Given the capricious whim of human fancy, it is well-nigh impossible to predict what will capture the imagination. We are a race of collectors...from pet rocks to exquisite works of art, and everything in-between. Sometimes we are encouraged, even commercially browbeaten, into accumulating transient motifs and themes which are fashionable for a while, but then seem to dwindle in availability until those who have formed a deep bond with the object of their passion look high and low (often to no avail) to find new additions for their treasured hoard. One such example that springs readily to mind is that black-and-white cow which used to be so prolific not too long ago and now appears to have been put out to pasture.
One of the latest supplements to this obsessive human trait are angels. Images of angels are to be found just about everywhere in the form of books, calendars, artwork, figurines and jewelry. There is even a weekly television show based on the good deeds performed by these celestial inhabitants, "Touched By An Angel," not to mention the popular television series which aired a few years ago starring the late Michael Landon, "Highway to Heaven." Perhaps we, as mortals, are comforted by the knowledge that, in a world often filled with despair and the seemingly doomed spiral toward eventual self-destruction, there exist beings whose primary task is, in essence, to bestow harmony and kindness, right wrongs, and be there to welcome us with open arm us when we reach the Pearly Gates. But, how much is actually known about angels?
Ask the average person and they will probably give rather standard answers. "They have wings...they sing...they play the harp...they live in Heaven...they dress all in white...they watch out for us." When prompted about names, most people will think for a moment and then possibly reply, with faltering confidence, "Michael?" or "Gabriel? He's the one with the trumpet, isn't he?" Almost everyone, however, if they are a "believer" will tell you that when death strikes the final blow, an angel will come and deliver your soul safely up to Heaven. What else is there to know? More, perhaps, than one might think.
One belief is that angels are the souls of those who die and go to Heaven; however, most theologians and philosophers (both past and present) consider these beings to be pure, nonhuman spirits created by God to manifest divine will. One contemporary thinker (the American philosopher Mortimer Adler) theorizes that angels are minds without bodies, which assume human guise only as a function of their earthly ministry. When their tasks are finished, they return to Heaven shedding, along the way, every last vestige of corporeality.
Saint Augustine, a theologian who lived from AD 354 to AD 430 once said, "Every visible thing in this world is put under the charge of an angel." Portrayed as guardians and divine messengers (indeed, the word "angel" is the English translation of the Greek word meaning "messenger") with wings which symbolize the role of celestial courier, they have served as advisers, matchmakers and even gravediggers. Yet their exact nature remains elusive.
Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible overflow with references to angels. The early theology of Judeo-Christianity expanded the character of angels, particularly as caretakers of the soul. The Angel of Repentance reminded humans of their sins and promised forgiveness; after the death of the human body, the Angel of Peace carried worthy souls to Paradise; and each individual was believed to be watched over in life by a Guardian Angel...to whom, according to some beliefs, the soul would owe an accounting after death. In Islamic lore, there is a variation of this Guardian Angel theme. The Koran assigns each person two angels--one to record good deeds and the other to note evil ones--and the souls of the dead are thought to encounter yet another pair of angels known as "The Examiners." Armed with whips of iron and fire, these fierce angels interrogate souls about their lives on earth in order to determine whether they merit entry into Heaven.
Speculation about the nature of angels thrived in the Middle Ages and, in the Fourteenth Century, a group of cabalists toiled at length to calculate the exact number of angels, finally arriving at a mind-numbing total of 301,665,722. In more recent years, a well-respected author of natural history books derived a formula for determining an angel's wingspan. His computations, which assumed a body weight of approximately 154 pounds, almost certainly failed to account for one particular outsized member of the celestial choir who is said to have stood ninety-six miles high.
Perhaps the most definitive book on angels is that thought to have been written by a Sixth Century monk named Dionysius. Entitled "The Celestial Hierarchy," the work divided angels into nine ranks known as "choirs." These ranks, identified by name, position and function, were then organized into three ascending levels of importance. This heavenly "pecking order" mirrored the organization of the Church and was quickly accepted, even embraced, by such Catholic luminaries as Pope Gregory the Great and Albertus Magnus.
On the lowliest rung of his celestial ladder, Dionysius placed "common" Angels, considered to be the guardians of the human race. Every physical object on earth, it is said, is entrusted to their care. Next came the Archangels, who concern themselves with affairs that affect multitudes of people--particularly in matters of belief. As messengers, these heavenly beings are generally associated with grave tidings. The highest choir in this lowest rank are the Principalities, reputedly engaged in the welfare of human states and nations, sometimes appearing to instruct the world leaders, they are also regarded as the guardians of religion itself.
On the bottom rung of the second tier of choirs, are the Powers, chosen to impose order on the workings of the universe and to keep the forces of evil at bay. Next, come the Virtues who serve as bestowers of grace and valor. These angels are said to carry out the performance of divine miracles and guide the movements of the planets. On the top rung of this tier are Dominions, who manifest the majesty of God and regulate the duties of all the other angels. Members of this particular choir are frequently depicted holding an orb or scepter as a symbol of their authority.
On the lowest rung of the highest tier of Dionysus's hierarchy are the Thrones, also referred to as "The Bearers of God." Often pictured as a haloed head above a fiery wheel, the supposed duty of the Thrones is to contemplate divine justice. The penultimate choir consists of the Cherubim, which means "Fullness of Knowledge." Keepers of celestial records and bestowers of wisdom, this class of angels is said to have included Satan before his fall from grace. The highest ranked of the nine choirs are the Seraphim. They are creatures of light and fire, possessing three pairs of flame-red wings and are believed to incite mortals toward divine love.
