CryptoAngels: Peniel
The fourteenth in a series of posts about the Archangels of the CryptoAngels project and their inspirations.
Owned by Nick, Peniel is among the group of Archangels who may be approached by mortals for divine aid, although only the bravest and purest of heart should seek him. This search echoes traditional spiritual quests into the wilderness or the underworld.
Peniel lives in the Amethyst Cavern in the Lavendula Mountains – allusions to his colour, lavender. These are on the World of Corycia – named after the Corycian Cave in Greece, the home of the sacred springs of the Thriae nymphs, who had the power of divination. In religion, caves are often sacred places of pilgrimage and revelation. In Islam, for example, the Cave of Hira near Mecca is where the prophet Muhammad received his first revelation of the Quran from the angel Gabriel.
The bear who guards Peniel’s cave is named Artio, inspired by a Celtic bear goddess. The Gaulish form of her name was Artos, which is the name of the mechanical bear who patrols the Clockwork Court in Trevor’s Engine series – an interdimensional echo.
The blind seer is a recurring motif in myth and literature. A famous example is in Greek mythology – Tiresias was blinded when he accidentally looked at the goddess Athena without her consent, though she recompensed him with the gifts of prophecy and divination.
