Angel's Wings

An Angel's Wings are a symbol of both their nature as celestial beings as well as being a representation of the overall status of their strength and the potency of their grace. Angels may display their wings through a form of astral projection, showing them through their shadows.

Summary
Angels can display their wings as a sign of their status as an angel by summoning a shadowy form of them. When angels die as a result of being stabbed by an angel blade, shadows of their wings are burned into the surface on which their vessel is lying, as seen in the opening of On The Head Of A Pin when Castiel finds a female angel dead on a street, and again when Anna kills Uriel and when Zachariah and Gabriel were killed. Following the Fall, angels display broken wings upon death.

An angel may display its wings through Astral Projection to intimidate enemies: Castiel displayed his wings to intimidate Raphael after getting Heaven's Weapons and then when he was about to smite Crowley.

Gadreel's astral projection showed broken wings and when Gadreel killed angels using the Horn of Gabriel, broken wings were scorched into the ground behind them. When Castiel regained his grace, he regained his wings as well, though like Gadreel, they were still broken.

Metatron's spell that cast out all angels from Heaven burned and destroyed every single angel's wings. The angels wings were left broken, though they still possess what's left of them.

The spell doesn't appear to have affected the reapers, grigori and archangels since they were able to teleport and Lucifer was able to time travel, which required wings. This means all angels save for reapers, Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, Metatron and probably Grigori have broken wings. In Rock Never Dies, a fossilized black feather from Lucifer's wings is shown to be capable of restoring his vessel, though only temporarily.

In Devil's Bargain, Lucifer reveals he knows a way to restore the angels wings in his attempt to become Ruler of Heaven. His promise caused the angels to accept him as their new leader.

In Bring 'em Back Alive, Lucifer revealed to Anael that he lied about being able to restore the angels' wings. Later, after healing himself, Gabriel displayed his unbroken wings in a show of power before the Prince of Hell Asmodeus.

Despite being only a Nephilim, Jack has wings like any angel and can display them like one.

In Let the Good Times Roll, Dean had access to Michael's wings while acting as his vessel. At the end of Dean's fight with Lucifer, Lucifer's burned wings were left burned into the ground around Lucifer's deceased vessel.

Angels Who Have Shown Their Wings

 * Archangels
 * Michael
 * Lucifer
 * Raphael
 * Gabriel
 * Seraphim
 * Castiel
 * Angels
 * Benjamin
 * Gadreel
 * Ishim
 * Kaia's Abductors
 * Rachel
 * Shipyard Attackers
 * Uriel
 * Zachariah
 * Nephilim
 * Jack

Appearances

 * Season 4
 * Lazarus Rising
 * Heaven and Hell
 * On The Head Of A Pin
 * Season 5
 * Free To Be You and Me
 * Point of No Return
 * Hammer of the Gods
 * Season 6
 * The French Mistake
 * Frontierland
 * Season 7
 * Meet the New Boss
 * Season 8
 * A Little Slice of Kevin
 * Sacrifice
 * Season 9
 * Devil May Care
 * Holy Terror
 * Meta Fiction
 * Season 10
 * Book of the Damned
 * Season 12
 * Mamma Mia
 * Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets
 * Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
 * There's Something About Mary
 * All Along the Watchtower
 * Season 13
 * Lost & Found
 * The Rising Son
 * The Bad Place
 * Wayward Sisters
 * Bring 'em Back Alive
 * Unfinished Business
 * Exodus
 * Let the Good Times Roll

Trivia

 * Mark Pellegrino described Lucifer's wings as "hot pink and sparkly".
 * Richard Speight Jr. said that Gabriel's wings are blue.
 * In lore, angels weren't originally portrayed as having wings. The tradition that angels possessed wings began around the early 20th century.
 * When Castiel becomes a Seraph, his wings become altered, as shown going out more to the side rather than pointing more upward.
 * Due to the fact that all angels only show two wings through their vessel, it makes it impossible to know how many wings they actually have unless stated.