Asbe'el
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Asbe'el
Asbeel • Azabu'il • Šabīlu • Azabel
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 Asbe'el's primary symbol, the pomegranate. |
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| Third Dekadarch Second Great Instigator |
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| Great Libertine | |
| Name meaning | "Desire god" or "god who forsakes" |
| Associations | Sexual knowledge, lust, passion, ruination, self-determination |
| Teachings | Sexual rites, forms of sexual pleasure, new lustful acts, awakening of passion |
| Traits | Difficult to contact, passionate, intense, sexually arousing, empathetic to anger issues |
| Symbols | Pomegranate, rose |
| Preferred offerings | Sexual offerings, wine, pomegranate seeds & flesh, rose petals, vanilla extract, dried apple peel |
| Descendants | Šamadānu |
Asbe'el, also called Asbeel, Azabel, or Šabīlu, is the Watcher of sexual knowledge, lust, passion, self-determination, and ruin. He is the third Dekadarch and the second of the five great instigators who persuaded the other Watchers to descend. However, some traditions do not recognize Asbe'el as a Dekadarch.
Role in the Grigoric Narrative
Asbe'el is one of the five great instigators, also called the "five satans," who persuaded the rest of the Watchers to rebel and descend. He is recognized as such because he told the other Watchers about how pleasurable sexual revelries with humans would be; his counsel on this topic was a major influence in the Watchers' decision to rebel and have sex with humans.
After the Watchers had planned their rebellion, before they carried it out, Samyaza voiced his fear that the other Watchers would abandon him to face consequences alone. In order to assuage Samyaza's concern, Asbe'el proposed that the Watchers swear an oath by the name of Harmoniel to carry out their plan together. Samyaza and the other Watchers agreed, and the oath was named Beqa. The oath is a very significant element of the Grigoric Narrative, so it is notable that Asbe'el was the one who proposed it as a solution.
When Asbe'el was on earth, he taught knowledge of sexual magic and a variety of pleasurable sexual acts, described by BWAE as "all manner of new lustful acts." In Satano-Grigorist oral tradition, Asbe'el is said to have once burned down a village of Yahwists who had killed some of his nephilim, although this anecdote does not occur in the scriptures. He is the father of the very powerful repha Šamadānu, more commonly known as Asmodeus by modern occultists.
Name and identity
Etymology
Multiple etymologies have been proposed for Asbe'el's name. It is possible that some of the variants of his name are derived from different roots, making multiple etymologies valid. The Temple has determined that the most likely roots are as follows.
- ʿ-z-b (the word ʿāzab), meaning "to leave; to abandon; to forsake," plus ʾel, meaning "god."
- ṣ-b-ʾ (the word ṣəḇāʾ), meaning "to desire," plus ʾel, meaning "god."
Some Enochic scholars have proposed other etymologies, especially in older papers. At least one scholar has interpreted the name as "thought of God" or "thought god," from the root ḥ-š-b (meaning "to think; to plan").[1]
Variants
A handful of variants of Asbe'el's name have been recorded.
Acceptable variants
The Grigorist Temple of Satanael accepts the variants Asbe'el, Asbeel, Azabel, Azabu'il, and Šabīlu.
Full list of variants
The following list includes most of the known variants of Asbe'el's names. Inclusion in this list does not imply the Temple's approval or disapproval of any particular form of the name; it simply exists to document known variants that refer to the same Watcher. Many of these variants are corruptions of the name.
- Known variants: Asb’el, Asbe’el, Asbeel, Asbeêl, Asbêêl, Asbiel, Asheel, Azabel, Azabu'il, Azbeel, Azbiel, Kasbeel, Kesabel, and Šabīlu.
Titles and epithets
Asbe'el has the epithet "[Great] Libertine."
Personality
Asbe'el is intense, passionate, impulsive, sexually forward, and hot-tempered. He can at times be difficult to contact, but when he is reached, his presence is generally reported by his worshippers as intense and sexually arousing. He is highly driven, actively motivated, and decisive, but he is also easily frustrated and quick to burn bridges. While he is usually not particularly empathetic to most other beings, he has a large capacity for empathy; he has been noted to show empathy for those who struggle with anger issues and impulsivity. He is also fond of his nephilim and tends to be protective of them.
Relationships
Other Watchers
Despite occasional disagreements, Asbe'el has a good relationship with Samyaza, who is grateful to him for proposing Beqa as a solution to his fear of betrayal and abandonment. Like Samyaza, he feels emotions strongly and dedicates himself wholly to what he is passionate about; however, he is much worse at mediation and compromise than Samyaza. The occasional quarrels between the two have mostly been due to Samyaza's frustration with Asbe'el's impulsivity.
Asbe'el is known to have a somewhat rocky relationship with Harmoniel, as he has vocally and bluntly disagreed with Harmoniel several times. Harmoniel's serious and solemn nature is often at odds with Asbe'el's volatile personality. Despite this, Harmoniel somewhat appreciates Asbe'el's decisiveness, and the two respect each other as brothers in rebellion, as all the Watchers do.
