The Harley Psalter: Trinity in an almond surrounded by four angels. The Harley Psalter was made around 1020 CE in the south of England, probably in or around Canterbury, and most likely on the orders of Ælfric of Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury or one of his successors, Æthelnoth, and left unfinished. Written by three copywriters in Carolingian minuscule. The hand of one of the scribes has been identified with that of Eadwig Basan (Eaduuius Basan), an active copyist in the scriptorium of the Priory of Christ Church. British Library, London, in the Harley collection (Harley 603). folio 1.
[Robert Scott Horton]
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“Carl Jung, referring to the medieval concept of the daemonic, professed that ‘from the psychological point of view demons are nothing other than intruders from the unconscious, spontaneous irruptions of unconscious complexes into the continuity of the conscious process. Complexes are comparable to demons which fitfully harass our thought and actions; hence in antiquity and the Middle Ages acute neurotic disturbances were conceived as [daemonic] possession.’”
— Stephen A. Diamond, Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity
[zerogate]
Disclaimer: I am working under my personal theology that G!d created angels to act as messengers and ministers in this world - they are devoid of free will unlike humans, they are not gendered, and they are everywhere. There are aggadot that angels beckon grass to grow, or in some modern terms, gravity is an angel - doing G!d's will. Judaism is an over 3,000 years old tradition and there are as many texts to back up my thoughts as there are to refute them. Hence why I am clarifying my perspective.
What are archangels?
The word archangel is Greek, meaning “chief messenger/principal messenger.” Archangels are a class of princely Angels with authority over heavenly realms, earthly nations, or other angels. The term “archangel” does not actually exist in Jewish literature until almost modern times. Instead, it is a default translation for several Hebrew angelic terms such as Irinim (Watcher), Sar (Prince/Archon), or Sharet (Ministering angel). (Dennis 75)
There are many different types of angels, each one tasked with a specific mission and function. Some angels are created for one specific task, and upon completion of the task, they cease to exist. Other angels, after completing their task, may be given another one to do. This is the case with the angels we refer to as ministers or archangels. (Chabad) One key thing to note is their lack of free will - they cannot go against Hashem's will.
Who are the archangels?
Within Jewish literature, there is technically 6 or 7 (or even 10) talked about in total, but the ones that are written the most on are Michael, Rafael, Gavriel, and Uriel. These four are the ones I will be talking about. I will go over correspondences to them (elements, sefirot, domains, etc) for each one, and then I will suggest one traditional way they can be called on for protection.
Michael
Sefirah - Chesed (Lovingkindness/Mercy)
Element - Spirit Water
Direction - South
Wind - Wind of Seeing G!d
Throne - Right of G!d
Metal - Silver
Animal - Human
Quality - Cleansing
Attribute - Reflection/Compassion
Tribe - Reuben
Soul Level - Ruach (Emotional Being)
Realm - Yetzirah/World of Feeling
Biblical Figures - Sarah, Avraham
Gavriel
Sefirah - Gevurah (Boundaries/Severity)
Element - Spirit Fire
Direction - East
Wind - Wind of Balance and Counsel
Throne - Left of G!d
Metal - Gold
Animal - Lion
Quality - Shining
Attribute - Balance/Strength and Courage
Tribe - Judah
Soul Level - Chayah (Divine Spark)
Realm - Atzilut/World of Transcendence
Biblical Figures - Rivkah, Yitzchak
Uriel
Sefirah - Tiferet (Balance/Beauty)
Element - Spirit Air
Direction - North
Wind - Wind of G!d
Throne - Front of G!d
Metal - Bronze
Animal - Eagle
Quality - Shining
Attribute - Illumination
Tribe - Dan
Soul Level - Neshama (Mind-Soul)
Realm - Briah/World of Thinking
Biblical Figures - Leah and Yaakov
Rafael
Sefirah - Yesod (Truth/Foundation)
Element - Spirit Earth
Metal - Iron
Direction - West
Wind - Wind of Wisdom and Understanding
Throne - Back of G!d
Animal - Bull
Quality - Merging
Attribute - Healing and Tending
Tribe - Ephraim
Soul Level - Nefesh (Life-Force)
Realm - Assiyah/World of Action
Biblical Figures - Rakhel and David
Protection from Angels
One of the main ways the angels are invoked is the prayer said in the krias Shema, where we call on the four archangels to protect us within the night.
Photo Source
There is also a history in 1st-4th CE that Jews in Rome and Greece would engage in adjuration, calling on angels for selfish means. This is considered to be working against G!d's will, as angels have very specific tasks and they are not supposed to deviate from that plan. Hekhalot literature has a lot of this magic, I personally see this type of magic as against my theology but that's between you and G!d.
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Sources:
Chabad
Jewish Encyclopedia
Magic of the Ordinary by R. Gershon Winkler
A Gathering of Angels by Morris B. Margolies
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism by Geoffrey W. Dennis
JHOM - Angels - Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael
Cosmic Reference Library by Kohenet Ketzirah (@devotaj)
https://www.telshemesh.org/
It is not clear whether the sixth angel sounded the trumpet before the five months of torment and testing had ended, or whether the swarm of supernatural scorpionesque locusts had completed its mission.
#Revelation9 #SixthTrumpet #Euphrates #FourAngels
Then the sixth angel sounded a trumpet and I heard one voice from the [four] horns of the altar of gold before the face of God, saying to the sixth angel, the one having the trumpet,
“Release the four angels having been bound over the mighty river Euphrates.”
And the four angels have been released, the ones having been made ready for the hour and day and month and year in order that they would…
The next round of misfortune was to be released only after God’s seal of protection was applied to all of God’s own. #Revelation 7 #FourWinds #FourCornersofEarth
After this I saw four angels were standing upon the four corners of the earth, taking hold of the four winds of the earth, in order that wind would not breathe upon the earth nor upon the sea nor upon any tree.
Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising sun, having a seal of the Living God, and the angel cried out in a great voice to the four angels to whom was given to them to harm the…
