GR and the Source of the Name 'Grigori' (crossposted to Thomas Pynchon subreddit)

Thu Apr 16 00:48:01 UTC 2026

Christopher, 

I never made the connection between the Girgori the Octopus & the Watchers in the Book of Enoch... 

Also the Lubeck Angel (https://www.reddit.com/r/ThomasPynchon/comments/150ik4n/angel_over_lubeck_2829_march_1942_grinspired/)
Erie picture of Dresden destruction from the Rathaus... 
Seems somewhat appropriate given the recent Artemis voyage (in a chemical rocket) & Orthodox Easter... (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-25)

Per Dr. Farrell: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m5XU0U8py4

Sent with Proton Mail secure email.

On Monday, 13 April 2026 at 16:41, Christopher Elliott <christopher27131 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Pynchonians,
> 
> I have checked all the standard reference works* and can’t find a prior
> publication of this data: The Second Book of Enoch is the source for the
> name ‘Grigori’ and much else in Gravity’s Rainbow.
> 
> From Francis I. Anderson’s translation of 2 Enoch, Chapter 18: “And those
> men took me up on their wings and placed me on the fifth heaven. And I saw
> there many innumerable armies called Grigori. And their appearance was like
> the appearance of a human being, and their size was larger than that of
> large giants. And their faces were dejected, and the silence of their
> mouths was perpetual.”
> 
> A few lines later: “And three of [the Grigori] descended to the earth from
> the Lord’s Throne onto the place Ermon. And they broke the promise on the
> shoulder of Mount Ermon.”
> 
> The name Grigori means ‘watchers’ according to Gustav Davidson in his
> “Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels.” The description in 2
> Enoch of these watchers maps exactly onto the figures described in GR:
> Pynchon’s “watchmen of world’s edge” are hundreds of miles tall, their
> faces are “unattached” and “impassive” (p. 217 Penguin).
> 
> Furthermore, the detail in 2 Enoch that three watchers descend to ‘Mount
> Ermon’ reveals a pun in ‘Casino Hermann Goering’: Ermon/Hermann.
> 
> To summarize, 2 Enoch tells us the gigantic Watchers, called Grigori,
> descended to Mount Ermon. In GR, the gigantic “watchmen” appear shortly
> after Octopus Grigori makes his attack, all within sight of Casino Hermann
> Goering.
> 
> There are three books of Enoch that form part of the non-canonical
> apocalyptic literature. They contain prophecies that were popular in early
> Christian culture. It seems to me that this Enochian literature provided
> rich material for Pynchon.
> 
> 
>    - Alluding to an angelic order of beings called “watchers” amplifies the
>    other watching that’s done in GR, especially the cinematic themes. Octopus
>    Grigori himself is conditioned to attack Katje using film, for example.
>    - The Enochian literature deals specifically with themes of salvation,
>    the Elect and the Judgement to come, important ideas in GR.
>    - In 1 Enoch chapter 6, some of the Grigori, the fallen angels, come to
>    earth out of lust for the “beautiful and comely” daughters of men, take
>    them as wives, and defile themselves and the earth with their behavior. The
>    theme of powerful men abusing vulnerable girls is pervasive in GR.
>    - In the Enochian literature, the offspring of the union of angels and
>    humans are the giants (see also Genesis chapter 6). 1 Enoch chapter 7 says
>    the giants “consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no
>    longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.”
>    The giants’ behavior sounds very like the rapacious corporate and colonial
>    activity so thoroughly critiqued by Pynchon. In GR the Devil’s Advocate
>    asks us to consider that They, our oppressors, are immortal (p. 548
>    Penguin). Pynchon might have these insatiable Enochian giants in mind for
>    this passage.
>    - In the Enochian literature, the fallen angels teach men all manner of
>    forbidden knowledge that are thematically important to GR, such as
>    armaments, makeup, enchantments, and astrology.
>    - On a more granular level in GR, the Enochian literature might have
>    inspired at least one name. ‘Semyavin’ is a minor character in GR. His name
>    could be read as ‘son of Semyaza,’ where Semyaza is a leader of the fallen
>    angels in the Enochian literature. In GR Semyavin is an associate of
>    Blodgett Waxwing— while ‘waxwing’ might put us in mind of Icarus, I wonder
>    if Pynchon was thinking of angels’ wings here too.
> 
> Given the extensive use of angelic images in GR it would be surprising if
> Pynchon didn’t consult the “Dictionary of Angels” which was published in
> 1967. Brian McHale mentions this Dictionary in his 1998 essay “Angels in
> America, or, Pynchon’s Angelology Revisited.” He doesn’t appear to link its
> contents to Pynchon in any meaningful way.
> 
> I was consulting the Dictionary of Angels on another project when I
> happened to see the entry for ‘Grigori.’ I immediately made the association
> with GR and began this investigation. For those wanting to do their own
> exploration, I recommend Tobias Churton’s “The Books of Enoch Revealed: The
> Wicked Watchers, Metatron, and the Fruits of Forbidden Knowledge” (Inner
> Traditions, 2025) for his elucidation of the source material.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Chris Elliott
> 
> Sub-sub-librarian
> 
> *Of course, I consulted Weisenburger and the Pynchon Wiki. Also, the
> archives for Pynchon-L and Pynchon Notes. Also, works by Fowler, Hume,
> Hohmann, Eddins, Mackey, Clerc, McHale, McLaughlin, Plater, Madsen, Hite,
> Cowart, and others. I haven’t been able to examine Harold Bloom’s “Thomas
> Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow,” in the Modern Critical Interpretations
> Series; that’s from 1986 though, so if he had connected GR to Enoch I feel
> that would be more widely known. Two other works that I’d like to consult
> are Patrick Hurley’s “Pynchon Character Names: A Dictionary” (McFarland,
> 2008) and Craig Bleakley’s unpublished 1995 dissertation, “Early
> Christianity in Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow.’” The critical
> literature on GR’s angels focuses on Rilke’s “Duino Elegies.” If I haven't
> overlooked anyone's scholarship, then the influence of the angels from the
> Books of Enoch and the broader apocalyptic literature appears to be
> untilled ground.
> --
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