Angelolatry

The worship of angels (or Angelolatry) primarily relates to either excessive honouring, or possibly invoking the names of angels. Most Abrahamic religions have Angels that are both messengers and warriors to their God. The names and rankings of these angels are very simmilar if not exact across the religions, regardless of the differences in both ideology and teachings.

Although praying to angels has been around for centuries, many stonch Christians, Jews, and Muslims are against the practice of worshiping them, believeng you should only worship their one and only God. The practice of worshiping angels has been compared to many African religions and Santaria. Where the practitioners ancesters once worshiped multiple deities until colonization by the Europeans and enslavement. Because these practitioners were owned by Christians and Protestants, they were forced to change their religious beliefs, using saints and angels as "replacements" for their old deities.

However, the practice of worshiping angels has been recorded as far back as the 3rd centery with the Angelici religion. A heretical sect who extravagantly worshipped angels and believed that God created the world through the angels.

In Judaism, angels are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish liturgy as agents of the God of Israel. They are categorized in different hierarchies. Their essence is often associated with fire. The Talmud describes their very essence as fire. However, the Hebrew Bible strictly prohibits worship of idols made in the likeness of anything in heaven, according to the first commandment found in Exodus 20:4. For this reason actual "worship" of angels is not documented, nor is is allowed, in Judaism. The practice is strictly prohibited.

In Christianity, the primary contact point in the New Testament is the condemnation of the “worship of angels” in Colossians: "Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind" (Colossians 2:18).

There is however a question as to whether the word used here in fact means "worship". The word used is simply the common word for "religion" (θρησκεία thrēskeia, Acts 26:5, James 1:26,27) not the word "worship" (λατρεία latreia, cf. verb form in Acts 7:42) used of God or pagan deities. This leaves open the possibility that what Paul meant was not actually Christians who bowed down and literally worshipped angels, but a wider range of uses perhaps including:

invocation of angels
excessive interest in angelic hierarchies
conception of angels as mediators

and so on. This gives way to the idea that worshiping angels could land in a gray area, so long as you do not worship them as deities, but with invocation, communication, and praying being at the heart of your intentions. Which has been deemed acceptable in Christianity and Catholisism.

In Islam, people believe in guardian angels but do not say traditional guardian angel prayers. They have different roles, including their praise of God, interacting with humans in ordinary life, defending against devils (shayāṭīn) and carrying on natural phenomena. Angels are more prominent in Islam compared to Judeo-Christian tradition, being involved in humans everyday life. Belief in angels is one of the main articles of faith in Islam. With that being said, they are not worshipped, as Allah is the only being that is worshipped in Islam.

With all that taken into context, there are people that do worship angels, in the sence of prayer, invocation, and communication. I will be offering information on the 4 primary Arch Angels that are found in all major Abrahamic Religions:

Gabriel
Michael
Raphael
Uriel

Angel of the Holy Spirit, Guardian of the Holy Water of Life

Gabriel

Astrology: Cancer, Pisces, and Squorpia.
Colors: Blues, Greens, and White.
Direction: North
Elements: Water
Food: Pears, Lychee, Melons, and Mushrooms.
Herbs: Agava, Alum Root, and Chickweed.
Incense: Passionflower and Peonies.
Magical Attributes: Art, Death, Dreams, Education, Heal, Hope, Illumination, Infertility, Joy, Justice, Light, Love, and Purification.
Metal: Silver
Music: Trumpet
Offerings: Prayers
Planet: Moon
Plants: Iris, Morning Glories, Papaya, Poppies, and White Roses.
Seasons: Winter (January)
Stones: Emerals, Moonstone, Pearl, and Quartz.
Symbols: Nine Pointed Star and Trumpet.
Trees: Almond, Bay, Coconut, Hazel, and Willow.

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an archangel with power to announce God's will to men. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran. Many Christian traditions — including Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Anglicanism — revere Gabriel as a saint.

