- Arwen Falvey
Soap Angels
The myths, legends, history, and lore that inspired our Angel Soap.
Angels have a long and complicated history, spanning many religions and appearing all over the world under different names and different guises. Literally meaning "messenger", Angels are most frequently understood to be supernatural beings that act as intermediaries between the human world and God.
In modern understanding Angels are often seen as benevolent and pure beings of light and extraordinary beauty who function as the servants of God. This was the interpretation I used when I named Kaleidosoap's pure, all natural, unscented soap. Devoid of added chemicals, fragrances, or preservatives, made with a high percentage of smooth, quality cocoa butter, and intended for the delicate skin of babies and those with sensitivities, Angel seemed like the perfect name.
Angel wasn't the first name I used though. In fact it was originally called "Cherubim". This was due to a common misunderstanding that associates the plump, naked, angelic, winged babies depicted in classic art with Cherubs. This association is innaccurate, as the angelic babies are actually called Putti. I thought that Putti and Cherubs were interchangeable, as many people do, but I came to understand later that the Cherubim, or the 9th choir of angels, were in fact somewhat terrifying creatures with four faces. This discovery lead me to research angels further and the results were eye opening!
While often seen as beings of purity and benevolence, many religions tell of angels that are anything but. For example, the cities of Sodom and Gamorrah were supposedly destroyed by angels wielding God's wrath, Lucifer (more commonly known as Satan) was in fact an angel, and the Archangel Samael is more commonly known as Death. The many different choirs of angels have many different faces and an angel may bring a message of destruction just as easily as a message of light. Powerful, spirits imbued with the strength and will of God, angels can be downright petrifying.
Modern film and fiction also depicts angels as flawed, capable of cruelty, and downright snarky. Tilda Swinton's Gabriel in Constantine (2005) was a complicated, dangerous creature and Alan Rickman's Metatron in Dogma (1999) was hilariously sarcastic. Meanwhile Supernatural (2003-2018) is a television treasure trove of wicked and imperfect angels. Misha Collins' epic portrayal of Castiel gives us a well meaning, lovable, and awkward angel whose love of certain humans occasionally leads him to wreak havoc both in heaven and on earth. Mark Pellegrino plays an evil, but curiously lovable Lucifer, Richard Speight a delightfully naughty and hilarious Gabriel, and others have brought to life several angels that run the gamut from good to flat out worthy of despise.
So if angels aren't so nice, why call this soap Angel?
Well, I prefer to conceive of angels as merely messengers of the universe. A scent that carries you to a distant time, a memory of someone loved, a random bird on a branch, or a feeling of having forgotten something would all qualify as angels to me. They are the quiet, unlooked for senses and feelings that connect us to the world. Neither good nor evil, untainted by emotion or free will or any of the things that make us human, they themselves are clean. Simply a spirit or moment waiting to be filled with purpose, with nothing added that isn't needed. Kaleidosoap's Angel Soap is a pure, unadulterated message of self-care and skin care that I think deserves the title of Angel.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherub
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel
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