The Angelic Realms
Different traditions have their own systems of classifying angels,
which can be quite confusing. It’s important to remember that all
models of the angelic kingdom are just that – models that have been
used over the ages to try to understand that which is almost
beyond human understanding. As you might imagine, these differ
from one another in many ways and should be regarded as only
rough guides or maps, not dogmatic truths. They are helpful in
pointing the way to the angelic kingdom, but it's important not to
confuse the map with the landscape.
The word "angel" is derived from the Greek "angelos", which is a
translation of the Hebrew word "mal'akh", a messenger. Angels are
divine messengers in the sense that they transmit essences and
energies from the celestial realms all the way down to the material
world, operating as part of a vast hierarchy bb of beings. Through
the angels, the One becomes the Many. The One Light is focused Gloria in Excelsis
through the prism of the Archangelic kingdom and becomes a by Evelyn de Morgan
spectrum of glorious colors. Or, to put it another way, from the
mind of the Divine Architect comes the first impulse, the Primordial Idea of creation. The
Archangels, (“chief angels”) are cosmic forces that emanate from
the Creative Intelligence of the Universe. They are the “Lords of
Flame,” made of pure cosmic fire, and their work is to mediate
the Divine Impulse into the lower realms where it will reach
manifestation.
Archangels and Angels abound throughout all of creation, both
visible and invisible. We could compare them to engineers who
work with the universal archetypes, templates of cosmic order,
best imagined by us as patterns of number and harmonious
proportion, or, better still, as great symphonies of music – it’s not
for nothing we talk about “choirs of Angels.” These are then
transmitted to the hosts of Angels below them. The Angels, like
scores of creative artists, transform these archetypes down to the
next level of creation as ideal forms and images of everything
The Hierarchy of Angels that will eventually manifest in the world of Nature. Below
Gustave Doré
the angels are the nature spirits and elementals, the “building
crew,” who work with the ideal forms on the etheric level, the
subtle realm of pre-matter. This is the etheric plane, which is
composed of the “life-force,” “chi,” or “prana,” which
animates the physical plane. The original creative impulse of
the One is now able to flow into the myriad physical forms of the
material world. The Angels have literally bridged Heaven and
Earth.
To recap from an earlier lesson: out of the Divine Mind that is
the source of all existence comes forth the idea of “Rose.” The
Archangels take this Idea and design the perfect template of a
rose. Using the template, the hosts of Angels then create
multitudinous images of all different species of roses; these
astral forms are then passed on to the Devas and then the
Elementals of earth, water, air and fire, and other Nature
Poet and Angel as Muse
by Edmond Aman-Jean Spirits who animate them with the life force on the etheric
plane, and finally, we enjoy the miracle of roses blooming in
our gardens. And there is but one cause underlying the marvel of Creation: Love. As Geoffrey
Hodson puts it:
Love is the force which maintains the planets in their successive orbits, as they circle round the sun,
their Lord of Love. Love binds into a whole the many systems of the universe. From the highest
ruler of the rulers of universes, down to the lowest form of life on the densest plane in every system,
there is a chain of love, unbroken and unbreakable. In the light of that supernal love, all differences
and all diversities are seen but as the manifold expressions of that One infinite and eternal Power
from Which all things sprang and to Which all things shall return.
The Company of Angels and Mortals
As creators of the cosmos, the Archangels and Angels are deeply concerned with the evolution of all
its inhabitants so that the Divine Plan may be worked out and brought to fruition in every corner of
creation. In this, they are powerful intermediaries between the Creative Intelligence, or God, and the
human race; supreme teachers who offer us guidance, wisdom and protection as our race slowly and
painfully evolves towards perfection. It might be said that angels stand above the human race in the
same way that we stand above the animals.
Legends from the morning of the world tell us that once Angels walked upon the earth, freely
offering their gifts and closely assisting humanity in its evolution. Dion Fortune tells how this came
about:
The old tradition is that the choice was offered to the spirits whether they would
remain on the inner planes, neither ascending nor descending, or descend to the
depths of matter in order to rise higher than where they had started from; and one
lot chose one line, led by Adam, or rather Eve, and others chose the other. So the
angelic hosts are our kin and if you go far enough back you find a time when
angels and men were of one company.1
But although the relationship of Angels and mortals was sundered in due course, the truth is that we
have never really been left without heavenly guides: Angels and Archangels still walk beside us – it is
we who have closed our hearts and minds to them. If we are willing to believe in the reality of their
presence and allow them to help us in our endeavors, they are willing and ready to be joyful co-
creators with us. Geoffrey Hodson wrote:
The time will surely come when it may be said, as of old, "angels walked with men,"
for the blending of angelic and human life and consciousness is part of the plan for
the coming age. The children of the new race will see and recognize their fairy and
angel companions; will play and work with them instinctively. Let no one seek to dull
their clearer vision by denial of the fairer world and its inhabitants which their young
eyes can see. Rather let the elders train themselves to see and feel, with them, the
beauties and the joys that lie outside the range of vision of the older race.
Mara Freeman, 2005. No part of this material may be reproduced
1 Fortune, Dion. Applied Magic. Maine: Samuel Weiser, Inc, 2000, p. 47.
