Geeky research mode woman!
So I'm writing a short item for the Supernatural wiki to update the entry on devil's traps. I know some of you have opinions on the difference between devil's traps and circles of protection. (What, women with opinions? Who'd have thunk it! *lol*)
What I'm trying to find are references on the show where they refer to either of these things. I want to back up my argument with canon. So far I've found two pieces of dialogue that make clear what a devil's trap is.
Episode Devil's Trap. Sam draws symbols on the Impala's trunk and when Dean challenges him he says that it's a devil's trap and, Demon's can't get through it or inside it.
Episode All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2. Bobby draws lines on a map showing how railway lines connect five churches in Wyoming.
Sam: It's a devil's trap. A hundred square mile devil's trap.
Dean: That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross.
So from these two examples we can see a demon can not cross into a devil's trap. Therefore any occasion where a demon crosses into a symbol and becomes trapped is a circle of protection, for example, Meg in Devil's Trap, the Red Eyed Demon in Crossroads Blues, the Priest and Cassie in Sin City.
It appears to me that some of the confusion in fandom over the difference between these two sets of markings is because syntactically the meanings seemed to be reversed. Surely it would make more sense if the devil's trap captured demons that crossed it and a circle of protection kept demons out? Except that's not how the show appears to have defined them. (Note: both devil's traps and circles of protection are listed in the Key of Solomon.)
If you know of any other scenes/dialogue that discuss this a heads up would be greatly appreciated. Also any scene where canon contradicts itself would be helpful too.
(I'll probably ask on one of the comms later about this too but I know some of you are knowledgeable on this topic and wanted to ask you first.)
What I'm trying to find are references on the show where they refer to either of these things. I want to back up my argument with canon. So far I've found two pieces of dialogue that make clear what a devil's trap is.
Episode Devil's Trap. Sam draws symbols on the Impala's trunk and when Dean challenges him he says that it's a devil's trap and, Demon's can't get through it or inside it.
Episode All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2. Bobby draws lines on a map showing how railway lines connect five churches in Wyoming.
Sam: It's a devil's trap. A hundred square mile devil's trap.
Dean: That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross.
So from these two examples we can see a demon can not cross into a devil's trap. Therefore any occasion where a demon crosses into a symbol and becomes trapped is a circle of protection, for example, Meg in Devil's Trap, the Red Eyed Demon in Crossroads Blues, the Priest and Cassie in Sin City.
It appears to me that some of the confusion in fandom over the difference between these two sets of markings is because syntactically the meanings seemed to be reversed. Surely it would make more sense if the devil's trap captured demons that crossed it and a circle of protection kept demons out? Except that's not how the show appears to have defined them. (Note: both devil's traps and circles of protection are listed in the Key of Solomon.)
If you know of any other scenes/dialogue that discuss this a heads up would be greatly appreciated. Also any scene where canon contradicts itself would be helpful too.
(I'll probably ask on one of the comms later about this too but I know some of you are knowledgeable on this topic and wanted to ask you first.)