Matariel disapproves of Asbe'el's direct approach to problems, conflicts, and expression of opinions, viewing it as tactless and inflammatory. In turn, Asbe'el views Matariel's approach as too "soft" and indecisive at times, contending that it is unnecessary and often impossible to please everyone involved in a conflict.
In general, Asbe'el is appreciated by the other Watchers for proposing Beqa and for instigating the rebellion by describing the sexual pleasures that the Watchers would enjoy if they were to rebel.
Partners
No named partners of Asbe'el are confirmed. However, one has been tentatively identified. Some Jewish folklore states that the mother of Ashmedai (Šamadānu) was Na'amah, the sister of Tubal-Cain. If this is true, then Na'amah can be identified as one of Asbe'el's human lovers.
Descendants
Asbe'el is the father of the very powerful repha Šamadānu, more commonly known as Asmodeus by modern occultists, although the name Asmodeus is, in a way, a misnomer. Asbe'el is still close with Šamadānu. In general, he is fond of his descendants and makes significant efforts to protect and guide them, as well as to warn them about mistakes they should not make.
Appearance
Asbe'el appears as a strikingly handsome man with glossy, wavy black hair, moderately tan skin, and deep amber eyes. His wings are large and black.
Garments
Asbe'el usually wears a fine, thin robe that appears to be made of silk, with sleeves stopping just above the elbow. It is mostly black, but may have crimson panels and accents. The robe is often slightly open in a suggestive or inviting manner.
Accessory objects
Asbe'el does not usually hold any objects when he appears. However, he has been seen holding pomegranates and/or roses.
In Satano-Grigorism
Worship
Satano-Grigorists worship Asbe'el as the third of twenty Dekadarchs (chiefs of the Watchers). He is often invoked for matters related to sexuality and passion, as well as for assistance with the difficult self-work of choosing to determine one's own destiny. Satano-Grigorists who have survived traumatic sexual experiences have found success in praying to him to help them enjoy sex again. He can be worshipped to help the practitioner irreversibly let go of past attachments that are no longer beneficial for them; on the other hand, he is also known to help those who struggle with destructive behavior and excessive bridge-burning of past connections.
Offerings
Burnt offerings preferred by Asbe'el include pomegranate seed oil, pomegranate seeds or flesh, wine, brandy, rose petals or flowers, rose leaves, vanilla extract, dried apple peel or flesh, dark chocolate, and raw cacao nibs or seeds. He enjoys incenses with patchouli, vanilla, rose, or chocolate notes. He has stated to members of the Grigorist Temple of Satanael that if a worshipper has struggled with alcoholism and a wine or brandy offering would create an undesirable mental burden for them, he does not want it. He accepts offerings of normal vascular blood as well as menstrual blood or sexual fluids, but these last two are acceptable only if they are fresh and from a clean body.
Asbe'el also accepts sexual offerings (offerings of the naphsha generated during sexual activity or climax). These may be done solo or with a consenting partner, but pornography should not be used.
Holiday
In the Satano-Grigorist tradition, the dedicated holiday for Asbe'el and his tribe is Kabādu Azabu'il, celebrated annually on June 27th. Satano-Grigorists celebrate Asbe'el's sacred day by offering to him, doing rituals to him, praying to praise him, and thanking him for his teachings to humanity.
In other religions
Yahwism
Like the other Watchers, Asbe'el is portrayed negatively in forms of Yahwism that believe in the Watchers and their Descent. However, because the Yahwist view of the Watchers' descent heavily emphasizes the sexual aspect of the Watchers' sins, Asbe'el's role in persuading his brothers to have sex with women is given special attention. The Book of Enoch states that Asbe'el "led astray" the "holy sons of God" with the "evil counsel" he imparted to them.[2]
Occult traditions
A few modern occultists outside of Satano-Grigorism have described Asbe'el as they understand him. The soft polytheist Luciferian author Michael W. Ford, who has written on the Watchers, presents Asbe'el as the "Isolate God," an awakening force who led the other Watchers away from blind servitude toward the pleasures of human contact.[3]
Another modern occult group, the Black Witch Coven, describes Asbe'el as the "Spirit of Sex Magick" and recommends invoking him in rites that involve sexual empowerment, liberation from sexual repression and guilt, and destructive baneful magic. This tradition also calls upon Asbe'el in a special marriage ceremony to bless the union of two Luciferian partners.[4]
Sigils
Asbe'el's sigil is known.
Textual references
See also
References
- ↑ George A. Barton, “The Origin of the Names of Angels and Demons in the Extra-Canonical Apocalyptic Literature to 100 A.D.,” Journal of Biblical Literature 31, no. 4 (1912): 163.
- ↑ R. H. Charles, trans., “The Book of Enoch,” ch. 69, in The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913).
- ↑ Michael W. Ford, The Bible of the Adversary (Houston, TX: Succubus Productions, 2008).
- ↑ Drasmella Black, “Asbeel: The Spirit of Sex Magick,” Black Witch Coven, February 16, 2018. Accessed August 30, 2026.