Archangels of the Zodiac
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.
Archangels of the Zodiac with their seals
| Zodiac Sign | Archangel Name | Meaning of Name | Seal | Name of God |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Machidiel | "Help of God" | 
|
יהוה YHVH |
| Taurus | Asmodel | "Destruction of the enemies" | 
|
יההו YHHV |
| Gemini | Ambriel | "Orator of God" | 
|
יוהה YVHH |
| Cancer | Muriel | "Highness" | 
|
הוהי HVHY |
| Leo | Verchiel | "Benediction of God" | 
|
הויה HVYH |
| Virgo | Hamaliel | "Reverence or Fear of God" | 
|
ההיו HHYV |
| Libra | Zuriel | "Strength of God" | 
|
והיה VHYH |
| Scorpio | Barbiel | "Sincerity or Purity of God" | 
|
וההי VHHY |
| Sagittarius | Adnachiel | "Rest of God" | 
|
ויהה VYHH |
| Capricorn | Hanael | "Oath of God" | 
|
היהו HYHV |
| Aquarius | Gabriel | "Exalter and Maker of God" | 
|
היוה HYVH |
| Pisces | Barchiel | "Lightning of God" | 
|
ההוי HHVY |
Textual history
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.
Permutations of YHVH
- Main article: Tetragrammaton
Most of the older texts dealing with the Archangels of the Zodiac (or other occult books explaining the 12 signs of the zodiac) attempt to assign a permutation of the Tetragrammaton, the Hebrew letters YHVH, to each of the archangels and to the zodiac signs themselves. However, there are significant discrepancies between the various texts, and some texts have blatant errors in the Hebrew characters, making the question of which is correct difficult to answer with any authority.
For example, in De Arte Cabbalistica (1517), the order given is: YHVH, YHHV, YVHH, HVHY, HVYH, HHYV, VHYH, VYHH, VHHY, HYHV, HYVH, HHVY. However, Jewish scholars use the order: YHVH, YHHV, YVHH, HVHY, HVYH, HHVY, VHYH, VHHY, VYHH, HYHV, HYVH, HHYV. This is the same order utilized by magicians in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, but it varies from text to text, including significant deviations in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy (which contains errors, aside from the differences).
The Tikunei Zohar, likely the oldest text giving the permutations of YHVH, contains an order that is different from most other sources. It is a separate book from the original (and older) Zohar, although the two books are considered related texts.