✶ THE HIERARCHY OF CREATION
While El Shaddai sits at the top of all things as sovereign creator & ultimate authority, beneath him exists a community of beings, all of whom derive their power & existence from Him. None of these beings exist independently of God, & none hold power that He has not granted. This is not polytheism in the traditional sense, but a recognition that the biblical text itself describes a populated divine cosmos, & that the gods of other traditions are real beings operating within that cosmos under El Shaddai's sovereign rule.
The existence of a divine hierarchy is not a modern invention, but documented throughout the Hebrew Bible. In Deuteronomy 32:8-9, the sons of God appear to be heavenly beings assigned by God to the various nations of mankind. This framework is the biblical foundation for understanding the gods of other traditions as real but subordinate beings.
✦ THE TRINITY
Sovereign creator & source of all power & existence, nothing operates outside His knowledge & permission. All other beings in the hierarchy exist & hold power because He wills it. He is not one god among many, but the one Creator who is the origin of all.
✦ QUEEN OF HEAVEN
Mary occupies a singular, elevated place in the hierarchy of creation, above all other beings & second only to God Himself. She is not divine in the same sense as the Trinity, but her role as Theotokos (God-bearer, the mother of Jesus) sets her apart from every other creation in existence. Her assumption into Heaven, body & soul, & her unique intimacy with all three persons of the Trinity, places her in a category that no other created being shares. She is the greatest intercessor, the Queen of Heaven, & the most powerful advocate for humanity before God.
✦ GODS
Elohim, Sons & Daughters of God, or simply gods (with a lowercase 'g' to distinguish them from El Shaddai), are divine beings beneath YHWH, referenced throughout the Hebrew Bible as members of his "divine council". The gods of other traditions—Egyptian, Canaanite, Celtic, & others—are understood as belonging to this tier. They have genuine power, but that power is derived from & permitted by God. They are not worshipped as equals to El Shaddai in my own practice, but honored & respected, similar to the veneration of angels & saints in traditional Christianity.
The gods are, like all of God's creations, capable of genuine moral choice, of both benevolence & harm. But unlike humans, they do not appear to be bound by the same limitations of ignorance or physical vulnerability that shape human moral experience. Their choices carry enormous weight because they are made from a position of great power & long experience. The gods are not automatically trustworthy simply because they are divine; their moral character varies, & discernment is essential when approaching any of them. Some appear consistently benevolent across cultures & centuries, while others are more ambiguous, & a few are clearly adversarial.
One significant theory, supported by patterns of overlap across world mythologies, is that the same divine beings may present themselves differently across different cultures, regions, & time periods. This practice of identifying foreign deities with one's own gods was known as interpretatio ; a comparative methodology that looks for equivalencies & shared characteristics across religious traditions.
Ancient Roman scientist, Pliny the Elder, expressed the translatability of deities as "different names to different peoples", & this capacity made possible the religious syncretism of the Hellenistic era & pre-Christian Roman Empire. A goddess of love & beauty introduces herself as Aphrodite to the Greeks, Venus to the Romans, Hathor to the Egyptians, & Freya to the Norse. Whether these are truly the same being presenting differently, or simply beings of similar nature & function, is not something we can know with certainty, but the patterns are too consistent across unconnected cultures to dismiss!
✦ ANGELS
The angels are divine messengers & servants of God, distinct from the gods in both nature & function. Where the gods appear to have been granted authority over nations & natural forces, angels serve more directly as extensions of God's will (possibly serving directly under the gods), carrying messages, protecting the faithful, & executing divine judgement. Angels are capable of moral choice, but in a fundamentally different way than humans or gods, since at the moment of their creation, they possess complete knowledge of the consequences of their choices, & choose either total loyalty to God or total opposition to him. They do not deliberate, repent, or change. They are ordered into their own internal hierarchy of choirs & ranks, which will be its own post in the near future.
✦ SAINTS
Saints are human beings who have died & now dwell in the full presence of God in Heaven. Saints are not gods or angels, but beloved human souls who have been elevated to a unique place of honor & intercession. Because they exist in God's presence, they are permitted to hear the prayers of the living & intercede on their behalf. They retain their individual identities, personalities, & relationships in death, which is part of what makes devotion to specific saints so personal & meaningful.
✦ HUMANS
Made in the image of God, human beings occupy a unique place in creation. We are not divine, but we are not merely physical either. Like the gods, we are capable of genuine moral choice, deliberating, failing, repenting, & growing. We bear both the weight & privilege of that responsibility throughout our lives, making choices whose outcomes are often unknown to us. We are also explicitly described in scripture as made in God's own image, which suggests a closeness to the divine that is not to be taken lightly.
✦ ANIMALS
Animals occupy an interesting place in creation; where angels are pure spirit, & humans are both body & spirit, animals are purely body. They are spiritually alive in the sense that God breathed life into them, & they are capable of feeling, bonding, & existing in meaningful relationships with both each other, humans, & the divine, but their souls are designed to be temporary in most cases, & are instinct-driven rather than "rational". Regardless, they are part of God's creation & deserve dignity accordingly. Humans are called to stewardship over animals, but not dominion in the sense of exploitation. Animals used for food or work are to be treated humanely & with gratitude. Undue violence, hunting to extinction, & inhumane husbandry towards animals are violations of the sacred duty of Earthly stewardship.
Although most animals are considered temporary, many believe in an afterlife for pets & other significant animals, such as those provided as sacrifice in Biblical times, suggesting that these creatures can be "raised up" or spiritually elevated through their unique bonds with humans, as well as their important contribution towards helping their families reach Heaven. This is a concept I personally subscribe to.
✦ INANIMATE LIVING THINGS
Plants, fungi, bacteria, & other living things that lack consciousness or soul in the traditional sense nonetheless occupy a real and sacred place at the foundation of creation. They are alive & part of God's design, & therefore are not to be treated carelessly or wastefully. Plants & herbs carry spiritual properties & are used intentionally in magickal workings; a recognition that even the humblest living thing participates in the divine energy that flows through all of creation. They are the foundation upon which all other life depends, & that alone makes them worthy of reverence.
✦ OBJECTS
At the foundation of the hierarchy sit objects with no consciousness or soul of any kind, such as minerals, crystals, & physical symbols. They are not alive in any biological sense. However, they are not spiritually inert either. As part of God's creation, they still carry & conduct the same divine energy that flows through all things. Minerals in particular have long been recognized across many traditions as having specific energetic properties that can be worked with in magickal practice. Physical symbols, too, such as crosses, ankhs, sigils, & sacred objects, not only hold energy inherent to their material, but can be charged through intention, devotion, & use. They are the most passive participants in creation, but they participants nonetheless.