In time, challenges did arise to Dionysus's idea of an angelic hierarchy, but it continues to fire the imagination of poets, mystics and scholars. This was the structure which influenced Dante's "Divine Comedy," as well as John Milton's "Paradise Lost," and also featured strongly in the visions of the Twelfth Century seer and abbess Hildegard von Bingen. The Seventh Century English poet, Caedmon, claimed he was mute until an angel bade him to sing and the English artist and mystic, William Blake, once revealed that as a boy, he had seen angels in the trees. Even the Thirteenth Century theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas found inspiration in this orderly view of the cosmos. In 1259, Aquinas drew large crowds at the University of Paris with a week-long seminar on angels. His lectures formed the foundation of Angel Lore and immortalized Saint Thomas as the "Angelic Doctor."
Of all the choirs of angels, it is the Archangels who are believed to have to most profound effect on humans. They are said to bring important tidings from the Almighty down to the people of earth and, as recounted in the Dead Sea Scrolls, once saved the human race from rebel angels who were bent on setting the world to ruin. In this story, perhaps the strangest and most dramatic in the Lore of Angels, there were once 200 celestial beings known as "The Watchers" who descended from Heaven to sample the treasures of this planet. In time, each of the 200 took an earthly spouse and the unions produced children of extraordinary size who quickly devoured the world's food. To satisfy their enormous appetites, the angel children wandered the earth slaughtering every species of bird, beast, reptile and fish. Finally, these ravenous creatures turned on one another, stripping flesh from the bones of their fellow angels and slaking their thirst in rivers which ran red with blood.
As this wave of destruction washed over the earth, the anguished cries of humankind reached four of the most powerful Archangels. One was Uriel, the "Angel of Retribution," who is also known as the "Regent of the Sun," and whose task it will be to bring before God on Judgment Day all the wretched souls who reside in Hell; the second was Raphael, famed for his kindness to those who are lost and injured and who is the Patron Saint of Pilgrimages; the third was Gabriel, sometimes referred to as the "Angel of Revelation" and who, according to legend, will sound the final call at Doomsday; and the fourth was the warlike Michael, considered to be the greatest of all Archangels and who is responsible for weighing souls for final reckoning.
Upon orders from God, these four mighty celestial guardians enacted a swift retribution upon the angel children. First, Uriel descended to earth to warn Noah of a coming deluge, advising him to prepare an ark to carry his family and a menagerie of creatures to safety. Then, Raphael fell upon the leader of "The Watchers," bound him hand and foot and thrust him into eternal darkness. Next, Gabriel, charged with slaying the dissenters' offspring, encouraged the monstrous angel children to fight one another. Finally, Michael trussed up the remaining "Watchers" and forced them to witness the deaths of their children, condemning them to eternal torment. Only then, it is said, did the heavens open and wash away the last traces of the destruction that the fallen angels had wrought.
Throughout history, angels have been said to reveal themselves to humans to deliver messages or instructions and to help those in need, but many people believe that rather than waiting for an angel to appear, it is possible to summon one to earth. To the Native American, this ritual of beckoning to an individual guardian spirit is often life's most important experience. Invoked by going naked into the wilderness in order to fast and endure other hardships, the brave's ordeal produces "otherworldly" visions, culminating in the appearance of a protective force that accompanies him for the rest of his life.
Over the course of time, less traditional methods of summoning an angel have included magical incantations and potions and some occultists believe that something as simple as a change of wardrobe may hail an angel...garments of sapphire blue to draw a healing spirit or ones of a soft green to evoke a guardian Angel. It has also been suggested that meditating on Angel Lore might leave an individual more receptive to heavenly visitations. In time, advocates of this theory speculate, a heightened sensitivity (often referred to as "Angel Consciousness") may make it possible to call upon angels at will.
Innumerable scholars for countless years have attempted to understand angels in human terms, but it is unlikely that the hard reality of science will ever truly reconcile with the dreamlike realm of angels, where a heavenly host is said to watch over the actions of all humankind. Although many people deem that the very existence of angels is patently impossible, these celestial beings have been regarded as the link between the supreme God and humankind throughout history and in almost every religion.
Personally, I will remain loyal to my cache of unicorns but, as a motif for collection, there are worse things one could choose than the accumulation of angels. They are, at least, beautiful to the eye and offer the possible commitment of better things to come (assuming, of course, one can avoid an eventual confrontation with one of "The Examiners"). As for their existence, I have never seen one--but then, on reflection, I have never seen a unicorn either and I don't doubt that somewhere, somehow this elusive and sacred creature continues to survive. Perhaps angels and unicorns have something in common after all...seeing is believing but sometimes, it is necessary to believe in order to see.
Recently, I was somewhat surprised to see an African-American friend of mine pounce upon a framed picture which featured two dark-skinned cherubs with angelic faces, chubby elbows resting on a cloud, staring heavenward. He is not a particularly religious person and I was taken aback at his obvious enthusiasm upon finding this piece of art. "For my five-year old daughter," he explained as we left the store with his purchase. "Angels are always white and I wanted to show her that there are little black ones too who are there to look out for her." It was a valid observation and something she could relate to...a Guardian Angel who has the same color skin as herself. When all is said and done, believer or non-believer, there are not many among us who don't relish in the idea of their own personal Guardian Angel who will be with them until the bitter end...that there will always be that uniquely special "someone to watch over me."