Angels & hierarchies
Angelic choirs, archangels and guardian angels across traditions, from the Bible to Dante and beyond.
The Amesha Spenta: the Bounteous Immortals of Zoroastrianism
The Amesha Spenta, the yazatas and the fravashis of Zarathustra's religion: names, meanings, associated elements and the debate on influences in angelology.
The angel of the Lord in the Hebrew Bible: the mysterious messenger
The mal'akh in the Hebrew Bible: Hagar, Mamre, Jacob's ladder, the burning bush and the struggle at the Jabbok. Who is the angel who speaks with God's voice?
Angels in the Divine Comedy: from Lucifer to the nine choirs
Dante's angels: the neutral angels, the heavenly messenger, the boatman angel, the guardians of Purgatory and the nine choirs, with Gregory's smile.
Angels in Islam: Jibril, Mikail, Israfil and the recording angels
Angels in the Islamic tradition: faith in angels, Jibril and revelation, the angel of death, Munkar and Nakir, the noble scribes and the refusal of Iblis.
Thomas Aquinas and the angels: the Angelic Doctor's theology
What angels are for Thomas Aquinas: pure intellects, each its own species, present where they act, with intuitive knowledge and a time of their own.
The archangel Gabriel: the messenger of announcements
Gabriel across traditions: Daniel's visions, the announcements to Zechariah and Mary in Luke's Gospel, Jibril in Islam and the symbol of the lily in art.
The archangel Michael: name, biblical sources and sanctuaries
The archangel Michael in tradition: the meaning of the name, Daniel, Jude and Revelation, the sword and the scales, the Gargano and the hilltop sanctuaries.
The archangel Raphael and the Book of Tobit: angel of the journey
Raphael in the Book of Tobit: the journey under the name Azariah, the fish of the Tigris, Sarah and Asmodeus, and the symbolism of the angel as companion.
The Cherubim: guardians of Eden, the Ark and the throne
The Cherubim in the Bible and tradition: guardians of Eden, golden figures on the Ark, Ezekiel's four faces and how they differ from the putti of later art.
Daimon and genius: the guiding spirits of Greece and Rome
Before guardian angels: Socrates' daimon, the intermediaries of Plato and Apuleius, the Roman genius and the genius loci. The history of an idea.
Dominions, Virtues and Powers: the second angelic triad
The second triad of the celestial hierarchy: Dominions, Virtues and Powers, their Pauline sources, the roles theologians gave them and the symbol of order.
The fall of Lucifer: how the idea of the rebel angel arose
History of an idea: from Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 to Revelation, from Origen to Thomas Aquinas. How the «son of the dawn» became the fallen angel.
The guardian angel in tradition: sources, theology, devotion
The guardian angel across the Bible, the Church Fathers and popular devotion: Matthew and Acts, the Angele Dei prayer and the inner meaning of guardianship.
The infernal hierarchies: a short history of demonology
How catalogues of demons arose: from the foreign gods of the Bible to Psellus, Binsfeld, Weyer and the Dictionnaire infernal. A history of ideas.
John Dee and the Enochian angels: a dialogue with heaven
The sessions of John Dee and Edward Kelley: the shew-stone, the Sigillum Dei, the Enochian language, the Calls and the journey to Bohemia, told as history.
Lilith and the three angels: the story of a figure of the night
Lilith from Mesopotamian demons to Isaiah 34, from incantation bowls to the Talmud and the Alphabet of Ben Sira with Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof.
Metatron: the angel of the throne and the transformation of Enoch
Who Metatron is in Jewish tradition: the Talmud's mentions, the Third Book of Enoch, the link with the patriarch Enoch and the figure's symbolic meaning.
The nine angelic choirs: the celestial hierarchy of Dionysius
The celestial hierarchy of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite: three triads, nine angelic choirs, the biblical sources of the names and the descending light.
The planetary angels: moving intelligences and Trithemius
From Aristotle's movers of the heavens to Renaissance planetary angels: the moving intelligences, Trithemius's treatise and the angels of the days.
Principalities, Archangels and Angels: the triad nearest to us
The third triad of the angelic choirs: Principalities guarding the peoples, Archangels of great announcements and Angels of individuals, in Bible and theology.
The Seraphim: the angels of fire in Isaiah's vision
Who the Seraphim are: the meaning of the name, the six wings of Isaiah's vision, the burning coal, the Trisagion and their place at the top of the choirs.
Swedenborg and the angels: heaven as a great human being
Swedenborg's angelology: angels who were once human, the three heavens, the world of spirits, correspondences and his influence on Kant, Blake and Balzac.
The Thrones and the Ophanim: the fiery wheels of Ezekiel's vision
The choir of Thrones between the Letter to the Colossians and the Jewish tradition of the Ophanim: wheels full of eyes, the divine chariot and stability.
Uriel and the seven archangels: traditions, lists and disputes
Uriel and the group of seven archangels: the lists of the Book of Enoch, the Fourth Book of Ezra, the eighth-century Roman synod and the Orthodox tradition.
The Watchers and the Nephilim: the fallen angels of Enoch
The myth of the Watchers: Genesis 6, the descent on Mount Hermon, Shemihazah and Azazel, the arts taught to humanity and the various readings of tradition.