The Politics of Angels
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Emrys Abner, author of Solomonic Pentacles and the new 72 Angels and Demons.
We live in politically polarized times, but the guidance angels provide on this topic is timeless. It transcends personalities and parties. I know what you’re thinking: “Angels really have political opinions?” Trust me, I was as surprised as you. This discovery came as part of the research for my upcoming book, 72 Angels and Demons: Pairings for Modern Ceremonial Magic. As I was writing the sections for each angel and demon pair, I would contact the entities and ask what they wanted me to say about them. I asked them what was important to them, what they liked helping with, and what wisdom they wanted to share. Many of them, especially the Shem angels, had some pretty strong political opinions, which I found interesting. After completing the analysis of these entities through cross-referencing associations with the tree of life, tarot cards, Hebrew letters, and the traditional descriptions of these angels and demons, I noticed some patterns emerging and returned to the question of politics and why angels had an interest in them in the first place. I figured the best way to get a straight answer was just to ask them.
The responses were waves of revelation, with words and images coming in a torrent of information that took a few days to sort out. Most generally, their concern for our politics is rooted in their greater concern for human spiritual development. They didn’t quote Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but stated the same basic premise. For most human beings, the ability to focus on spiritual matters is dependent on us first being fed, housed, clothed, bathed, loved, free, and safe from harm here on Earth. Some humans do find spiritual truths and grow in the midst of suffering, but that growth is despite the suffering, not because of it.
Angels care about the ways we organize and govern ourselves because that is what creates the conditions for spiritual freedom or oppression that helps or hinders human spiritual progress. I was clearly shown images of war, colonialism, slavery, trauma after trauma, and was told that under these conditions the flower of human consciousness withers. People focus on survival. We stop making art and music. We stop dreaming and innovating. We stop being weird and wonderful because fear silences those beautiful impulses within us. Quite simply, under the thumb of tyranny and oppression people cannot be fully, authentically, deeply human. That’s the problem.
Take a look at some of the classical descriptions of the Shem angel’s powers.
Yeliel: “Helps repress unjust revolts; aids conjugal peace; dominates kings & princes; influences all generations.” Yeliel is an angel of peace. Note that he will only repress revolts if they are unjust. He understands that revolts are a necessary part of the political process, but only if their purpose is noble. For example, the demonstrations to get ICE out of Minnesota had a noble purpose (to protect our neighbors), and Yeliel supports that kind of action. The January 6th riots to overthrow election results did not have a noble purpose; it had a nefarious one. Yeliel would repress that kind of action.
Sitael: “Protects against adversity and calamity; dominates magnanimity & nobility; influences lovers of truth.” While Yeliel directly influences rulers, Sitael influences “magnanimity and nobility,” or members of the court: those who have pockets deep enough to bend the ear of the rulers. Today these would be the lobbyists, oligarchs, and the financial elite. Sitael’s concern is not to banish these people from their role, but to ensure that they take on the responsibility of that role and use the light of truth to guide their ambitions. He’s not against people having wealth or being influential. He’s against using that power for evil means, like cutting USAID funding (which, a study conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, UCLA, and other institutions, estimates will have caused approximately 15 million preventable deaths by 2030).
Caliel: “Serves to reveal the truth; aids the triumph of innocence; dominates trials; influences witnesses.” Caliel focuses on the judiciary side of things. An impartial justice system that prioritizes truth and maintains innocence until proven guilty is a bedrock of free society. This is the system that decides what actions are impermissible in society, and also the system that protects violations of our rights. This is especially true in regards to leadership. If abuses of power are not checked, and political criminals are not punished, the result is corruption that undermines the entire system of governance. The most obvious example of this is the Epstein files. We have a large group of politicians and influential people who repeatedly participated in the most heinous crimes one can imagine. They are protecting themselves from prosecution through abuses of power, and corruption is running wild and rampant. It’s not a coincidence.
Haaiah: “Protects those seeking the true light; dominates peace treaties; influences ambassadors.” Haaiah’s powers make his position obvious: peace is the way to truth. There are no winners in war, except maybe the arms dealers. God’s kingdom on Earth can only be built through peace and love. It cannot be built through war and violence. God didn’t even let Their golden boy, King David, build Their temple because he had shed too much blood to be worthy of such a task (1 Chronicles 22:8: “You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth in My sight.”)
Who wages war? Not normal people like you and me; it’s the leaders of nations who commit their citizens to kill each other. This is why angels care that we do not have bloodthirsty leaders; people can’t do a lot of spiritual growth if they’re dead.
