Joylina

In the 4th century a roman priest sorted the angels into a hierarchy of 3 x 3. They based their decisions on the writings of Paul. This has since been a commonly held belief. 

• Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones - Heavenly Counsellors, closest to God
• Dominions, Virtues, Powers - Heavenly Governors
• Principalities, Archangels, Angels - Heavenly Messengers

I do not accept there is a hierarchy, as we would know it. This feels like a human invention to me. Especially as some of the major archangels are also known to work on other levels, such as Archangel Uriel Angel of the North and one of the four major archangels charged with protecting the universe, who is also a Throne. So perhaps it is a less hierarchical structure, like the matrix management that is currently in vogue, maybe it is “as on earth so as it is in heaven”.  Taken to a greater degree if we are all part of God, how can their be a hierarchy either in heaven or on earth. In the Kabbalah there are ten levels and their names are Foundation, Splendour, Eternity Beauty, Power, Grace, Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding and Perfection. This is often portrayed as a tree, the tree of life. At the root stands Sandolphon who extends through the tree into the universe. Other angels appearing on the tree are Saphkiel, angel of contemplation, Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Metatron plus three others who vary according to what you are reading. Below is a brief description of the various angelic levels...

HEAVENLY COUNSELLORS 

• Seraphim considered the highest order and are highly evolved beings and closest to God. They balance the movement of the planets, stars and the heavens by using sound.
• Cherubim are the guardians of light which comes from the energy within the stars. There name stands for wisdom and are the guardians and record-keepers of the heavens.
• Thrones are the angels of the planets. Each planet has its own Throne and the guardian of our plant earth (Gia) is known as the earth angel. In the old testiment (Ezekiel I) they are described as having four faces and four wings.

HEAVENLY GOVERNORS

• Dominions are the regulators of all the angelic beings who are not as evolved as themselves. Their purpose is to advise the less evolved angelic groups. They have been depicted as carrying golden staffs in their right hand and the seal of God in their left.
• Virtues are often referred to as the 'shining' ones since they transmit enormous beams of divine light. They are believed to be the angels of blessings and the two angels present at the ascension of Jesus are believed to have been virtues.
• Powers protect our souls from evil beings and avenge evil in the world. The powers are believed to be the keeper of the Akashic records (the records of all the thoughts and deeds of each soul’s evolutionary journey).  Archangel Metatron is thought to be the head keeper of these records and is believed to be one of the few humans who ever attained angelhood. The prophet Enoch is said to have been transformed into an angel by God in recompense for his devotion during his many lifetimes.  They oversee birth, death and rebirth. (The only other human how is said to have been transformed by God into an Angel is the prophet Elijah who became archangel Sandolphon who is responsible for grounding and anchoring positive energies into the earth and transforming negative energies.)

HEAVENLY MESSENGERES

• Principalities overseers of large groups and organisations. They are believed to guard nations, cities and leaders. The angel who aided David when he slayed Goliath was thought to have come from this order.
• Archangels most probably the most widely known and written about.  Especially Gabriel angel of the west, element of air, in charge of communication, who brought Mary and Joseph the news of Jesus’ coming. Michael, angel of the south, element of fire, the warrior angel of protection and truth.  Raphael angel of the east, element of water and responsible for all the healing angels. Uriel, angel of the north, element of earth, oversees giving and receiving and as the angel of the earth is also a Throne.
• Angels these are those closest to humanity and include the everyone’s guardian angels.  There are many different kinds of angels within this group with many different purposes, such as bringers of joy, hope, healing, peace, etc. The Jewish sacred text, the Talmud, says that every blade of grass has an angel.

Angels are the highest form of energy that come from the elemental kingdom which also consists of all the nature spirits including faeries, devas, sylphs, sprites, salamanders, elves, and undines. Nature spirits were widely believed in by all the Semitic peoples of the Middle East as they still are in many shamanic cultures.
 

FALLEN ANGELS

This section would not be complete if I did not mention Fallen Angels. Zoroastrianism, a religion that began in the Middle East between the fourth and second millennia before Christ, according to records, first introduced negative energies. They had many angels including a Lord of Light. To create balance, there had to be a Lord of Darkness with his demons and evil spirits. In the first instance, the demons of Zoroastrianism, were referred to as devas. In modern thought, devas are an elemental nature spirits working for good.

Many Zoroastrianism beliefs were incorporated into Judaism with more and more angels finding their way into Jewish writings which became the basis for many current religions. People migrated through the Middle East at this time and in and out of India and China, and various beliefs travelled and intermingled. This does not explain how these similar beliefs appear in shamanic cultures on different continents. The leader of Hebrew forces of evil Aka Shedim, was also known as Satan the Antagonist. Belial, the spirit of perversion, darkness and destruction; Mastema, enmity or opposition. Other darker angels appear in the Torah (which forms the first five books of the Christian Old Testament), these include Azazel – demon of the wilderness, and Lilith – a female demon of the night. There are many more but I believe they were a creation of man rather than God.  The full story of the fall of the group of angels known as the Watchers can be found in the Old Testament Book of Enoch.