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At the end of season six, [[Castiel]] absorbs the [[soul]]s of [[Purgatory]] to gain their power and defeat [[Raphael]]. [[Balthazar]] worried about the instability inherent in Castiel acting "as the vessel" for the [[soul]]s. This could result in the destruction of Earth. Whether the souls are also housed in Castiel's vessel or are a part of his spirit is not known. He is still using his vessel after declaring himself the new "God"<ref name="six22">[[6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much]]</ref>, although it is quickly established that the strain of holding these souls -- as well as the [[Leviathans]] -- would have been too much for his vessel to hold them long-term, forcing Castiel to discard them or self-destruct<ref name="seven02">[[7.02 Hello, Cruel World]]</ref>.
Despite being actively used as a vessel for the angel [[Gadreel]], Sam was simultaneously possessed by the demon [[Crowley]] so that Crowley could alert him to Gadreel's existence and allow him to expel Gadreel from his body. However<ref name="nine11" /> Years later, using a [[British Men of Letters]] device, both Sam and Castiel were able to enter Dean's mind to help him expel [[Michael (Apocalypse World)|Michael]]. During this possession may have been aided interaction, all four were on an even footing due to all being only mental projections. As a result, they were able to trap Michael within Dean's mind in a manifestation of a bar cooler. Dean believed that he could contain Michael, but was later warned by the fact [[Billie]] that Gadreel all but one version of Dean's fate had already been weakened by Michael eventually escaping to retake control. In this case, Castiel did not require Dean and Castiel's efforts permission as he linked to bring Dean's mind by hitching a ride with Sam to through the fore rather than being an example of standard demondevice and did not actually possess him.<ref name="fourteen10" /angel interaction in a host.>
Faced with a lack of options after [[the Darkness]] was released onto the world, Castiel consented to act as a vessel for Lucifer when he claimed to be the only one powerful enough to defeat their new foe in the absence of [[God]] and the other [[archangels]].<ref name="eleven10">[[11.10 The Devil in the Details]]</ref> It is unclear if Lucifer would have been able to possess another angel under normal circumstances or if this is only possible because of Castiel's unconventional circumstances, inhabiting a vessel after its original owner has passed on. In Castiel and Lucifer's case, its shown that Castiel continues to exist inside his vessel as a human soul would when an angel possesses them. Castiel even displayed the ability to overcome Lucifer's control for a short time, but lacked the strength to hold it for long or expel the archangel.<ref name="eleven14">[[11.14 The Vessel]]</ref> Lucifer could also switch control with Castiel at will like Gadreel could with Sam.<ref name="eleven22">[[11.22 We Happy Few]]</ref>
