited better properties than copper alone. Metal workers quickly found that bronze was more durable and easier to cast than copper. They found it could be bent and reworked back into its original cast shape. By 3000 BC the use of copper was well known in the Middle East, had extended westward into the Mediterranean area, and was beginning to infiltrate the Neolithic cultures of Europe. (From www.hindunet.org)

Map of Anatolia and Mesopotamia showing Copper and Tin deposits and ancient sites:

Map from http://www.hindunet.org/

COPPER AGE: First part of the Bronze Age. The beginning of the period is sometimes called the Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone) Age, referring to the initial use of pure copper along with stone. By the middle of the 4th millennium BC, a rapidly developing copper metallurgy, with cast tools and weapons, was a factor leading to urbanization in Mesopotamia. By 3000 BC the use of copper was well known in the Middle East, had extended westward into the Mediterranean area, and was beginning to infiltrate the Neolithic cultures of Europe. The Copper Age began in India c.3100 BC, in Africa c.600 BC, and in S. America c.1200 BC. (Encylopaedia Britannica)

BRONZE AGE: Third phase in the development of material culture among the ancient peoples of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, following the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods and preceding the Iron Age. The term also denotes the first period in which metal was used. The date at which the age began varied by region; in Greece and China it began before 3000 BC, in Britain not until c.1900 BC. The beginning of the period is sometimes called the Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone) Age, referring to the initial use of pure copper (along with its predecessor, stone). By 3000 BC the use of copper was well known in the Middle East, had extended westward into the Mediterranean area, and was beginning to infiltrate Europe. Only in the 2nd millennium BC did true bronze come to be widely used. The age was marked by increased specialization and the invention of the wheel and the ox-drawn plow. From c.1000 BC the ability to heat and forge iron brought the Bronze Age to an end. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

THE ALLOYS: BRASS AND BRONZE

ALLOY: Metallic substance composed of two or more elements, as either a mixture, compound, or solid solution. The components of alloys are ordinarily themselves metals, though carbon is an essential nonmetal component of steel. Alloys are usually produced by melting the mixture of ingredients. The value of alloys was discovered in very ancient times; brass (copper and zinc) and bronze (copper and tin) were especially important. Today the most important are the alloy steels, which have a wide range of special properties, incl. hardness, toughness, corrosion resistance, magnetizability, and workability. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

BRASS: Alloy of copper and zinc, important for its hardness and workability. Brass was first used c.1200 BC in the Near East, then extensively in China after 220 BC, and soon thereafter by the Romans. In ancient documents, incl. the Bible, the term brass is often used to denote bronze (copper/tin alloy). The malleability of brass depends on its zinc content; brasses with more than 45% zinc are not workable. Alpha brasses contain less than 40% zinc; beta brasses (40-45% zinc) are less ductile than alpha brasses but stronger. A third group includes brasses with additional elements. Among these are lead brasses, which are more easily machined; naval and admiralty brasses, in which a small amount of tin improves resistance to corrosion by seawater; and aluminum brasses, which provide strength and corrosion resistance where the naval brasses may fail. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

BRONZE: Alloy traditionally composed of copper and tin. Bronze was first made before 3000 BC (see Bronze Age) and is still widely used, though iron often replaced bronze in tools and weapons after about 1000 BC because of iron's abundance compared to copper and tin. Bronze is harder than copper, more readily melted, and easier to cast. It is also harder than iron and far more resistant to corrosion. Bell metal (which produces pleasing sounds when struck) is bronze with 20-25% tin content. Statuary bronze, with less than 10% tin and an admixture of zinc and lead, is technically a brass. The addition of less than 1% phosphorus improves the hardness and strength of bronze; that formulation is used for pump plungers, valves, and bushings. Also useful in mechanical engineering are manganese bronzes, with little or no tin but considerable amounts of zinc and up to 4.5% manganese. Aluminum bronzes, containing up to 16% aluminum and small amounts of other metals such as iron or nickel, are especially strong and corrosion-resistant; they are cast or wrought into pipe fittings, pumps, gears, ship propellers, and turbine blades. Most "copper" coins are actually bronze, typically with about 4% tin and 1% zinc. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Derivation: From "cuprum" (Latin) from Cyprus
Formula: Cu
Description: Copper is a beautiful colour, pinky gold. Since it is a metal, it is shiny (metallic lustre) and opaque. It is also quite heavy. Sometimes, you see crystals (see left).