In the Hebrew Bible, Gabriel is interpreted by Talmudic rabbis to be the "man in linen" mentioned in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Ezekiel. Talmudic Judaism understands the angel in the Book of Ezekiel, who was sent to destroy Jerusalem, to be Gabriel. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, and stands at the left hand of God. Shimon ben Lakish (Syria Palaestina, 3rd century) concluded that the angelic names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel came out of the Babylonian exile (Gen. Rab. 48:9). Alongside archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending this people against the angels of the other nations. In the Kabbalistic tradition, Gabriel is identified with the sephirah of Yesod. Gabriel also has a prominent role as one of God's archangels in the Kabbalah literature. There, Gabriel is portrayed as working in concert with Michael as part of God's court. Gabriel is not to be prayed to because only God can answer prayers and sends Gabriel as his agent. According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there is a tree of life or the "tree of souls" that blossoms and produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, the Treasury of Souls. Gabriel reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then Lailah, the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born.

In the New Testament, Gabriel's first appearance in the New Testament, concerns the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist. John's father Zacharias, a priest of the course of Abia, (Luke 1:5–7) was childless because his wife Elisabeth was barren. An angel appears to Zacharias while he is ministering in the Temple, to announce the birth of his son. When Zacharias questions the angel, the angel gives his name as Gabriel. After completing his required week of ministry, Zacharias returns to his home and his wife Elizabeth conceives. After she has completed five months of her pregnancy (Luke 1:21–25), Gabriel appears again, now to Mary, to announce the birth of Jesus. Gabriel is not called an archangel in the canonical Bible. However, the intertestamental period (roughly 200 BC – 50 AD) produced a wealth of literature, much of it having an apocalyptic orientation. The names and ranks of angels and devils were greatly expanded in this literature, and each had particular duties and status before God. This was the period when Gabriel was first referred to as an archangel. In 1 Enoch 9:1–3, Gabriel, along with Michael, Uriel and Suriel, "saw much blood being shed upon the earth" (9:1) and heard the souls of men cry, "Bring our cause before the Most High" (9:3). In 1 Enoch 10:1, the reply came from "the Most High, the Holy and Great One" who sent forth agents, including Gabriel.

Islam regards Gabriel is venerated as one of the primary archangels and as the Angel of Revelation in Islam. He is primarily mentioned in the verses 2:97, 2:98, and 66:4 of the Quran, although the Quranic text doesn't explicitly refer to him as an angel. In the Quran, the archangel Gabriel appears named in 2:97 and 66:4, as well as in 2:98, where he is mentioned along with the archangel Michael. Exegetical Quranic literature narrates that Muhammad saw the archangel Gabriel in his full angelic splendor only twice, the first time being when he received his first revelation. As the Bible portrays Gabriel as a celestial messenger sent to Daniel, Mary, and Zechariah, Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel was sent to numerous pre-Islamic Biblical prophets with revelation and divine injunctions, including Adam, whom Muslims believe was consoled by Gabriel some time after the Fall, too. He is known by many names in Islam, such as "keeper of holiness". In Hadith traditions, Jibril is said to have six hundred wings.

Captian of the Lords Army

Michael

Astrology: Leo
Colors: Cobalt Blue, Red and Silver.
Direction: South
Elements: Fire
Food: Oranges and Pomegranates.
Herbs: Aloe, Angelica, Hops, and Garlic.
Incense: Frankincense and Myrrh.
Magical Attributes: Bravery, Candle Spells, Courage, Health, Insomnia, Justice, Motivation, Protection, and Strength.
Metal: Brass and Gold.
Music:
Offerings: Angelica, Garlic, Incense, Prayers, Sweet Liquars, and Sugar.
Planet: Mercury and Sun.
Plants: Angelica, Archangelica, and Merigolds.
Seasons: Autumn
Stones: Amber, Citrine, Diamond, and Ruby.
Symbols: Hexigram
Trees: Acacia, Beech, Cedar, and Oak.

Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael the Taxiarch in Orthodoxy and Archangel Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i faith. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in 3rd- and 2nd-century BC Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic, where he is the chief of the angels and archangels and he is the guardian prince of Israel and is responsible for the care of Israel. Christianity adopted nearly all the Jewish traditions concerning him, and he is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7–12, where he does battle with Satan, and in the Epistle of Jude, where the author denounces heretics by contrasting them with Michael.

