Gargoyle Guardians

[LV426]

From my website and accumulated information.

Gargoyles

The Medieval period held many superstitious stories and legends and produced great works of structural art. Among these are the gargoyles that decorated their churches and important buildings. The stone carvings served as illustrations and books for those that were illiterate, documenting stories and life and recording it in an indestructable image that all could see and understand with ease. No one truly knows the origins and reasoning behind the gargoyles although many theories and legends have arisen in recent times. Whether they are actually valid, no one knows for sure.

http://www.framesdirect.com/images/gargoyles/gargoyles-sunglasses.jpg

Mythical and Spiritual Connections

In Medieval times religion and superstition sometimes walked hand in hand and were very important to the people. Many looked to gods and goddesses, spirits and ghosts, or other supernatural entities for guidance, fundamental answers to life's problems, and for protection.

http://penelopesweb.com/images/gargoyles.jpg

The people could see no better protection from evil spirits than placing images of supernatural beings upon their places of worship. These stone creatures would work for you and guard you from those that would seek you harm. One might have thought that holy images would have been used and indeed many hold the crucifix to be a powerful emblem of god but in other aspects it was frowned upon to carve an image of God upon one's place of worship. It was presumptuous to know what God looked like. Images of Christ were also thought of but he was merely a man and already inside this house of God. Perhaps even images of the old Gods were thought of but to carve the images of ancient Gods upon the house of the only true God was blasphemy. It was merely a logical step to take the guardian aspects of the gargoyle and use them as protectors, especially since they were known in myths to be guardians and have powerful abilities.

http://www.ulrikehoinkis.de/gargoyles/drachen.jpg

Myth Of The Gargoyle

Gargoyles were known to stand guard and ward off evil spirits and frighten away other creatures that sought harm. The more hideous and frightening in appearance is all the better to scare off all sorts of dark creatures. At night they come to life and protect while one is asleep and vulnerable. And the winged gargoyles can fly around the whole area and cover an entire village or town as well as the church. As the sun rises the Gargoyles resume their place once more to serve as guardians during the day when their fierce visage can be seen and frighten off those that see their faces.

http://www.lifeadventures.c om/images/gargoyles.jpg

One other myth dating back to ancient greece is that a gargoyle can purify any tainted water, and seeing as how many served a functional purpose as rain spouts, it was thought that when it rained they purified the water descending from the skies and prevented diseases and foul water supplies.

There are many meanings and symbolism that dwell within the stone guardians.

http://www.aardvarkelectric .com/gargoyle/gargs/gargcollage.jpg

Disembodied Heads

Figures in fact from the 5th century celts who were in fact head hunters. They worshipped the severed heads and claimed that they held powerful forces. To gaze within their eyes would reveal their powerful nature to the beholder.

Gender/Species Combinations

Figures of ambiguous gender and species are frequently encountered in the world of gargoyles. Ancient people were no different from people today in finding amalgrams of male/female or human/animal bodies somewhat frightening. Pagan religion existed to confront and surmount chaos and danger. Chaos is represented by lifeforms which do not fit into known categories.

Open Mouth

http://www.naturegraphics.n et/bg750%20Gargoyles%20 Notre%20Dame%20v2.JP G

You will find that an inordinate number of gargoyles have their mouths wide open and their tongues protruding. The mouth pulled open is a frequent symbol of devouring giants. In order to convey size in a small sculpture, much smaller figures are placed next to the "giant". The act of pulling the mouth open is a threatening gesture which serves to remind us that we are vulnerable to forces larger than ourselves.

Men with Foliage

The Celts often depicted a human head entwined with foliage. Branches coming from the mouth or crowning the head were a sign of divinity. Often, the branches are of the oak tree which was sacred to the Druids. Images like this have come to be called "Jack O'Green" or "The Green Man"

Sex Objects

Fertility was the major theme of pagan religions, and fertility symbols were not excluded from cathedral walls. If these symbols were on the outside walls, they might scare off evil spirits. This would explain how some fairly crude sexual imagery came to be preserved on the outer walls. However, some would argue that these images may arouse more than they discourage. The most crudely sexual image is perhaps that of Sheelagh-na-Gig, commonly found on medieval Irish churches. Her eyes are typically round and deeply drilled, with no mouth and an obscene pose.



