Archangel
An archangel is, in the Abrahamic monotheistic traditions, an angel of higher rank, generally entrusted with a mission of great scope. The main archangels of Judaism and Christianity are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.
Origin and etymology
The word comes from the Greek arkhangelos, formed from arkhe (first, principal) and angelos (messenger). It appears in the New Testament (First Epistle to the Thessalonians 4:16, Epistle of Jude 9) to designate Michael. Earlier Jewish tradition already mentions named higher angels, notably in the Book of Daniel (2nd century BCE) where Michael and Gabriel are named, and in the Book of Enoch (3rd century BCE - 1st century CE) which lists seven of them. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, in The Celestial Hierarchy in the 6th century, codified the hierarchy of the nine angelic choirs in which the archangels occupy the second-to-last rank.
Evolution and tradition
Rabbinic Judaism recognizes seven main archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Sariel, Raguel, Remiel), a list that varies by source. Catholic Christianity officially recognizes three archangels named in the canonical Bible: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Islam also recognizes these figures under their Arabic names: Mikail, Jibril, Israfil, Azrail. Medieval Jewish Kabbalah, notably in the Zohar, extends the angelic hierarchy with correspondences between archangels and sefirot of the Tree of Life. Modern angelology practices, popularized by Doreen Virtue in the 1990s, add several names inspired by apocryphal sources.
Practical use
In contemporary oracle decks, archangel decks (Doreen Virtue, Kyle Gray, Radleigh Valentine) allow you to draw an angelic figure to answer a question. Each archangel is associated with a domain: Michael for protection and courage, Raphael for healing, Gabriel for communication and motherhood, Uriel for wisdom. On Tarotoui, some archangel oracles are available among the decks complementary to the tarot. Traditional Christian practice also includes prayers addressed to the archangels, notably the Prayer to Saint Michael composed by Leo XIII in 1886.
Going further
Contemporary popular angelology, notably that of Doreen Virtue (before her conversion to evangelical Christianity in 2017), invented or popularized archangel names with no strict scriptural basis. The boundary between canonical tradition and modern inspiration deserves to be drawn. Note also that the correspondences between archangels and cardinal points or elements vary by esoteric school. The Golden Dawn associates Michael with the south-fire, Raphael with the east-air, and so on.