Archdemons and Archangels of the Zodiac

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By Astro Freak

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Everything that exists to subject to the promise and Yin/Yang – the duality of positive and negative.

The Zodiac is assigned both Archdemons and Archangels.

Although often ascribed Hebrew origins, the earliest textual references all state that their names and the lore about them came from Persian Astrology.

Occultist  Éliphas Lévi considered these spirits to represent the descending energies of the zodiac signs, and did not believe them to be explicitly demonic or evil. Depending on the source, these may be regarded as angels or genii.

Theoretically, these spirits are opposed by the Archangels of the Zodiac.

ARIES – SARAHIEL – “Ruling of God

TAURUS – ARAZIEL – “Firmness of God

GEMINI – SARAIEL – “Prince of God

CANCER – PHANKAIEL – “Flask of God”

LEO – SARATTIEL – “Cutting of God”

VIRGO – SEHALIEL – “Profit of God”

LIBRA – HADAKIEL – “Thorn of God”

SCORPIO – SSARSSAIEL – “Pushing the Measure of God”

SAGITTARIUS – SARITHAIEL – “Causing the Rebellion of God

CAPRICORN – SEMAKIEL – “Poison of God”

AQUARIUS – SSAKMAKIEL –  “Foulness of God”

PISCES – VACABIEL  – “Secrecy of God”

The origins of the Archdemons of the Zodiac are somewhat obscure.

Occultist Éliphas Lévi claims to have learned about the demons in the work of Jacques Gaffarel through his translations of the Hebrew astrology of Rabbi Eliahou Chomer. If this story is to be believed, the foundational text concerning the demon rulers of the zodiac comes from an unpublished manuscript titled Memlecheti Halaal (The Kingdom of God) originally written by a Persian astrologer named Hamahalzel. This manuscript was acquired and translated into Hebrew by Rabbi Chomer, who then passed it to Gaffarel.

However, Gaffarel did not mention the Archdemons of the Zodiac in his 1629 astrology book Curiositez inouyes (“Unheard of Curiosities of the Talismanic Sculpture of the Persians, the Horoscope of the Patriarchs, and Reading the Stars”). This book was essentially his commentary on the Chomer manuscript and the connections between Hebrew and Persian astrology, so it seems strange he failed to mention them.

Shortly after the publication of Gaffarel’s book, Athanasius Kircher created a chart with the names of the demons in the first part of the second volume of Oedipus Aegyptiacus (1654). According to Kircher, these zodiac demons are genii of Arabic origin, although he links them to the Kabbalah. It is important to note that Kircher spells the spirit names in their original Arabic suggesting he may have had access to the original manuscript and did not rely on Chomer’s Hebrew translations. Or that the Chomer manuscript had no information about the demons and Levi was mistaken about his sources.

Éliphas Lévi‘s book Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1854) later translated by A.E. Waite and published in English as Transcendental Magic (1923), lists the demon’s names and seals, but his versions of the seals are found nowhere else in previous literature. Levi considered these spirits to represent the descending energies of the zodiac signs, but did not believe them to be explicitly demonic or evil. He also claimed to have found the information about the in Gaffarel’s work, and ignores their appearance in Kircher’s book.

Other mentions include Johann Albert Fabricius’s 1712 book Menologium and Alexandre Lenoir’s 1814 book La Franche-Maçonnerie Rendue à sa Véritble Origine which gives an alternative set of sigils.

The Archangels of the Zodiac are twelve Archangels that rule over the 12 signs of the Zodiac. They are sometimes called the Angels of the Zodiac with no special consideration given to their status as rulers. Among the few texts that deal with these angels, only a few explicitly state that they rule over the Archdemons of the Zodiac.

ARIES – MACHIDIEL – “Help of God”

TAURUS – ASMODEL – “Destruction of the Enemies”

GEMINI – AMBRIEL – “Orator of God”

CANCER – MURIEL – “Highness”

LEO – VERCHIEL – “Benediction of God”

VIRGO – HAMALIEL – “Reverence of Fear of God”

LIBRA  – ZURIEL – “Strength of God”

SCORPIO – BARBIEL – Sincerity or Purity of God”

SAGITTARIUS – ADNACHIEL – “Rest of God”

CAPRICORN – HANAEL – “Oath of God”

AQUARIUS – GABRIEL – “Exalter and Maker of God”

PISCES – BARCHIEL – “Lightning of God”

Numerous authors of grimoires from the Medieval Period included the 12 Archangels of the Zodiac in their work, although no single source appears to provide all information about them.

  • De Arte Cabbalistica (1517) – Gives the twelve permutations of YHVH.
  • Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1531) – Gives the names of the archangels and connects them with specific animals and plants.
  • Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum (1619) – Gives the seals of the archangels.
  • Arsenal Manuscript 2495 (1600s) – Provides the names of the archangels and their abilities, but has several errors in their names, including unusual spellings. The author made corrections to the Agrippa’s Hebrew, but omits the God-name for Gemini.
  • Three Books of Occult Philosophy (1651) – First English translation. Errors present in the Hebrew characters.
  • Oedipus Aegyptiacus (1652) – Gives the names of the archangels along with some correspondences in a chart.
  • The Magus (1801) – Translated prior information into English, reprinted the Hebrew errors from the 1651 edition of Agrippa.
  • The Infernal Dictionary (1818) – Assigns the archangels only to specific months, not the zodiac signs.

The different versions of Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum have differing information and the copyist or author of the later German edition appears to have inadvertently transposed some of the information relating to the angels and their stones as well as the letter of the Hebrew alphabet each angel is associated with.

The English translation of The Magnus has several printing errors regarding the four Hebrew letters comprising the name of God associated with each angel, these errors originated in the 1531 edition of Three Books of Occult Philosophy.

In Oedipus Aegyptiacus, the permutations of the name of God are completely different than any other source.

These archangels and their seals are dealt with at length in The Grimoire of Heaven and Hell, using information collated from all available medieval sources.

Resources: 

https://www.occult.live/index.php/Archdemons_of_the_Zodiac

https://www.occult.live/index.php/Archangels_of_the_Zodiac

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