Copper was probably the first metal used by man. The name comes from Cyprus, as copper was found in that island. Mixed with tin, it makes bronze, an extremely important metal before iron was in general use. The word "bronze" may come from "birinj", which is Persian for copper

Derivation: Called after its shimmering colours
Formula: Cu5FeS4
Description: The iridescent colours are on the surface, as a tarnish. The mineral is opaque - brown to black with a typical purplish-bluish tarnish, a reddish bronze color on freshly broken surfaces

Peacock ore has several other names, Bornite, Erubescite and Variegated copper ore. Peacock Ore is an old miner's term, and it seems the best description. "Iridescent" means "like a rainbow", and that's quite a good description as well. It seems rather a frivolous stone, but it's an important copper ore that is found in Anatolia (Turkey) and the area of Kurdistan.

Derivation: From "kassi-tira" (Babylonian) and "kastiram" (Sanskrit) tin
Formula: SnO2
Description: Reddish brown. It can have crystals, although this specimen is massive (meaning the crystals are so small that you can't see them).

Cassiterite is also known as tinstone, and is an important tin ore. Tin was a very important metal in early times. Homer describes Agamemnon's armour as having tin, gold, silver and bronze. Once mankind mixed tin with copper to make bronze, they have a sharp and strong cutting edge which didn't chip or shatter. It did blunt, but then it could be sharpened again. Iron, and then steel, was, of course even sharper and stronger.

Tin seems to have been imported from Iran, the Caucasus, or somewhere in the Indies, before the Phoenicians brought it from Spain. However, the tin sold in Cadiz (Gadiz) was actually from Cornwall in England.

Derivation: From "stibi" (Greek), "stm" (Egyptian), "stem" (Coptic)
Formula: Sb2S3
Description: Shiny grey metal crystals coming to a point.

Stibnite is the ore of Antimony. This was used as a medicine by the Greeks and Romans, and also as a cosmetic in Egypt and Greece known as kohl - the black eyeliner. Powdered, it was also used as eyeshadow. In large quantities, it is extremely poisonous (as are most drugs) and is related to arsenic.

Important by-products of reduction processes are Lead, Mercury, Sulphur, Zinc, Iron-oxides (used for pigements), Cadmium (pigment) and Copper. The Lead and Zinc are extracted with sulphuric acids.

Derivation: From "lajward" (Persian) blue
Formula: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2
Description: Azurite is dark blue. It can have flat crystals. You can see layers of them to the left, and the specimen on below that is a single crystal.

You usually associate "azure" with being pale blue, like the sky, so it may seem odd that such a very dark blue stone has this name. However, if you rub a mineral across something, the colour that gets rubbed off is called the "streak". It's not always the same colour as the stone itself. This colour sometimes helps to identify the mineral. Azurite may be dark blue, but its streak is pale blue, and if you grind it to a powder, it makes a pale blue paint pigment.

Derivation: From "malache" (Greek) mallow leaves Formula: Cu2CO3(OH)2
Description: Malachite has a particular shade of green, which is easy to recognise. It has layers of pale and dark green, which can show as straight, curved or wiggly lines. It is opaque. It is botryoidal (blobby).The piece on the right of the photograph is a piece of malachite stalactite. Imagine a cave with green stalactites hanging down!

Malachite has been used as a pigment and cosmetic throught history and is also used as a gemstone.

Derivation: From "chalkos" & "pyrites" (Greek) copper & striking fire
Formula: CuFeS2
Description: Chalcopyrite is silvery with a golden tinge to it.

Chalcopyrite, or copper pyrites, has been mistaken for gold, just as iron pyrites has, so both minerals are called Fool's Gold. Chalcopyrites is yellower, and so more convincing, perhaps! The chalcopyrites on this specimen is the yellow part.