The earliest surviving mention of Michael is in a 3rd century BC Jewish apocalypse, the Book of Enoch. This lists him as one of seven archangels (the remaining names are Uriel, Raguel, Raphael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel), who, according to a slightly later work, the Book of Tobit, "stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord". The fact that Michael is introduced in both works without explanation implies that readers already knew him and the other named angels, which in turn implies that they are earlier than the late 3rd century BC (the earliest possible date of the relevant passages in the Book of Enoch), but although their origins remain a matter for speculation there is no evidence that they are older than the Hellenistic period. He is mentioned again in last chapters of the Book of Daniel, a Jewish apocalypse composed in the 2nd century BC although set in the 6th, in which a man clothed in linen (never identified, but probably the archangel Gabriel) tells Daniel that he and "Michael, your prince" are engaged in a battle with the "prince of Persia", after which, at the end-time, "Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise".

The seven archangels (or four - the traditions differ but always include Michael) were associated with the branches of the menorah, the sacred seven-branched lampstand in the Temple as the seven spirits before the throne of God, and this is reflected in the Revelation of John 4:5 ("From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God" - ESV). Michael is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7-12, where he does battle with Satan and casts him out of heaven so that he no longer has access to God as accuser (his formal role in the Old Testament). The fall of Satan at the coming of Jesus marks the separation of the New Testament from Judaism. In Luke 22:31 Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked God for permission to "sift" the disciples, the goal being to accuse them, but the accusation is opposed by Jesus, who thus takes on the role played by angels, and especially by Michael, in Judaism. Michael is mentioned by name for the second time in the Epistle of Jude, a passionate plea for believers in Christ to do battle against heresy. In verses 9-10 the author denounces the heretics by contrasting them with the archangel Michael, who, disputing with Satan over the body of Moses, "did not presume to pronounce the verdict of 'slander' but said, 'The Lord punish you!'

Michael is called Mika'il in Muslim works generally, but in the one instance in which he is mentioned in the Quran he is called Mikal. The single Quranic mention comes in the QS 2:98, when the Jews of Medina challenged Muhammed to tell them the name of the angel from whom he received his revelations; when he told them it was Gabriel, the Jews said that Gabriel was their enemy, and that revelations came from Michael. The hadith (sayings of and about the Prophet collected by his followers) quote Muhammed mentioning both Gabriel and Michael as two angels who showed him Paradise and hell, and in the early years of Islam the Muslims recited the names of both in the obligatory daily prayers (the salat). The place of Michael, and some of the other archangels, is not clearly identified in the major sources, and among ordinary Muslims knowledge of them is drawn from non-Islamic sources, notably Jewish.

Archangel of Healing, Guardian of the Tree of Life

Raphael

Astrology: Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra.
Colors: Blue, Gold, Pink, and Purple.
Directions: West
Elements: Air
Food: Carrots, Celery, Fish, and Lemons.
Herbs: Caraway, Dill, Lavender, and Mandrake.
Incense: Frankincense, Lily of the Vally, and Myrrh.
Magical Attributes: Achieving Goals, Compassion, Harmony, Healing, Joy, Love, Meditation, Peace, and Travel.
Metal: Quicksilver
Music:
Offerings: Fish made of Silver, Fish Shaped Amulets, Incense, and Prayers.
Planet: Mercury and Sun.
Plants: Fern
Seasons: Spring
Stones: Emerald, Opal, and Serpentine Agate.
Symbols: Fish and Eight Pointed Star.
Trees: Ash, Rowan, and Mulberry.

Raphael ("God has healed") is an archangel first mentioned in the Book of Tobit and in 1 Enoch, both estimated to date from between the 3rd and 2nd century BCE. In later Jewish tradition, he became identified as one of the three heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. He is not named in either the New Testament or the Quran, but later Christian tradition identified him with healing and as the angel who stirred waters in the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2–4, and in Islam, where his name is Israfil, he is understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73, standing eternally with a trumpet to his lips, ready to announce the Day of Judgment. In Gnostic tradition, Raphael is represented on the Ophite Diagram.

