“ | Remember all those dark demonic forces you prayed to, when you swore your servitude? Just who did you think you were praying to? (...) It was me. You sold yourself to me, you pig. | ” |
— Astaroth
in Malleus Maleficarum |
Astaroth was a powerful demon who worked to condemn human souls to Hell by turning them into witches. She turned Renee Van Allen, Elizabeth Higgins, and Amanda Burns into witches, which resulted in several deaths, including the entire coven in question. The Winchesters' investigation led them to Astaroth and they ended up killing her.
History[]
Early History[]
Astaroth was hundreds of years old. In the fourteenth century, she came into contact with a human whom she taught witchcraft to in exchange for the human's soul, which went to Hell and became another demon, named Ruby.
Astaroth herself later ended up in Hell. She managed to escape when a Devil's Gate was opened in "All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2"; when talking about the escape later with Ruby, Astaroth described escaping Hell as "a bitch of a fight" and was impressed that her student had made it.
Astaroth was a devout follower of Lilith. In an attempt to please Lilith, Astaroth and her "friends" sought to hunt down and kill Sam Winchester in order to eliminate Lilith's "competition" for leadership of Hell.
Season 3[]
Astaroth secretly possessed Tammi Fenton in order to "break the ice" with Tammi's friends Amanda Burns, Elizabeth Higgins, and Renee Van Allen. She then brought the Book of Shadows into the women's book club, and tricked them into unwittingly selling her their souls in exchange for her improving their lives.
Amanda used witchcraft to kill her lover Paul Dutton's wife, and then tried to kill Paul himself, bringing Sam and Dean Winchester to investigate. Astaroth planted a hex-bag that killed Amanda in a way that appeared to be a suicide, and later cast a spell to kill Dean, although Ruby intervened to break the spell and save Dean.
When Sam deduced that Tammi was possessed, Astaroth briefly kept up her charade before dropping it and taunting him by claiming that his brother was already dead. Sam tried to shoot her with the Colt, but she telekinetically slowed and then stopped the bullet completely, making it fall to the floor without hitting her. She incapacitated him, killed an angry Renee out of annoyance, and taunted a horrified Elizabeth about having sold her soul without realizing it.
Astaroth started trying to kill Sam by crushing him to death. When Dean and Ruby arrived, Astaroth incapacitated Dean as well, but allowed Ruby to explain why she was there; Ruby claimed to have lured the Winchesters to Astaroth as a gift and that she wanted to serve Astaroth again. Astaroth appeared to consider Ruby's words for a moment, but then Ruby tried to kill her, leading Astaroth to brutally beat Ruby. She began to exorcise the younger demon, only to be caught off-guard by Elizabeth's spell, causing her to release Sam and Dean and kill Elizabeth. Her brief distraction allowed Dean to retrieve the demon-killing knife, grab her from behind and stab her several times, killing her.[1]
Powers and Abilities[]
“ | It knows you're in town, and it's gonna come after you, and it's way more than you can handle. | ” |
Astaroth was an extremely powerful and ancient black-eyed demon. Ruby believed her to be beyond the Winchesters' ability to defeat even with the Colt. She overpowered Sam, Dean, and Ruby simultaneously with ease when they attacked her; however, when she was distracted by a spell Elizabeth Higgins performed, Dean managed to kill Astaroth when catching her by surprise.
- Conversion - She was able to convert Ruby's human soul into a demonic spiritual being.
- Supernatural Perception - She could see other demons in vessels and sensed that Sam was one of the special children.
- Biokinesis - Astaroth was able to kill Elizabeth Higgins by stopping her heart with a hand gesture.Spell Casting - Astaroth had extraordinary knowledge of witchcraft, which she taught to her pupils in exchange for their souls. She knew an exorcism which would send other demons back to Hell without affecting her, which she started to use on Ruby.
- Demonic Possession - As a demon, Astaroth required a vessel to walk the Earth.
- Super Strength - Astaroth was much stronger than humans as well as fellow black-eyed demons, as shown when she easily overpowered Ruby during their fight.
- Invulnerability - Astaroth could not be killed or harmed by conventional means. When Elizabeth used a spell that inserted pins in Astaroth's throat/stomach, it did not even seriously wound Astaroth. However, it did distract and anger her.
- Immortality - As a demon, Astaroth could potentially live forever. Although her exact age was not stated, she was older than Ruby, who was over 700 years old. She stated that she was a demon during the time Ruby was a human, making her well over a thousand years old.
- Reality Warping (By Deals) - Astaroth granted the wishes of the coven once they sold her their souls; this included getting Elizabeth's husband a promotion as well as having her win a trip to Hawaii, and improving Renee's pottery business.
- Power Granting - She lent her powers to the "Book Club" witches in exchange for their souls. The power she lent could even be turned against herself, as seen in the fact that Elizabeth was able to hex her until Astaroth killed her.
- Telekinesis - Astaroth was an incredibly powerful telekinetic; she was able to effortlessly snap Renee's neck a full 180 degrees with a wave of her hand. She also pinned Sam and Dean to walls and held them incapacitated without effort while she concentrated on fighting Ruby, even beginning to psychically crush Sam to death at one point; however, she lost control of them when attacked by a spell that made her cough up pins. She also stopped a bullet from the Colt in mid-air, a feat no other supernatural being has been shown capable of.
- Immunity - Astaroth was immune to iron as she was able to pick up an iron fireplace poker without having her flesh burn to beat Ruby with it.
- Invisibility - Astaroth was able to cut Amanda's wrists leaving claw marks without being seen.
Weaknesses[]
As a powerful demon, Astaroth had few weaknesses.
- Magic - She was affected by a hexing spell cast by Elizabeth Higgins; the spell caused her to bleed in her mouth and cough up pins and needles. Ruby could nullify her hex over Dean with a counter-potion.
- The Colt - As the Colt could kill demons, it could kill her. However, Astaroth managed to avoid being shot with it.
- Demon-Killing Knife - Despite being a very powerful demon, the knife was able to kill her. However, Dean had to stab her multiple times before she finally died.
Equipment[]
- Book of Shadows - It was possessed by Astaroth and brought to her coven in order to fulfill their wishes and get their souls in exchange.
Death[]
Killed By[]
As Astaroth was distracted by a hex cast upon her by Elizabeth Higgins, her telekinetic hold over the Winchesters was broken. As an enraged Astaroth killed Elizabeth, Dean retrieved Ruby's demon-killing knife, grabbed Astaroth from behind and stabbed her in the side several times, killing Astaroth.
Appearances[]
- Season 2
- All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2 (smoke form)
- Season 3
- The Magnificent Seven (smoke form)
- Malleus Maleficarum
Trivia[]
- Although she was not named in the episode, Astaroth's name was revealed in the Supernatural Companion for Season 3.
- Astaroth was the second demon of lore to appear in the show; the first was Azazel.
- In lore, Astaroth is the demon of laziness, vanity and rationalization. It is also said that he grants power to magicians who summon and kneel before him.
- Astaroth was the first demon Dean killed with the demon-killing knife.