Neutral Angels

I think I’m going to write about fairies for the next 1HR Read.* It connects really well with some other ideas percolating in my skull, and so far the research is fun and the outline is falling into place.

One medieval theory about fairies is that they were angels who stayed neutral during the war in heaven, siding neither with God nor Lucifer.

For their neutrality they are allowed to live in what is basically heaven-on-earth, but the eternal reward after the call of judgment will be denied.

I love this story. I never considered there might have been neutral angels. And that their punishment is mortality is a weird tragic tale.

I suspect the rest of the year will be spent researching, and the drafting will start with the new year. We’ll see. It may move faster or slower, depending on where the research leads.

My broader interest is in animism/hylozism/panpsychism, but fairies will be a handy lens to look at the role spirits play in the human experience, and how some see re-enchanting/re-inspiriting the world as a way to a more ecologically-minded worldview.

*The current 1HRread is Wipe: A Brief History of Toilet Hygiene. At the beginning of 2021 I started researching ‘luck’ as a possible next project, but it never sparked enough joy in me.