In the Hebrew Bible, the word 'מַלְאָךְ' (malʾāk̠) literally means messenger; either human or supernatural in nature. When used in the latter sense it is translated as "angel". The original mal'akh lacked both individuality and hierarchy, but after the Babylonian exile they were graded into a Babylonian-style hierarchy and the word archangelos, archangel, first appears in the Greek text of 1 Enoch. At the same time the angels and archangels began to be given names, as attested in the Talmudic statement that "the names of the angels were brought by the Jews from Babylonia", attributed to Shimon ben Lakish or Rabbi Hanina respectively. Raphael first appears in two works of this period, 1 Enoch, a collection of originally independent texts from the 3rd century BCE, and the Book of Tobit, from the early 2nd century BCE. In the oldest stratum of 1 Enoch (1 Enoch 9:1) he is one of the four named archangels, and in Tobit 12:11–15 he is one of seven. According to the Babylonian Talmud, Raphael was one of the three angels who appeared to Abraham in the oak grove of Mamre in the region of Hebron (Genesis 18; Bava Metzia 86b); Michael, as the greatest, walked in the middle, with Gabriel to his right and Raphael to his left (Yoma 37a). Each was commanded to carry out a specific mission, Gabriel to destroy Sodom, Michael to inform Sarah that she would give birth to Isaac, Raphael to heal Abraham from his recent circumcision and save Lot. Rashi writes, "Although Raphael's mission included two tasks, they were considered a single mission since they were both acts that saved people." The Life of Adam and Eve lists him with the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Joel, and the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides included his name in his Jewish angelic hierarchy.

The New Testament names only two archangels or angels, Michael and Gabriel (Luke 1:9–26; Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7), but Raphael, because of his association with healing, became identified with the unnamed angel of John 5:1–4 who periodically stirred the pool of Bethesda "and he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". The Catholic Church accordingly links Raphael with Michael and Gabriel as saints whose intercession can be sought through prayer. Due to his actions in the Book of Tobit and the Gospel of John, Saint Raphael is considered patron of travelers, the blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, and Catholic studies. As a particular enemy of the devil, he was revered in Catholic Europe as a special protector of sailors: on a corner of the famous Doge's Palace in Venice is a relief depicting Raphael holding a scroll on which is written: "Efficia fretum quietum" (“Keep the Gulf quiet”). On July 8, 1497, when Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon with his four-ship fleet to India, the flagship was named São Rafael at the insistence of King Manuel I of Portugal. When the flotilla reached the Cape of Good Hope on October 22, the sailors debarked and erected a column in the archangel's honor. The little statue of Raphael that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage is now in the Naval Museum in Lisbon. Raphael is said to guard pilgrims on their journeys, and is often depicted holding a staff. He is also often depicted holding or standing on a fish, which alludes to his healing of Tobit with the fish's gall. Early mosaics often show him and the other archangels in the clothing of a Byzantine courtier.

Raphael is a venerated archangel according to Islamic tradition. In Islamic eschatology, Israfil will blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Day of Judgment (Yawm al-Qiyāmah). The trumpet is constantly poised at his lips, ready to be blown when God so orders. Certain Islamic sources indicate that, created at the beginning of time, Israfil possesses four wings, and is so tall as to be able to reach from the earth to the pillars of heaven. A beautiful angel who is a master of music, Israfil sings praises to God in a thousand different languages, the breath of which is used to inject life into hosts of angels who add to the songs themselves. Further he is probably the highest angel, since he also mediates between God and the other archangels, reading on the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfooz) to transmit the commands of God. Although disputed, some reports assert, he visited Muhammad prior to the archangel Gabriel. According to Sufi traditions reported by Imam Rafa'il, the Ghawth or Qutb ('perfect human being'), is someone who has a heart that resembles that of the archangel Israfil, signifying the loftiness of this angel. The next in rank are the saints who are known as the Umdah or Awtad, amongst whom the highest ones have their hearts resembling that of archangel Mikhail (archangel Michael), and the rest of the lower ranking saints having the heart of Jibrail (archangel Gabriel), and that of the previous prophets before the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The earth is believed to always have one of the Qutb. In another account, Rafāʾīl (Arabic: رفائيل) is mentioned by name in the Islamic tradition narrated by Ath-Tha'labi from Ali. He is said to have met Dhu al-Qarnayn who is mentioned in the last part of Surah 18 of the Quran, al-Kahf ("The Cave"). Dhu al-Qarnayn (The Two Horned One) is believed by some to be Alexander The Great.

