CryptoAngels: Jophiel
The sixteenth in a series of posts about the Archangels of the CryptoAngels project and their inspirations.
Owned by batsoupyum, Jophiel is known as the Angel of Knowledge. With black wings and a companion crow, he projects a moody, gothic air, though he extends a warm welcome to those seekers whose discipline and devotion lead them to his door. He resides in Heaven within a chapel known as Solomon’s House, in which he guards a vast library of books, scrolls, and tablets that contain all the knowledge of Multiverse. It is a house of many rooms – a reference to Christ’s description of Heaven in the biblical verse John 14:2. The name Solomon’s House is taken from the 1726 book New Atlantis by Sir Francis Bacon, a founder of modern science. It is presented as a utopian college devoted to scientific discovery, setting the standard for Enlightenment-era academies and ultimately modern universities.
The knowledge of Jophiel is described as being sought by scholars of the Invisible College. This term is inspired by a society of 17th century natural philosophers with an interest in scientific research. It would evolve to become the modern-day scientific academy, the Royal Society.
The Usher-Crow guides the souls of successful initiates to Solomon’s House. It is so called, both because it ushers the souls of seekers and in reference to the family in Edgar Allen Poe’s gothic story The Fall of the House of Usher.