From the stone guardians that adorn the cathedrals and churches of old, and the leagends of their protection, sprang a tale of fantasy and wonder in a cartoon known simply as Gargoyles. By day they are merely stone creatures to adorn buildings, by night they are defenders of a city.True it is just a cartoon, a show of fancy and imagination, but aren't all great creatures born from the imagination?

http://i.disney.go.com/disneygo/DisneyVideos/animatedfilms/gargoyles/gargoylesmovie/image2.gif

Out of all the myths, legends, and guesses that have gone into the reasoning for gargoyles, I think that they speak most eloquently for themselves when you view the beautifully horrific images that adorn a cathedral or sit quietly in a garden. Whether they truly do guard us from evil spirits or just adorn our lives, perhaps it is good to know that they are still on watch when the darkness is thick about and the sun is far from our eyes.

http://www.vu.union.edu/~robleec/pictures/Eurotrip/gargoyles.jpg

[Alphawolf]

I'm sure they are more likely to scare off evil spirits than those stupid lawn gnomes. :p

[wolfkami]

You said it! :wavey: I always thought of Gargoyles as guardians of citys and villages. :)

[vagabond1]

gargoyles are simply grotesque faces and creatures placed on buildings to ward off evil spirits and general wrong doing

to my knowledge lycanthropes are always in blood form

[lachrymal]

i really don't think it's possible for somebody to be half man half rain spout.....that's all gargoyles were used for- gutters and to ward off evil. they were simply stone or concrete versions of chimeras. no spirit dwells within them.

[LeenaAngelWing]

I know someone whos half gargoyle and yes its very possible

[phantomroller]

I'm still lost. why isn't it possible for someone to be a gargoyle? aren't there some weres out there who are half mythological creatures? so wouldn't a gargoyle fall under the mythological creatures?

[lachrymal]

I'm still lost. why isn't it possible for someone to be a gargoyle? aren't there some weres out there who are half mythological creatures? so wouldn't a gargoyle fall under the mythological creatures?

'k, here's the thing, gargoyles aren't actually a mythological creature. they're just rainspouts (a.k.a stone statues) made to look like mythological creatures. the creatures that gargoyles are generally designed to look like are called chimeras and are found in greek mythology.

gargoyle= rainspouts that look like mythological creatures

chimera= the mythological creature gargoyles are designed after

it's not possible for somebody to be half gargoyle because they're not considred either real creatures or mythological- they're just statues, nothing more. chimeras are the actual mythological creature that gargoyles are made to look like. you can be part chimera, but not part gargoyle.

[Antero Vipunen]

Lachrymal,
I am in total agreement with you. If you are interested in the origins of the the gargoyle look to the chimera. I hate Disney.

Sisu in Kaos----Antero

[LeenaAngelWing]

No... but I mean I am serious. My friend dosent believe he is part chimera and he even knows what a chimera is. He believes in the gargoylemythos stone and alll, no matter where it comes from. I say who am I to judge his beliefs. I mean I think I'm part dragons and most people here have their own spritual being, and I don't think it would be right for any one of us to say "well that just can't be real" becuase truthfully the same could be said about any one of us when you remove yourself from the situation.

[lachrymal]

No... but I mean I am serious. My friend dosent believe he is part chimera and he even knows what a chimera is. He believes in the gargoylemythos stone and alll, no matter where it comes from. I say who am I to judge his beliefs. I mean I think I'm part dragons and most people here have their own spritual being, and I don't think it would be right for any one of us to say "well that just can't be real" becuase truthfully the same could be said about any one of us when you remove yourself from the situation.

well i don't understand how he could believe that a part of him is an inanimate, soul less, man-made object. that would be like sombody saying that they're part table......the only way i could believe that is if the person involved was extremelly lethargic or something- i don't like to get up and move around a lot, therefor i am part rock. he's entitled to his own opinions though i guess, so if he thinks he's part gargoyle, good for him.

[LeenaAngelWing]

I think lycanthropic howl shows why one would believe to be half gargoyle. The guardian aspect. The whole spirituality thing its still there.

[Dark_Hermit_Of_Legend]

Some say they have their own "gargoyles". They explain them in such a way that it leads me to think that the so called gargoyle is more of a spirit then a living creature.. Could there be such a thing, or are these people living in a dream world? ~ Kristen

[Antero Vipunen]

Though I will not say that there is not a possibility of this being "real", I would group this into delusional behavior just like the majority of people who claim to be were,fey,vampiric,et c. Most people just want to feel special in an age that has lost most of its spirituality. It makes their life less boring/mundane. Whatever gets you through.

SiK---Antero

[Dark_Hermit_Of_Legend]

Though I will not say that there is not a possibility of this being "real", I would group this into delusional behavior just like the majority of people who claim to be were,fey,vampiric,et c. Most people just want to feel special in an age that has lost most of its spirituality. It makes their life less boring/mundane. Whatever gets you through.

SiK---Antero


So in an age when reality has become too cruel to bear, people try to bring something mystical to their lives?

[Antero Vipunen]

Some would argue that the world has not become cruel and that it is just that many individuals have grown weak....but I digress.