Derivation: From Magnesia where it was found
Formula: Fe3O4
Description: Dark grey, slightly shiny.

Magnetite can have crystals. The feathery bits in the top right hand corner of this specimen are NOT crystals. They are iron filings, because shops often sell magnetite with iron filings on, to show that it's magnetic, and you can't get them off again!

Magnetite is naturally magnetic. It is also called Lodestone. In Middle Ages, pilots were called lodesmen. The lodestar is the Polar star, the leading star by which mariners are guided.

THE THEORY THAT INCORPORATES ALL THIS
INFORMATION AND MORE

For nearly twelve years, I worked as a draughtsman in the mining industry. During that time, I visited mines and processing plants for uranium and coal. I also learned a lot about ores and deposits and mining methods. This was really quite a natural thing for me, because I'd been a fanatical rock-hound since I was a kid. The only thing that I didn't really know much about was the actual processes of smelting and refining ores. Due to some research that I've been doing on my favorite Watcher (Azazel or Azazel/Shemyaza, if you will), this background of mine and what I've been learning have led me to some conclusions as to why Azazel was called the Peacock Angel - Melek Taus.

In "From the Ashes of Angels", Andrew Collins states that it is unclear as to why Azazel is called this name. I've wondered myself. As I was reading about copper extraction and refining methods, I was reminded of pieces of copper ore that I'd seen from one of our big mines in Utah. Keeping in mind that copper and tin are part of the bronze making process, and that Azazel was the master smith - it stood to reason to me that the colours of the copper and tin ores were the root of this comparison to a peacock.

Pure copper ore (as you can see above) is copper coloured, but there is another type of copper ore that is prevalent in the area of Kurdistan called bornite. It is also called 'peacock ore'. The minerals malachite and azurite, which are dark blue and banded green stones (when polished) are copper related minerals. These colours are reminiscent of the blues and greens of the peacock's head/neck feathers and the iridescence of the peacock ore, like the iridescence of the peacock's tail.

Further, this bit out of a Geological Society of America abstract caught my attention, "In cross section chalcopyrite occurs as two dome-shaped centers extending upwards from depth to the present-day surface with lesser associated bornite; this pattern is borne out in plan view where the chalcopyrite forms a ring shape with pods of associated bornite." I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to me that this is describing the shape of the deposits looking very much like the 'eye' of a peacock's tail feathers - domed rings.

Look at the peacock feather above. There is a black 'nodule' (tin) inside a blue spot (azurite) that is surrounded by a green ring (malachite). This is in turn surrounded by a wide ring of bronze colour and then a thin ring of yellow and green iridescence. The whole thing is 'pod' shaped. A case of nature imitating itself from the earth's mineral bounty to a bird's feathers. Below is a thin-section of Bornite and below that a thin-section of Covelite - another copper ore. Note the featherlike appearance of the Bornite, similar to what you see above in the peacock feather. The Covelite shows the 'pod' effect and even appears to have a 'pearl' in the center of it.

BORNITE

COVELITE

Tin is found in an ore called cassiterite, the name of which is from the Sumerian kassi-tira. The tin occurs as nodules within this ore and is blackish in colour. Tin was and still is actually a more or less precious metal, because it is not found in large deposits like copper or other metals, but in these nodules. Tin added to copper was what gave it strength and made bronze. The period of history when the Watchers 'came down' was known as the beginning of the Bronze age. The tin and copper alloy gave cutting tools and weapons a sharper, stronger edge that could be sharpened again if it blunted.

Weapons - ones that held an edge and were not brittle, were very important in biblical times, because of all the warfare that went on. While it helped to have a few savvy generals on your side, good weapons made a big difference. Even later, when higher smelting temperatures became possible and iron/steel could be used for weaponry, bronze weapons were still used, due to the brittleness of early irons. Therefore, bronze became very important. Because tin was needed to make bronze, it became very important, too. One of the main sources of tin in the ancient world was Britain, specifically the Cornwall area. It is said that when the Watchers (Sidhe/Fey/Fairy Folk) landed in the British Isles, they landed at Cornwall. (Really, anyone sailing to the British Isles would land at Cornwall first if they are coming up from the south.) If, as legend has it, the Watchers were also great sailors of the ancient seas, bronzes and brasses were also important naval fittings, because of their ability to resist corrosion.

