Much is being said about angels. There are,
however, many misconceptions or even complete
lack of knowledge about their true nature
and their actual tasks. Angels are an essential
part of the Qabbalistic tradition. They play
a very important role in practical magic and
in the western mystery tradition. It is therefore
essential to understand their nature
and their tasks well. We will explain this in a moment.
Brotherhood of the Eternal Light
Teaching the Western Mysteries
In the bible, angels are called Malach, or
Malachim in the plural.
The word Malach in the holy scriptures is used for human messengers.
As in Genesis 32,4: “And Jacob sent messengers
before him to Esau his brother”
It can also mean celestial messengers
sent by God as in Genesis 32,2: “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God (Malachei Elohim) met him”
The English term angel derives from the Greek word Angelos,
the Greek translation of the
Hebrew term, which in Greek also can be used
for human or celestial messengers.
Even though we often speak about angels in general, there are different angelic beings.
We differentiate between choirs or hosts of angels and archangels.
Choirs or hosts of angels are groups of angels,
which are assigned to a certain principle.
For example the Chashmalim, who are assigned
to the principle of mercy and the Sefirah Chesed.
They execute different tasks in this
domain.
The Serafim, who belong to the principle of justice and the Sefirah Gevurah,
are all entrusted with tasks concerning the execution of Divine justice.
Angels are powerful entities,
since they are the correspondence of a single
principle in its purest form. The angels of
mercy, for example, are exclusively merciful.
The angels of severity, however, are exclusively
severe, they contain no mercy within them.
The angels of the different choirs each have
only one single task. They perform this and
only this task in its purest form.
They only correspond to this one principle.
Thus, it is important to have a profound knowledge
of the principles and the choirs of angels
assigned to them, in order to successfully
use the power of the angels.
If the goal is for instance to manifest healing powers, the angels of Tiferet must be asked for help in
the appropriate way. If instead we called
upon the angels of Gevurah, the Sefirah of
the principle of power and karmic justice,
then there would be no effect – at best.
Knowledge of the Tree of Life allows us to
access the deeper levels of angelology and
the entities of the inner planes.
Archangels are more complex, higher beings,
who, unlike the lower angels, can embody more
than only one principle. The term archangel
can not be found in classical texts.
Archangels are called Malachey Ha-Sharet, which means
“Duty-Angels”, in the Haggadah,
the legends and stories of Judaism. In occult literature
we find terms like Shoterim, “wardens”
and Sarim, “princes”.
Archangels and choirs of angels are assigned to the Sefirot on the Tree of Life.
Within the four Qabbalistic worlds, the archangels
are assigned to Beriah, the world of creation,
and the choirs of angels are assigned to Yetzirah,
the world of formation.
Angels are often differentiated as angels of fire and angels of snow (hail).
This corresponds
to the polarity of power and form on the Tree of Life,
or to the mother letters shin (fire)
and mem (water) in the Sepher Yetzirah.
The concept of two opposed polarities can also
be found in the bible, in 1 Kings 22,19,
where it is written: “(…) I saw the Lord sitting
on his throne, and all the host of heaven
standing by him on his right hand and on his left.”
Traditionally, Michael and Gavriel have been
considered the highest archangels.
Michael, because of the mem in his name, as
the highest archangel of the form aspect,
which is water or snow.
Gavriel, since his name stems from the same
word root as “Gevurah”, is the highest
archangel of the power aspect, i.e. fire.
Thus, Michael has been assigned to Chesed
and Gavriel to Gevurah.
Nowadays, many occultists see Michael as an
angelic warrior and the archangel of fire
and Gavriel as the archangel of water, since
he reigns over dreams.
Therefore, Michael is sometimes assigned to Tiferet or Hod or even Gevurah, and Gavriel is assigned to Yesod.
Since they are more complex beings and have
had many tasks and assignments over the course
of the millennia, it is possible to invoke
them in ritual work for their support in various tasks.
By the way: This video is based on the 11th chapter “Angels in Qabbalistic Magic” of Salomo Baal-Shem’s
book Qabbalistic Magic, and on his educational
material used in the training in ritual magic
and the western mysteries of the Brotherhood
of the Eternal Light.
If you would like to study with us, visit our free online course. You will find the link in the video description.
