Difference between revisions of "Kabbalistic angel"

72 bytes added ,  20:19, 6 January 2022
no edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Chart of the Angels Names.jpg|300px|thumb|Chart showing the names of the 72 Kabbalistic Angels in Hebrew and English.]]
The '''Kabbalistic angels''', also known as the '''Angels of the Shem HaMephorash''', are 72 celestial spirits whose names are derived from the [[Shem HaMephorash|72-fold name of the Hebrew god]] as found in the Book of Exodus.
The '''Kabbalistic angels''', also known as the '''Angels of the Shem HaMephorash''', are 72 celestial spirits whose names are derived from the [[Shem HaMephorash|72-fold name of the Hebrew god]] as found in the Book of Exodus.


They are closely connected to the 72 [[Goetic demon]]s, which they rule over.
They are closely connected to the 72 [[Goetic demon]]s, which they rule over.


==History of the angels==
==Overview==
According to Valentina Izmirlieva, "The earliest extant text that documents a reconstruction of ''shem ha-mephorash'' on the basis of this passage (Exodus 14:19-21) is the classic Kabbalistic work ''Sepher ha-Bahir'' [Book of Bahir], first made known in manuscript form in Provence between 1150 and 1200. The complete reconstruction of the name is available in a number of sources in English; see, for example, the critical bilingual edition of Johannes Reuchlin's famous treatise ''On the Art of the Kabbalah'' (1517) in Reuchlin, ''Art of the Kabbalah'', page 263."
It is an old [[Kabbalah|kabbalistic]] doctrine that all the universe is permeated with the virtues and power of the Divine Names, which represent the various attributes of the Infinite Being. These Names are like openings in the abyss, through which we attain an uplifting of our limited faculties.


Reuchlin describes the process of generating the names thusly:
The supreme expansion of the Divine Name is called [[Shem HaMephorash]], being the word expounded in its fullness. The names of the 72 Angels of the Kabbalah connect with the power of the Divine Name as their names are devised from His through a series of mathematical and alphabetical permutations exercised by the ancient kabbalists.


"Take the three verses beginning ''vayisa'', ''vayabo'', and ''vayet'', and write them out one by one in a vertical column in the Kabbalistic manner from right to left such that the letters of each word follow in one from another from top to bottom without a break. Then take the first letter of the first verse, which is called ''Vav'' (''V''); next working the other way take the last letter of the second verse, ''hay'' (''H'') and lastly go to the beginning of the third verse which you will find is ''Vav'' again. When you link up these three letters in this order the first angel's mnemonic ''V-H-V'' is obtained, the second angel is ''Y-H-Y'', and the third is ''S-Y-T''. So too with the rest, whenever they are set out three by three, with the three columns properly kept straight and tidy, some sort of sign that explains the Tetragrammaton will be produced."
==The 72 names==
All the letters comprising the 72-fold name (and thus the names of the 72 Angels) are derived from the Book of Exodus, chapter 14, verses 19 - 21. Each of the three verses contains exactly 72 letters, and when one letter is taken from each verse in the kabbalistic pattern, they form 72 three-letter names that are unique to each Angel.
The verses tell the story of the Angel of God, who protected the fleeing Israelites from the army of the Pharaoh. It was Moses who spoke the 72-fold name aloud and caused God to part the Red Sea.


He continues: "So to us, God is best because he is merciful, and greatest because he is strong, and this is represented by these two divine names, ''Yah'' and ''El''. And if you join one of these to any of the seventy-two names you will make an impressive and striking word. You must always pronounce it with three syllables and the aspirate, written in Latin with the designation "h." It must come out from the bottom of the chest as if there were a double breathing of the Latin letter "h". In all cases ''Yah'' will be pronounced just by the consonantal "y." ''El'' is the same. Both are pronounced as monosyllables even when in a name composed of parts, and in both cases the accent falls in the same place. So there are seventy-two sacred names. They are (in one word) the Semhamaphores that explain the holy Tetragrammaton. They are to be spoken only by men dedicated to God and must be pronounced thus in fear and trembling through invocations of the angels."
===Exodus verse===
<blockquote>
Exodus 14
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
 
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
 
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
</blockquote>
 
==Creating the 72 names==
Take the three verses beginning vayisa, vayabo, and vayet, and write them out one by one in a vertical column from right to left such that the letters of each word follow in one from another from top to bottom. Then take the first letter of the first verse, which is called Vav (V); next working the other way take the last letter of the second verse, hay (H) and lastly go to the beginning of the third verse which you will find is Vav again.
 
When you link up these three letters in this order the first angel's mnemonic V-H-V is obtained, the second angel is Y-H-Y, and the third is S-Y-T.


==The 72 Kabbalistic angels==
==The 72 Kabbalistic angels==