(above is Azazel in the Angelic script “Du Passage Du Dufleuve” meaning Passing the River)

 Other names given to or identified with Azazel.- Uza, Azazil, Azael, Hazazel, Satan, Sameal, Melek Taus (The Peacock Angel), Eblis, Iblis, Asiz, Seth, Zeraili, Angra Mainyu, Tubal-Cain, Vulcan, and Thoth.

 The many identities of Azazel  - Azazel is the name of a supernatural being mentioned in connection with the ritual of the Day of Atonement. After Satan, for whom he was in some degree a preparation, Azazel enjoys the distinction of being the most mysterious extrahuman character in sacred literature. Unlike other Hebrew proper names, the name itself is obscure.

Azazel is denoted as the leader of the fallen angels in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  He was said to be of the order of seraphim, the highest order of angels, before his fall. Azazel is given such titles as the Master of Metals and Minerals, The Original Alchemist, and the Sovereign of the World of Man.  He is associated with Melek Taus of the Yezidi. Melek Taus is also known as The Peacock Angel (note: there is a LOT of info on Melek Taus not included here). In Islamic demonology Azazel is named as a Djin who was captured by angels and grew up among them, eventually rising to lead among the highest of angels.  Upon refusing God’s command to worship Adam, contending, "Why should a son of fire [an angel] fall down before a son of clay [a mortal]?" God cast Azazel out of heaven and changed his name to Eblis, which means 'despair' (the Calumniator or the Liar).  In some lore Azazel is believed to be the first fallen angel, the first star that fell from the heavens.  This may explain why, in the Koran, he is considered to be the Prince of Darkness himself.  Azazel is also often characterized as a 'Sovereign of the World' being a reflection in the Kingdom of Malkuth, of God in Kether. In African Islamic traditions, he is known as Zeraili, the angel of death. The thorny acacia bush is sacred to Azazel, according to Arab tribes. His name is pre-Jewish and pre-Islamic. Some speculate that he may have been an early Semitic goat god whose worship later became repulsive to the Jewish and Islamic faiths. Angra Mainyu is Azazel's Zoroastrian counterpart. Andrew Collins, of "From the Ashes of Angels" fame, postulates that Azazel was most likely a powerful goat-shaman.  He is the scape-goat in rabbinic literature. In the Zohar he is said to be chief of the order of bene elim (otherwise ischim, lower angels, "men-spirits".)

Azazel, leader of fallen angels  - Azazel is known widely as a leader of the “Watchers” who eventually fall from heaven (note: there were good and evil “Watchers” over mankind). This is confirmed by the Book of Enoch and the Kabbalistic text The Zohar, which bring Azazel into connection with the Biblical story of the fall of the angels, located on Mount Hermon as a sort of an old Semitic Blocksberg, a gathering-place of demons from of old. These rebellious angels educate humankind of heavenly secrets that lead humankind to sin. Azazel was one of the leaders of the fallen angels who lusted after and mated with mortal women.  He taught men the art of warfare, of making swords, knives, shields, and coats of mail, and seduced women, teaching them the art of deception by ornamenting the body, dyeing the hair, and painting the face and the eyebrows.  He also revealed to the people the secrets of witchcraft and corrupted their manners, leading them into wickedness and impurity.  At last he is, at the Lord's command, bound hand and foot by the archangel Raphael and chained to the rough and jagged rocks of [Ha] Duduael, where he is to abide in utter darkness until the great Day of Judgment, when he will be cast into the fire to be consumed forever.  Claims follow that "the whole earth has been corrupted by [Azazel’s] teachings of his (own) actions; and write upon him all sin." It is speculated that because of Azazel's teachings God sends the Flood to destroy the evil in the world including the Nephilim, offspring of human females and fallen angels, so that all evil will be wiped away from the face of the earth.

Azazel as the “scapegoat” - At the feast of expiation*, celebrated by the Jews on the tenth day of the seventh month, two goats were led to the High Priest, who drew lots for them, one for the Lord and the other for Azazel. The one on which the Lord's lot fell was sacrificed, and its blood served for expiation. The priest then put his hands on the head of the other goat, confessed his and the people's sins, and charged the animal with them. The goat was then led into the desert and set free, for Azazel.  Because of this ritual, Azazel is known as the "scapegoat." The goat that is sent to Azazel is not as a sacrifice, but as a symbol that there is no longer any unexpiated guilt. Some see the goat offering to Azazel as a bribe that he who is identical with Samael or Satan should not by his accusations prevent the atonement of the sins on that day.

There has been much controversy over the function of Azazel as well as over his essential character. Inasmuch as according to the narrative the sacrifice of Azazel, while symbolical, was yet held to be a genuine vicarious atonement, it is maintained by critics that Azazel was originally no mere abstraction, but a real being to the authors of the ritual—as real as Yhwh (Jesus) himself.

  *From the ceremony, three points seem reasonably clear.

 (1) Azazel is not a mere jinnee or demon of uncertain ways and temper, anonymous and elusive, but a deity standing in a fixed relation to his clients. Hence the notion, which has become prevalent, that Azazel was a "personal angel," here introduced for the purpose of "doing away with the crowd of impersonal and dangerous se'irim", scarcely meets the requirements of the ritual. Moreover, there is no evidence that this section of Leviticus is so late as the hagiological period of Jewish literature.