Now let us continue with our study of the angels.
Angels were created on the first day of creation.
Through them, the Divine Will is proclaimed,
and they are the builders of the lower material
worlds. An excerpt from the book of Jubilees,
chapter 2, verse 2 says:
And the angel of the presence spake to Moses
according to the word of the Lord, saying:
Write the complete history of the creation,
For on the first day He created the heavens
which are above and the earth and the waters
and all the spirits which serve before him
the angels of the presence, and the angels
of sanctification, and the angels of the
spirit of fire and the angels of the spirit
of the winds, and the angels of the spirit
of the clouds, and of darkness, and of snow
and of hail and of hoar frost, and the angels
of the voices and of the thunder and of the
lightning, and the angels of the spirits of
cold and of heat, and of winter and of spring
and of autumn and of summer and of all the
spirits of his creatures which are in the
heavens and on the earth. He created the
abysses and the darkness, eventide and night,
and the light, dawn and day.
Since angels are pure beings, they have no
Yetzer ha-Ra, which means evil urge.
They also have no will of their own, which means
no free will, such as humans, since their
task as heavenly beings is only the proclamation
and exertion of the Divine Will.
Humans were created in the image of God, but
imperfect. Angels, however, are limited to
a very narrow part of creation. Angels are
created to serve God, whilst man has the capability
to decide this for himself. Humans carry within
themselves the whole Tree of Life with all
of its principles and can develop their soul
and personality.
Angels are limited to one principle and archangels are limited to only a few principles.
When a human being achieves a high degree
of inner purity, the Tree of Life within him
is in harmony. This is more than an archangel
can hope for and so humanity may achieve a
spiritual degree that seems impossible for
angels. Just as the Talmud describes it:
“The Tzaddiqim (the righteous ones) are greater than the Duty-Angels.”
One example for that is Chanoch who,
after having lived a perfect life, was taken
from this earth and was transformed into the
archangel Metatron, the highest of the archangels.
Angels are no unreachable beings.
They  ready to support us, if we ask them to. Since
they would under no circumstances interfere
with the free will of a human being, we must
expressly ask for their help. Since they also
would not execute any tasks which they have
not been made for, it is vital that we direct
our request to the archangel or choir of angels
that is actually capable of helping us with our goal.
If you want to learn about the assignments
of the archangels and choirs of angels that
are commonly used in practical work,
watch our videos about the Sefirot on the Tree of
Life. Links are in the description.
Additionally, our request must fit the high
ethical standards of the mysteries, and it
must be compatible with the Divine Plan. If
that is not the case, it is possible that
we connect with lower forces to express our egoistic desires. By doing so we harm ourselves and others.
Angels and archangels in the Qabbalah are not visualised like baroque putti.
The prophets of the bible rather perceived them as energetic principles.
They saw them as human, or sometimes
animalistic figures with energetic features,
such as many wings, or even forces of nature
such as fire, light, thunder and lightning.
Some examples follow:
Ezechiel 1:4: “And I looked, and, behold,
a whirlwind came out of the north, a great
cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. “
Daniel 10:6: “His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning,
and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms
and his feet like in colour to polished brass,
and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.”
Ezekiel 1:6: “And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. “
Isaiah 6:2: “(…) Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings”
In the practical magical work they are often
also visualized as great pillars of light
or fire. The perception of an angel is connected
to the feeling of great awe or the impression
of great spiritual power.
The symbolism of light, fire, lightning, thunder,
and wings are signs of a strong energetic
force which is well absorbed by the unconscious
mind. Over many years, they have become strong
symbols that allow us to get into contact
with the inner forces when we use them.
With all perceptions of inner plane beings
we have to remember that we perceive them
with our inner astral senses. Thus it is crucial
to understand the descriptions of the biblical
prophets or magicians of the occult literature
in this way. It is always the inner reality
that is being described in images that seem
appropriate and are well known. They might
appear real, since our unconscious and conscious
mind uses the images that are about and within us,
but it is always important to remember
that we are dealing with an inner, astral
reality, with perceptions of higher planes that have to express themselves in the garment of our plane.
Be sure to also view our forthcoming video
about the communication with angels and with
inner plane beings. See you soon!
