#celestial rays

[drconstellation]

The Golden Lions of Heaven

S2 has several prominent lion symbols in it, and at first watch they don’t appear to have anything to do with the main story line. But there are lions in both seasons, and they are all connected.

Lions are intrinsically linked with royalty, and are often called King of the Beasts or King of the Jungle. They also symbolize courage, nobility and strength.

Whenever lions appear in GO they are always coloured gold, which is associated with Heaven. Nearly all the angels have some bit of gold on them somewhere - unless they have just discorporated.

In Christian iconography Jesus is represented as a lion upon his return. When he was crucified he was a sacrificial lamb, but the Second Coming is a time when he returns to reign again. As a descendant of the royal house of David, it therefore seems quite logical to assign this symbol to the king of kings.

There is also this paragraph from the Medieval Bestiary:

“In Christian allegory, the three main natures of the lion each have a meaning. The lion erasing its tracks with its tail represents the way Jesus concealed his divinity, only revealing himself to his followers. The lion sleeping with its eyes open represents Jesus, physically dead after crucifixion, but still spiritually alive in his divine nature. The lion roaring over his dead cubs to bring them to life represents how God the father woke Jesus after three days in his tomb.”

There is also an often misquoted line “when the lion shall lie down with the lamb,” but it’s not that at all. The full verse is:

“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” [Isiah 11:6]

It is referring to a time of peace that should come once Jesus returns. Somehow I don't think we are going to get that in S3.

The Two Lions in the Dirty Donkey

There are two large golden lions sitting on the ends of the bar in the Dirty Donkey. Because one of the underlying themes in S2 is about the Second Coming, even if its not obvious until the end, its fairly easy then to interpret these two as being connected to this event. The Dirty Donkey itself can be seen in several ways: a simple donkey that needs a wash, or a black horse. Both are relevant to referencing Jesus. In the former, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem the first time to signify he came in peace, but the second time he arrives will be like on the back of the black horse of a conqueror come to rule. One lion for each occurrence.

The Lion under the lamp in Jimbriel’s room

While there is some argument for Jim’s character in S2 re-creating parts of the life of Jesus from two thousand years ago, such as the cleansing of the temple and facing temptation from demons. I think we shouldn’t also forget that this is also Gabriel the Herald, and he was doing some ominous heralding of doom at various points in S2 that in hindsight we can see were warning us about the Second Coming. So this lion at the base of the lamp Jimbriel is playing with has to alert us to Jimbriel’s connection with Jesus. (I will probably revisit and add/rewrite this one in the future, I think there is a bit more to it)

The Lion Rampant on Aziraphale’s Ring

At the end of S2 we learn that Aziraphale has been manipulated into going back to Heaven to run the Second Coming by the Metatron. In hindsight, its hard to see how he wouldn't be involved, somehow. What is surprising, however, is that this expert in prophecy didn't see it coming - but then he didn't expect to see Jimbriel arriving either!

Usually the first thing we notice about Aziraphale's ring is the stylized lion rampant on the shield. We know it's definitely a lion because it upright - if it was down on all four paws it would be referred to as a leopard. The upright tail tells us its on guard.

There are more elements to the ring that also add to the story here, it's a much more complex ring than Michael's. The crown on the top is a symbol of victory and sovereignty, and also a connection to God, who considered the "King of all." On either side of the shield are two stylized sprigs of laurel, reinforcing a picture of triumph and fame.

Then there are a fringe of feathers, banded in sharp triangular spikes. Feathers signify willing obedience and serenity of mind in heraldry, so I would tend to lean towards the former. The triangles represent celestial rays, so they reinforce his obedience to the will of Heaven.

You might think, "well this makes sense, Aziraphale is a Principality, he's a protector, that's why there is a lion," but I think it more complicated than that. It tells us something about both the past and the future at the same time. The purpose of the rings remain a mystery to us at the moment, in that we don't know why some angels have them and others don't, or if they have any function. Aziraphale has a tendency to touch his when he is feeling troubled or worried (its easy to miss if you aren't paying attention,) so perhaps it helps to strengthen his connection to Heaven somehow, or is a reminder of his duties.

There is another connection Aziraphale has to a lion, and that is through his past status as a cherubim in the Job minisode in S2E2.

