The Choirs Revealed

about Our Amazing Angelic Beings

What we know about angels and archangels is not universal, for no unified vision exists about who or what angels are. Angelologists – people who study angels – can speculate, but there simply are no definitive guidebooks that give us a singular “truth” about angels today.

Reliable information about angels and archangels can, however, be gleaned from mystics, scholars, poets and visionaries from the past. Numerous quasi-religious, spiritual and literary sources offer us evidence about angels, their identity, roles and purpose. The archangel Uriel, for example, is mentioned by Milton in Paradise Lost, Poe mentions Israfel and Longfellow mentions Sandalphon.

The works of Christian mystics and philosophers like pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (known as “Denys”), Aquinas and Swedenborg are also trustworthy sources for the earliest western beliefs about angels. We can look, too, to the writings of the Christian fathers Clement, Jerome and Origen for clues. The Book of Enoch, Cabbalistic writings, Gnostic texts and even the Golden Dawn System of Magic and the Grimoires give us dependable evidence, as well. But, even though the term ‘angelology’ refers to the theological study of angels, we can’t look to the Bible for much information, for only in rare instances are angels mentioned there.

The Old and New Testaments mention only few angels. For example, in Revelation 2:8, John tells us that seven angels stood before the Divine – but only Michael and Gabriel are named. The Book of Tobit tells us that Raphael, too, stood at the throne of the Divine.

Some Church leaders believe that angels exist, others deny them. Those who believe in angels say that although they are portrayed in human form, they are neither ethereal nor material, they are neither entities nor creatures, they are at best spiritual; at worst fantastical.

So, what is an angel aficionado to do – can we ever find out the truth about angels? The best answer is to turn to the quintessential angelologist, Denys, the fifth century theologian who first classified a celestial system of angels. Denys established three angelic hierarchies, each made up of three spheres (called “choirs”), for a total of nine “orders.”

Other notable historical figures suggested alternate angelic schematics. In Medieval Europe, for example, magic was mixed with alchemy, art and occult literature to create mythical angelic hierarchies that became part of the popular imagination. Clever variations on Denys’ theme were also proposed by Church fathers, among them, Aquinas, Ambrose and Gregory. Over time, a taxonomy of angels was established and finally, one system was accepted by most believers as divine truth.

Thus, the hierarchies of angels as we know them today were established in the fifth and sixth centuries CE, based upon the compromise of a cabal of holy men, each with a different agenda and a different opinion about how – and even whether – angels ought to schematized. Over time, the accepted hierarchy became:

First Choir:

Seraphim
Cherubim
Thrones

Second Choir:

Dominions
Virtues
Powers

Third Choir:

Principalities
Archangels
Angels

The first choir (or sphere) is the largest, of a high vibration and is closest to the Divine. The angels of the highest spheres are the Divine’s helpers.

The second sphere is smaller, dense and the angels here intermediate between the highest sphere and the lowest.

The lowest sphere is smaller still, denser and vibrates slowly. The angels here are responsible to pass on heavenly information to us mortals. It was not always, thus, however.

In the view of some Church patriarchs, since angels could only be in one place at any given time, angels’ hierarchical roles were fixed – and all of the angelic orders served only the Divine. Over time, however, angels were re-imagined as being made wholly of spiritual stuff, so they could be in all places at once and could serve not only the Divine but humankind as well. Thus, the angels of the lowest sphere – especially the archangels – began to help human beings by answering prayers and responding to pleas for assistance.

Not only can angels protect us, life and limb, they can handle the minutiae of our daily affairs and can be called upon to fulfill countless tasks. An individual can appeal to angels to do things as disparate as blessing a meal, helping with childbirth, finding lost objects, finding a lover, attracting riches, healing the body, controlling the weather – the list truly is endless. If you want a miracle, a magical event, a visitation or an intervention from a holy envoy, just call on the archangel of your choice, assign the date and time – and your prayer will be answered.

These days, we envision archangels flying around all over the world, available in a flash to guard, aid and serve us. All we need to do is ask – and they will be at our side. Practically speaking, the laws of aerodynamics would prevent angels from taking wing at all – to do so, their wings would need to be twice the expanse they are shown as in art and statuary. But perhaps angels’ wings simply symbolize that astrally, they are free to travel from the celestial world to the terrestrial world unfettered, that they are sacred beings, endowed with the divine power to traverse the veil between the worlds, to bring the glory of the Divine to earth.

What the specifics of angels’ blessings are, and what the characteristics of the angels are will always be speculative and personal. These things must be left to each individual to determine. So, your angels are – and always will be – what you say they are. And that, surely, is the real truth about angels. They exist for each of us, in our hearts and in our souls.

In Isaiah 6:3, the Seraphim that surround the Divine throne sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.” Imagine! We live in a world filled with the glory of the Divine, brought to us by sacred messengers. Truly, we are blessed! Just look around you – and you will believe in angels!

If you missed the first article about how angels became prominent in our world today read An Ultimate Guide to Our Amazing Angelic Beings here.

Then if you missed the next article where we look at who the angels are and how they got their names, read Truth Revealed about Our Amazing Angelic Beings here.

Much Love & Angel Blessings,

Angel Messenger