To answer your question: Yes, this seems to be the coping method with which people are dealing with the stress.

Sisu in Kaos---Antero

[Dark_Hermit_Of_Legend]

Some would argue that the world has not become cruel and that it is just that many individuals have grown weak....but I digress.

To answer your question: Yes, this seems to be the coping method with which people are dealing with the stress.

Sisu in Kaos---Antero


Very interesting... I thank you.

[Obsidian Claws]

I'm not really sure where to put this, so I just put it here. I was wondering if it is possible to be like a weregargoyle or have a gargoyle spirit in someone, or is it just a myth kind of thing where they are only statues.

Im a pretty open minded individual, but I have a real hard time trying to believe that someone can be part living creature, part in-animate object. Gargoyles are statues, and statues are made by men... how could it possibly have a spirit? If it did, did the block of un-cut stone that the gargoyle came from have the same spirit?

[Blazer]

"Golem: in Jewish legend, a creature made of clay and brought to life by magical incantations."
Gargoyles would propably come under this heading. An inanimate object that is brought to life.

So it may be possible for someone to be part made of stone. Just one question, how does a solid stone construction move without breaking itself? :confused: - Hinged arms & legs? :D

There are a number of myths which have things turning to stone (& then not moved):
"In Scandinavian fairy tales trolls generally turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. (This weakness is shared by Norse Svartalfar (dark elves) and dwarves.)" - For more info on trolls see here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll)

[Obsidian Claws]

Golems were also mindless, spiritless beings who had no capacity for thought whatsoever. They were under the relatively fragile control of the person who brought them to life, and the fact that man gave them life; that they were created in the image of man, not God, means they are soulless beings.

Therefore... how can someone have the soul of an object that never had one?

[sno raven]

I'm still lost. why isn't it possible for someone to be a gargoyle? aren't there some weres out there who are half mythological creatures? so wouldn't a gargoyle fall under the mythological creatures?

No, because gargoyles are stone crafted into the shapes of animals and winged creatures. If your thinking about the cartoon gargoyles from Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Gargoyles... well, lets see.. THEY'RE CARTOONS. Anything is possible when its in a cartoon. Have you noticed that whenever they get hit by colossal anvils their craniums aren't fractured in a million pieces and do they die? No..

[LV426]

While yes the Gargoyles are made of stone, there are myths and legends that they can come to life. That is where the concept of the cartoon Gargoyles came from. While they are stone by day it is thought that at night the gargoyles come to life and protect the dwellings on which they perch from evil and harm.

This doesn't mean that I believe in a therian gargoyle, I don't. But gargoyles are more than just stone golems.

[Iceweaver]

the gargoyles based on chimearas is news to me, but the original gargoyles are based on old scottish mythes/legends, a race of creatures, reptilian in likeness, standing about 6 1/2 to 7 1/4 feet tall, with large batlike wings (some also similiar to glider lizards) with either a prehinsile hook/finger, or a small clawwed three fingered hands, two legs, two arms, that hung to their knees (humans, fall to about mid-thigh), as well as a tail. they supposedly become stone during daylight, similiar to granite, or a smooth concrete, while in this form, wounds regenerate at an extremely accelerated rate, though they r for the most part helpless in this state, at night they take on living form, and either terorize human villages, or try to befriend them, either way, gargoyles were said to be honorable, never killing small children or elderly, or chasing down beaten atackers of the few human settlements that they were able to befriend, they have almost human faces, and possibly showed emotion the same as we do, the gothic styles on churhches, museums, etc. etc. might be baised on chimearas, then named gargoyles, though there is a distinct similairity to te description (above), aside from the scottish reptilian, there are also legends in england, france, spain, nearly every other country really, of more mamal-like gargilians, ranging from equine faces qith feathered wings and a long tail of hair, to canine heads, fur-covered wings, and a tail, similair to wolves, even ones with head, tail, and claws of lions, with wings covered in a tannish fur. this information is mostly fro various books, so it is possible that i am mistaken...

[Knighthowler]

Gargoyles in Europe have been used as water spouts and Burglar deterrents
For hundreds of years.
If you tell some poor peasant that they will come alive at night and eat you he is less likely to rob the Church.
But if you are willing to believe that the golem can be filled with life why not a stone
Gargoyle.
Not sure about the Scottish lizard , as there are churches in Europe that predate any kind of Christian churches in Scotland.

[Obsidian Claws]

But if you are willing to believe that the golem can be filled with life why not a stone Gargoyle.

I think youre missing the point. Its not a matter of if a rabbi can animate dust and dirt or if a great sorcerer can animate solid stone, its the fact that these beings are SOULLESS. Therefore, someone cannot have the soul of said creatures, as there is no soul to have.

