Raphael

Raphael

     Raphael is an Archangel- the ruler of the angels of healing. He is one of the few mentioned by name in the bible. Raphael means “God has healed” or “the shining one who heals”.

     In Catholicism, he is Saint Raphael, the patron of healing, physicals, travelers, and matchmakers.

     Raphael also appears in the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish text that is considered canonical by Beta Israel Jews and Christians in the Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox churches.

     The Hadith, a collection of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s traditions, names Raphael (who is called “Israfel” or “Israfil” in Arabic) as the angel who will blow a horn to announce that Judgment Day is coming. Islamic tradition says that Raphael is a master of music who sings praises to God in heaven in more than 1,000 different languages.

     But, Raphael is first mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholics and as useful for public teaching by Lutherans and Anglicans. In this book Raphael travels with Tobit’s son in disguise until the journey’s end. He shows Tobias, who caught a huge fish how to use each part of the creature “the heart, the gall and the liver…these are necessary for useful medicines…and the gall is good for anointing in the eyes, in which there is a white speck, and they shall be cured.” At the end of the journey he reveals himself as “one of the seven holy angels” that attend the throne of God.

     Many believe that his name is derived from the Hebrew word Rophe, which means "medicine doctor or it could just be one crazy coincidence. You never know…

Azariel

 

 

Arariel or Azariel

Azariel is the first angel we will explore.  According to the Talmud, Azariel is in charge of the waters of the Earth.  Fisherman pray to him for a good catch. I am not sure if this works, but it is worth a try.

Azariel is also one of the Amulet Angels that can be invoked during childbirth. I would think that during childbirth there are many things that someone might invoke.

It has also been proposed that he is a cure for stupidity. I wonder if invoking Azariel during childbirth would prevent your child from being stupid.

Azariel can be found among the twenty eight rulers of the twenty eight mansions of the moon.

Islamic tradition uses the spelling Azrael and in the Qur’an he is depicted as the Angel of Death. His job is to separate the soul from the body and return it to God.

In Sikh scriptures, his role is much darker. He is sent by God to the unfaithful and unrepentant. Azrael comes to Earth in human form and hits sinful people on the head with his scythe to kill them and extract their souls. Then, not only does he deliver them to hell, but he makes sure that they receive punishment.

In the Kabbalah, we see a much nicer version of Azrael.  This good angel hears the prayers of the faithful when they reach Heaven.  He is also the angel in charge of a legions of heavenly angels.

In Asian cultures, Azrael holds an apple from the Tree of Life to the nose of a dying person to release the soul.

Azariel-good angel or bad angel? It depends on the culture.