Was Ashtaroth A Watcher? Options

Now here's a theory I was considering (another weird one). The watchers are known to have taught mankind all sorts of things, many of them bad (prostitution,sodomy, and bestiality were a few). Within this framework it would be consistent in viewing Ashtaroth as a demon who identifies himself as female (ie: he is homosexual, as were many of the watchers in the book of Enoch). It is my belief that the editors of the Key of Solomon and other Goetic texts knew full well who Ashtaroth claimed to be, but that they (rightly) placed him as male for the skilled magician to discern. Your thoughts?

This post has been edited by r9999: Nov 25 2006, 07:08 PM

Astaroth and Ashtaroth are quite different if I am correct. Astaroth has as his root Angra-Mainyu, Ashtaroth....Istar. To be honest, Ashtaroth cannot be a watcher, simply because the watchers were very low level demons (the lowest) and he is a chief, probably even in the throne/dominions ranks. I do know that since the middle ages, this demon has been known as a male demon who loves to play the female. I find that interesting. Could it be that Istar/Inanna is a male deity impersonating itself as a female? That is disquieting to me. Why is it disquieting? Because it means I can't trust a single word these beings are saying. I must be critical and penetrating, treat them with respect and awe (they were after all worshiped as gods in ancient times) but not trust them whenever I have anything to do with them.

This post has been edited by r9999: Nov 25 2006, 11:51 PM

Wikpedia

Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Grand Duke of Hell; his main assistants are four demons called Aamon, Pruslas, Barbatos and Rashaverak. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with dragon-like wings, hands and feet, a second pair of feathered wings after the main, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a wolf or dog. According to Sebastian Michaelis he is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness and vanity, and his adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him.

According to S.Francis Barrett, Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against humans are stronger. His name seems to come from the goddess ‘Ashtart/Astarte which was rendered in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible as Astharthe (singular) and Astharoth (plural), that last form rendered in the King James Version of the Bible as Ashtaroth. It seems this plural form was taken either from the Latin or from some translation or other by those who did not know it was a plural form nor knew that it referred to a goddess, seeing it only as a name applied to some god other than God and therefore the name of a devil.

Can you give us some sources as to this demon cross dressing? I would like to consider myself pretty well versed with Astaroth yet he has never appeared to me with a dress on,

This post has been edited by smasher666: Nov 26 2006, 12:14 AM