Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

ARCHANGELS

In Kabbalistic and other forms of 'High Magick', Archangel is the name given to the incorporeal beings of the third circle (Eighth Hierarchy), that, according to Dionysius the Areopagite, the beings of the sphere of Mercury.

The Archangels are said to guide the spiritual destiny of groups of people, of nations, rather than individuals (which is claimed to be the role of angels); this probably explains why the Archangels are often pictured in occult art as carrying formalised models of cities in their arms.

The most important are the seven archangels each of whom is assigned one of the seven spheres of heaven: Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, Uriel, Joophiel, Zadkiel and Samael (sometimes identified with Satan).

A Biblical Perspective:

In the Bible, the Greek word is found in the New Testament in only two places: 1 Thess. 4:16, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first"; and Jude 9, "But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'"

Biblicly, Archangels seem to of a class of angels of great rank and power - but no further detail is given in Scripture. There are only three archangels named in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer.

see also: KABBALAH; ANGELS

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc