The pivotal text for contemporary
angel studies, being formally titled
A dictionary of angels, including the fallen angels. (NY : Free Press, 1967) by Gustav Davidson.
Includes alphabetic breakdown of angel
lore from numerous
traditions, both Eastern and Western and includes images, diagrams and tables on the
angelic hierarchy from a thousand years of studies on the subject (for example, for scans of the
scripta angelica, see
here). The varied names of angels, as beings, are also considered from culture to culture : '
mal'ach' in
Hebrew, 'angrias' in
Sanskrit, 'angaros' (
courier) in
Persian or '
angelos' in ancient
Greek.
1
Some terms :
Abdals : in
Islamic lore, the 'substitutes', 70 mysterious
spirits whose identities are known only to
God alone, "When one of those
entities dies (they are not
immortal) another is secretly appointed in replacement' and it is through the operations and actions of these
creatures that the world continues to exist.
Angels of Vengeance : These 12 angels were among the first formed at
Creation, although according to official
Catholic doctrine,
all angels were formed simultaneously. Only five are mentioned by name : Saten'el, Michael, Uriel, Rappheal and Nathan'el.
Angel-year : according to
Cornelius Agrippa and other occult philosophers, the year of an angel is 365 mortal years. Other occultists
who worked on these and other angelic algebras at or around Agrippa's time included
Robert Fludd, De Plancy (in his
Dictionnaire
Infernal - 1863),
John Dee (court astrologer and diplomat for
Queen Elizabeth) and of course
Emanuel Swedenborg.
Balberith : ex-prince of the Order of
Cherubim, now in
Hell, Grand
Pontiff and
Master of Ceremonies, usually the one to
countersign or
notarize the signatures on any
pact entered into between mortals and the
Devil, and so referred to a '
Scriptor of Hell.'
Benad Hasche : 'daughters of G-d', female angels from the early
mythos of
Islam.
Eblis : '
despair', in
Persian and
Arabic lore, the equivalent to the
Christian figure
Satan. Once
treasurer of the
Heavenly
Paradise, formerly named
Azazel, before his
fall from Grace.
Memunim : deputy angels, often
malicious, involved in the
magic of
Cabala.
Some Quotes:
"It is well to bear in mind that all angels - whatever their
state of grace - indeed, no matter how
corrupt and
defiant - are under
God, even
when, to all intents and purposes, they are performing under the direct orders of the
Devil.
Evil itself is an instrumentality of the
Creator,
who uses evil for his own
divine, if
unsearchable, ends." (xvii)
"God
burned the angels of
peace and
truth, along with the hosts under them, as well as an entire legion of administering angels (the
Yalkut
Shimoni) for objecting to the creation of man - a project the Creator had his heart particularly set on and was determined to carry through,
although later He reconsidered the venture, as we learn from
Genesis 6 : 6." (xx)
"It should be pointed out however, that a
fallen angel cannot
repent - not, at least, in
Catholic doctrine - for once an angel sins, he is 'fixed
eternally in evil' and his mind, accordingly, can think evil only." See entry
Abbadona, fallen angel, seraph, "the penitent one". (17)
"
LUCIFER: ('light giver') - erroneously equated with the (supposedly)
fallen angel (
Satan) due to a
misreading of
Isaiah 14:12...an
apostrophe which applied to
Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon- It should be pointed out that the authors of the books of the
Old
Testament knew nothing of
fallen or evil angels, and do not mention them, although at times as in
Job 4:18, the Lord 'put no trust' in his
angels and 'charged them with
Folly', which would indicate that angels were not all they should be. The name
Lucifer was applied to
Satan
by
St. Jerome and other
Christian Fathers." (146)
1Anacreon notes the
Hebrew denotation is
mal'ach (as opposed to
malkah, meaning
queen) originally meant messenger, was translated into Greek, and so spread to other languages. The resulting Greek word
angelos (from which the
Latin and
English terms are derived) also means
messenger.
Daimon is a completely separate term, unrelated to communication.
Further Reading:
"Angels" from the
New Catholic Encyclopaedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm
Donald Barthelme. "On Angels," from
Sixty Stories. (NY : 1990) Available online: http://www.it.cc.mn.us/literature/angel.html
Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688-1772.
Concerning the earths in our solar system, which are called planets, and concerning the earths in the
starry heaven; together with an account of their inhabitants, and also of the spirits and angels there. translated from the Latin. (London :
Hindmarsh, 1787)
Angels & angelology in the Middle Ages / David Keck. (NY : Oxford, 1998)
Génies, anges et démons : Égypte, Babylone, Israël, Islam, peuples altaïques, Inde, Birmanie, Asie du sud-est, Tibet, Chine. (Paris :
Éditions du Seuil, 1971)
The angels of light and the powers of darkness : a symposium by members of the Fellowship of S. Alban and S. Sergius / edited by E.L.
Mascall. (London : The Faith Press, 1954)