As pointed out in this post, the pattern is stylized to represent the four wings that Cherubim are said to have, with a pearl in the center for an eye. These Cherubim also have four faces: an ox, an eagle, a lion and a man. Well, we sort of get all of those with Aziraphale at some point in the wider story. And the angel set at the eastern gate of Eden with the flaming sword was supposed to be a Cherubim, too. Yes, Aziraphale changed rank from Cherubim to Principality, we just don't technically know whether it was a step up or down...

The Honolulu Roast Lion

There is a lion you don’t see in S2 – the lion logo for the Honolulu roast coffee, mentioned briefly on a blackboard in the background of a shot inside the coffee shop.

The islands of Hawaii were a kingdom up until 1893, when a commercial coup took them over and allowed them to be annexed by the US. You can read more about it here. While the op in that post relates it the Eldritch Ball in S2E5, it still connects a lion to royalty.

The lion at the beginning of S1E1

Right at the beginning we have a lion as well – a real live lion! After Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden they meet a big lion out on the dunes. As Aziraphale and Crowley watch and talk atop the walls of the Garden, Adam confronts the lion with the flaming sword Aziraphale gave him and eventually kills the lion before he walks away with Eve.

What are we to think of this? I've see one op suggest that it was Aziraphale "throwing them to the lions" as his first act. To me it seems more like Adam has just slain God instead to gain their freedom.

The Lions on Crowley’s “throne”

There are two lion heads on the arm rest of Crowley’s “throne” (I don’t know what else to call it, really) in his Mayfair flat in S1. If I understand correctly, this should first be viewed as a homage to the US show Supernatural, as this chair is the exact copy of the one the demon Crowley in that show sits in, only his one is black. But if I’m to look at it in terms of GO symbology, my brain keeps going [error 503: Server cannot process the request due to a system overload; should be a temporary condition...] because I can’t quite believe what its telling me. And I should, because I’m the one running around touting a list that is now 22 items long for why Crowley was once a very powerful archangel and written a batshit-crazy meta on King Arthur themes presenting in GO. So I’ll just present my quandary this way: There are lions, they are golden, of course, so they are connected to Heaven, and a symbol of royalty – but they are being used by a demon in a residence paid for by Hell…(too.much.gold...! what were they thinking?)

Further reading: The Golden Lion by Cobragardens

[allura-raine]

[plant-gee]

our home amongst the stars xD

[sultryana]

Is there no way out of the mind ?

ᨳ Sylvia Plath

[storytellingbadger]

Sun and Solar relaxing at the end of a long day at work. Happy, tired boys in love.

Based on my TSAMS AU Celestial Phenomena over on AO3. Mind the ratings.

[depairt]

Omg hi, I missed your destiel art. And you decide to come back with murder husbands!! ❤

Thank you ;v; And I missed you too! Also... I have two more BBHMM artworks to post ope, hehe. AND I am a HUGE sucker for murder hubbies. My obsession is ridiculous and I ought to be ashamed of myself.

[itsemmiy]

The Kiss

( au by @pluck-heartstrings )

They are just posing for the painting, no romance, just royal business yk

Image reference below:

[pillowspace]

Can I give a gift to CSD Eclipse in the form of a ruin Eclipse ? Can they be friends ...?

CSD Eclipse: you look rough. // Ruin Eclipse: ... me?

[grandmawitch]

[nox-in-a-box]

Just a quick drawing, will work on something nicer later.

22.01.2025

[celestialdaily]

The celestial object of the day is El Gordo!

This galaxy cluster is located 7 billion light-years away from Earth, and it formed when the universe was only half the age it is currently. Its ginormous mass (2.1 quadrillion solar masses) helps scientists see galaxies that are very far away thanks to gravitational lensing

[rayoffrcknsunshine]

Been hyperfixating on baby names because I want to write a fic where teoxaurelio have a baby BUT all of the book characters names all have specific meanings connected to their powers and parents which means now my brain won't rest until I find the perfect name/meaning for this oc kid 😭😭😭

[bondaged9ngel]

Let’s see our future together 🔮✨

[moss-777]

[blastthechaos]

Has anyone drawn Zarcray with Zarc and Ray having Performapal Celestial Magician and Beyond The Pendulum Magician costumes respectively?

I know it's not the exact same but come on...

Don't tell me you don't see it

[aquacomet]

A few doodles I made from @pillowspace's whiteboard! Featuring Meno and Sunna from Pillow's Celestial Sundown AU plus Sun and Moon with some oddly familiar-looking sea slugs.