Later, tin was also used in the manufacture of the famous royal-purple dye of Tyre. The diluted juice of the Murex was given a type of treatment with soda and then evaporated from tin vessels. The most important tin salt is the chloride (SnCl2 H2O), which is used as a reducing agent and as a mordant in calico printing.

Bornite is often intergrown with chalcopyrite, which tarnishes to more greens and yellows, the peacock ore may have many colors ranging from purple to blue to green to yellow. Bornite is also associate with another very important mineral these 'sailors on the seas of fate' would have use for - and that is Magnetite or Lodestone. Lodestone is not only used in compasses by which sailors navigated the oceans, but as a magnetic substance was also used in healing and magical practises.

There is also a curious thing about Bornite.... Bornite's crystals, if found, are usually distorted cubes with curved faces. Even rarer are the distorted octahedrons (8 faced) and dodecahedrons (12 faced). These are isometric crystals. However, bornite's structure at normal temperatures is not isometric. Bornite is only isometric at temperatures above 228 degrees celsius (442 F) and it was above this temperature that the crystals formed. As bornite cooled it structurally altered to possibly a tetragonal (4 faced) structure but outwardly it retained the isometric forms. 12 was a most sacred number in the mystery teachings of the Middle East - and there are the 12 tribes of Israel, the Twelve Elder Gods and the 12 signs of the Zodiac. So too is the number 8, which was associated with Inanna, the daughter of Nanna-Shin the moon god (Moonchild). It is also a number associated with Chaos and Aza-thoth or Azoth, which is an alchemical code for 'the beginning and the end' - the alpha and omega - A to Z, or the Ouroboros. Octahedrons are two opposing pyramidal structures in one shape, which mirrors the upper and lower parts of the Tree of Life (Qabalah). We all know about the importance of the pyramid/ziggurat in Watcher culture. The fact that when 'put to the heat' of the earth's fires it 'mutates' and takes a higher form makes it have properties that could be considered magical or sacred.

In light of all this information and knowing that these were the metal ores that Azazel had to work with primarily, it becomes evident that he did indeed give the world of Man a great deal of very important knowledge. Also, as is stated above, the sanjaqs are made of either copper or bronze. The copper used in this area would most likely have been Bornite-based copper ore - peacock ore.

THE PEACOCK'S TAIL - ALCHEMICALLY SPEAKING

Metallurgy and Alchemy are two very much related subjects. The principles and practises of Metallurgy form the physical body of the Great Work, while pure Alchemy works on the spiritual level.

"The angel chora of Seraphim (Azazel is a Seraph) are sometimes called 'the Burning Ones'. The name derives from SRP, 'to burn'. They are properly, however, the 'Serpents of Fire', a title which may relate to their traditional function as communicators between heaven and earth to the image of lightnings." (They are also equated with dragons, which are 'serpents of fire'.) ('Entrance To The Magical Qabalah' by Melita Denning and Osbourne Phillips)

"What exactly is immortality (longevity)? It's the negation of time. How do we negate time? By getting close to, and perhaps matching, the speed of Light. If you ARE light, everything is instant." (From www.fusionanomaly.net/) The Seraphim are the Lords of Light, the Sons of the Eternal Fire that sleeps within all as the Serpent Power, kundalini. In ancient magic practised by such as the patriarch Abraham, Moses and Solomon, a light-body (golem) was created that enabled one to travel into the aetheric and astral realms. See the future and the past the same as you see the present. This light-body was also called the 'rainbow body' or 'the peacock's tail'. Birds, such as ravens, swans, and peacocks serve as symbols of different stages of alchemical workings - both physical and spiritual. Describing Azazel as the Peacock Angel would imply that he was capable of these things and again, ties him to the alchemical mastery that also relates him to such figures as Thoth, Hermes, Melchizedik and Hermes-Trismegistus. Was he all of these people - a 'Master of Serpents', who'd managed to complete the Magnum Opus of Alchemy?