Regent of the Sun

Uriel

Astrology:
Colors: Gold, Orange, Red, and Yellow.
Directions: Center
Elements: Earth
Food: Bananas, Figs, and Mangos.
Herbs: Basil, Bryoney, and Pokeweed.
Incense: Cinnamon and Sandalwood.
Magical Attributes: Acceptance, Balance, Creativity, Prophecy, Repentance, Seeking, Truth and Wisdom.
Metal: Gold and Platimun.
Music: Drums
Offerings: Prayers
Planet: Mars
Plants: Cactus, Snapdragons, and Venus Flytraps.
Seasons: Summer
Stones: Iris Agate, Jet, and Obsidian.
Symbols: Triangle
Trees: Birch

Uriel is the name of one of the archangels who is mentioned in the post-exilic rabbinic tradition and in certain Christian traditions. He is well known in the Russian Orthodox tradition and in folk Catholicism (in both of which he is considered to be one of the seven major archangels) and recognized in the Anglican Church as the fourth archangel. He is also well known in European esoteric medieval literature. Uriel is also known as a master of knowledge and archangel of wisdom. In apocryphal, kabbalistic, and occult works, Uriel/Auriel has been equated (or confused) with Urial, Nuriel, Uryan, Jeremiel, Vretil, Sariel, Suriel, Puruel, Phanuel, Jacob, Azrael, and Raphael. In the Secret Book of John, an early Gnostic work, Uriel is placed in control over the demons who help Yaldabaoth create Adam. Uriel or Auriel (male) / Urielle or Eurielle (female) is also a name assimilated by the Celtic Brittanic culture, because of Urielle (7th century), sister of the Breton king Judicael, who popularised the name.

The angels mentioned in the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible (aka the Tanakh) are generally without names. Of the seven archangels in the angelology of Judaism, only two of them, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, are mentioned by name in the canonized Jewish scripture. Raphael features prominently in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is accepted as canonical by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Church. Uriel, right, in the Virgin of the Rocks (Louvre version) by Leonardo da Vinci, 1483–1486. Where a fourth archangel is added to the named three, to represent the four cardinal points, Uriel is generally the fourth. Uriel is listed as the fourth angel in Christian Gnostics (under the name Phanuel). However, it is debated whether the Book of Enoch refers to the same angel by two different names. Uriel means "God is my flame", whereas Phanuel means "God has turned". Uriel is the third angel listed in the Testament of Solomon, the fourth being Sabrael. A rare medieval stained-glass panel depicting the Archangel Uriel with Esdras. St Michael and All Angels Church, Kingsland, Herefordshire. Uriel appears in the Second Book of Esdras found in the Biblical apocrypha (called Esdras IV in the Vulgate) in which the prophet Ezra asks God a series of questions and Uriel is sent by God to instruct him. According to the Revelation of Esdras, the angels that will rule at the end of the world are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Gabuthelon, Beburos, Zebuleon, Aker, and Arphugitonos. The last five listed only appear in this book and nowhere else in apocryphal or apocalyptic works.

In the traditions and hagiography of the Episcopal and other Anglican churches, Uriel is mentioned as an archangel. He is recognized as the patron saint of the sacrament of confirmation. In some Episcopal churches, Uriel is also regarded as the keeper of beauty and light, and regent of the sun and constellations; in iconography he is shown holding in his right hand a Greek Ionic column which symbolizes perfection in aesthetics and man-made beauty, in his left hand a staff topped with the sun. He is celebrated in the Anglican liturgical calendars on the Feast of the Archangels. The Church of St. Uriel the Archangel in Sea Girt, New Jersey is a testimony to Anglicans' devotion to Uriel.

In Hermetic Qabalah, Uriel's name is commonly spelled Auriel. He is regarded as the archangel of the North, and of the element of Earth. According to the teaching of the modern Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Uriel is the archangel of North and of Earth, and is thus associated with the vegetation of the Earth. In iconography he is depicted holding stems of ripened wheat and wearing robes of citrine, russet, olive, and black.

Angelolatry

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Gabriel

Michael

Raphael

Uriel