Yerathel: “Protects against unjust attacks; confounds one’s enemies; dominates civilisation; influences peace.” Continuing the theme of peace, Yerathel will protect you from your enemies, but not through force or violence. His strategy is to trip them up so their own failings undo them from within. It is noteworthy that Yerathel has dominion over peace and civilization, because the two are intimately intertwined. Think of the ways in which we mark a civilization: by their art, literature, architecture, music, faith, industry, science, and works of great intellect and skill. Those things are not robustly developed in war-torn countries. War can destroy in minutes what took centuries to build. The Library of Alexandria was a major achievement for civilization; over 40,000 scrolls were burned by Julius Caesar during his civil war, and later Roman emperors finished the job as part of their military campaigns. The things we think of as marking a society “civilized” can only be achieved by a society that has known peace and abundance for an extended period of time. One can find exceptions to every rule but, generally speaking, peace and civilization go hand in hand; war is the antithesis to civilization.
Vashariah: “Helps against false & unjust accusations; dominates justice & judges; influences the word.” This angel is again concerned with the integrity of the justice system. Vasheriah knows that justice relies on truth. A false accusation or false witness obviously can lead to an unjust outcome, but that integrity must be consistent throughout the justice system. The lawyers must present their cases with factual evidence, not hearsay or circumstantial explanations. The judges must be impartial and free from the influence of other leaders or monied interests. The penal system must be impartial and humanely carry out the sentence of the prisoners without cruelty or malice. Law enforcement must be impartial in its application of the law, not showing preference for race, gender, ethnicity, or any other attribute. By those standards, our justice system is not doing well. So, this is a situation where we use the angels’ wisdom as a guidepost, showing us how it should be. Humans are self-determining creatures, so if we really want to change something, we can. If truth and mercy are at the center of our judicial system, and we demand that all aspects of that system reflect that higher goal, we can have true justice. We’ll have to keep working at it.
Yechuiah: “Uncovers plots & traitors; undoes their plans; dominates & influences just rulers.” Yechuiah knows that when political leaders are corrupt, the warning call is usually coming from inside the house. If leaders act in integrity then those around them build genuine loyalty through trust. When they do not act in integrity, loyalty is treated like currency and is sometimes literally bought and sold. There is no trust, only fear, and that causes people to scheme and plot so they can preserve the little crumbs of power they’ve managed to collect. It’s self-preservation beneath a veil of adoration for the dear leader. Yechuiah doesn’t have time for all that nonsense. He will bring the traitors into the light where they can be judged. He also protects those rulers who have integrity, building loyalty through trust and the correct application of authority and power.
Veualiah: “Helps destroy enemies; frees from slavery; dominates peace; influences prosperity.” The destruction Veualiah is speaking of is not destruction of the body, but of the systems and infrastructure that allow that enemy to be a viable threat. His goal is to stop the fighting and preserve life on both sides of a conflict. He also frees from slavery, which is more broadly defined than chattel slavery; it includes indentured servitude, domestic slavery, financial slavery, those being oppressed by tyrannical regimes, and those oppressed by religion. The takeaway from Veualiah’s powers is that prosperity, which humans often think lies on the other side of a conflict, is actually a product of peace, freedom, and safety. War makes us poorer than peace does. Fascism and other oppressive forms of government create scarcity, not abundance. Things that actually bring prosperity: international trade, innovation and technological advances, shared culture, a steady market, investment in arts and sciences, education, physical and mental health. In short, a nation at peace is a nation that can mobilize its resources to improve itself and the quality of life for its citizens, while a nation at war blows all those resources on their military and the citizens suffer for it while those making the bombs and bullets laugh all the way to the bank. Peace is the way.
Here’s the hopeful part: we can change it. We can make it better. You’ve probably all heard the Lord’s Prayer, which ends like this: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Whose responsibility is it to build that kingdom? Ours! We are the saviors we have been waiting for. The power is in our hands to build a more prosperous, peaceful, equitable, and just world, we need the courage to fight for what we know is right and the fortitude to see it through. There is a general consensus that Heaven is a place free from pain, from sickness and hunger. It is a place of peace where everyone treats each other well and hatred has no home. It is a place where we can be our fullest selves. Why do we need to wait until we die to have those things? We have the ability to make the world in that image right now, today. Folks will spend their lives trying to get into heaven, where these favorable conditions exist, and when given the chance to create those conditions on Earth will dismiss it as too “woke.” The Shem angels were pretty clear in their messages to me. The Earth is our responsibility. We are its stewards. How we govern ourselves and structure our society matters. It matters to the planet, to the angels, and to us as individuals. When choosing leaders we would be wise to see how well they uphold universal moral standards of truth, benevolence, equity, justice, mercy, compassion, and peace. Leaders such as these will help move us toward abundance, safety, happiness and spiritual growth. We need to demand reform of the systems that are unjust and inequitable. We need to demand peace and oppose war. Most of all we need to look out for each other, support each other, and help each other along the path we’re all on. Hopefully towards a brighter future. The kingdom of God can be ours here on Earth; we must first choose it to be.
Our thanks to Emrys for his guest post! For more from Emrys Abner, head to his author page for all of his books, videos, events, and more.