If you think golems and gargoyles have souls despite what has already been said, tell us why.

[Knighthowler]

I don’t think a golem has a soul but it must have some essence of the creature with in the vassal .
It the same with magic you must put apart of your self in to your work
maybe the weregargoyle is some one who as picked up this essence from somewhere.

[Obsidian Claws]

I don’t think a golem has a soul but it must have some essence of the creature with in the vassal .
It the same with magic you must put apart of your self in to your work
maybe the weregargoyle is some one who as picked up this essence from somewhere.

This "essence" is simply the power of the summoner or sorcerers mind. In all legends I have heard, its humans who are behind the animation of these creatures. So what does that make someone who has the "essence" of a golem, as the essence stemmed from a human? A werehuman?

Thats pretty redundant, wouldnt you think?

[Knighthowler]

I didn’t want to get in to this because it gets very compacted and I don’t pretend to under stand it .

In the kabbalah it says the once the vessel has been filled by the creator it takes on it own spirit and wants to create something of its own to feel what his creator felt.

The created become the creator

It’s the feeling good about passing on Knowledge, not just the rabbi making a golem for his own benefit.
its the light of creation filling the vessel of mankind

If the person how started this topic want to be a were gargoyle just let him you can’t prove he isn’t and he can’t prove he is
there is a saying in Romania

"Fiecare trebuie sã trãiascã."

live and let live

[LV426]

The word golem comes from the Hebrew word gelem, meaning raw material. The golem is outwardly a real person, yet he lacks the human dimension of personality and intellect. Life is interjected into him through a mystical process using God's special name. He is created from the ground, as was the first man. When his mission is over, the name of God is removed from him and he returns to the ground.


Many trace the golem to the mystical teaching of the Kabbalistic book called "Sefer HaYetzera", the book of formation. This ancient book is still in print today and studied by Jewish mystics. The book deals in great length with the actual process of creating the universe. It is in part attributed to Adam, the first man, to Abraham, the first patriarch, and to Rabbi Akiva, the famous rabbi who lived approximately 2000 years ago.


The book describes various mystical elements of creation. Among them are the Hebrew words and letters. As one recalls, God created the world by uttering vocal commands. The Hebrew words that were uttered had a divine power that stemmed from the individual letters. These letters combined in their downward fall into the succeeding world of the material and solidified becoming objects.


As an example, the Hebrew letter, peh, is almost exclusively used to designate some sort of outward and opening movement. The peh is a mouth which obviously opens. The word for flower in Hebrew is parach, which opens as it blooms, has peh as its first letter. The word for fruit is parot, which swells as it grows on the tree. The word to explode is potzet, which is an obviously outward movement.


Although many have mastered the secrets of understanding creation as explained in the Sefer Yetzira, very few are able to actually put their knowledge of the secrets of the Hebrew language into practice. We find that only the very righteous are able to succeed in bringing the golem to life. This is due to the inability to actually bring the Godly powers into the gelem, the raw material. Permission is given only to those who use this power for proper purposes.


A loose interpretation of the golem legend.

The story of the Golem begins in the old city of Prague. Many boys and girls do not know where Prague is located. It is the capital of Czechoslovakia,(a country in eastern Europe). Over one million people live there today.


The most notorious and peculiar example in history is the Golem of Prague. According to Czech legend, in 1580 Rabbi Yehudah Loew Ben Bezalel of Prague and two of his colleagues created a life-sized Golem, which they succeeded in animating by inserting in its mouth a slip of parchment bearing the word "shem", which is a kabbalistic interpretation of God's divine name. Under Loew's control, the creature performed menial laboring tasks that required great strength but little intellect. Every Friday evening, since the Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday, the Rabbi would take out the parchment from the Golem's mouth, thus rendering it inanimate again, so that it would not perturb their impending day of rest.

One Friday, however, the Rabbi forgot to take out the parchment from the Golem's mouth, and while he was busy performing the Sabbath service the creature ran amok in a rash of destruction. As soon as the Rabbi found out what was going on, he left the service in search of his creation. When at last he found it, he succeeded in pulling the parchment out of the rampant Golem's mouth, and while it was again inanimate he and his colleagues carried it away. They concealed its powerful form inside the attic of Prague's Old-New Synagogue.

From that day on, the Rabbi forbade everyone from entering the building and even removed the stairs leading up to the attic.

Eventually, most people forgot about the Golem, but even today no one is allowed inside this particular synagogue's attic, although free access is granted to those in the Czech Republic's other Jewish temples. Could someone — or something — strange be hidden in the Old-New Synagogue's mysterious attic?