Angel

Angels or Angeloi (from Greek άγγελος, ángelos - "messenger" via Latin angelus or angeli as translation of Hebrew mal'ach (מלאך) - messenger; also spirits or sons of twilight, spirits of the twilight, sons of life, messengers, also called Lunar Pitris or Barhishad-Pitris in theosophical writings), the angels belong to the third hierarchy and stand in the hierarchy of spiritual entities (hierarchies) one level above man. They have already completed their stage of humanity , i.e. the development of the I or the I-consciousness, on the old moon. At present they are forming their spirit self. The lunar sphere is their cosmic domain. According to Indian Theosophical teachings, they are called Dhyani (skrt.).

Guardian angel

Every human being is assigned an angelic being who, as a guardian angel, it acts as his or her spiritual guide (guiding angel). They are supported by elemental beings who weave between the light and air elements and are commonly counted among the fairies, notably among the tree fairies, who like to associate with individual people, especially with children, but also with whole families and larger groups of people.

Our personal angel overlooks the whole chain of our successive earthly embodiments as long as we ourselves are not yet capable of it. He guides, with the help of much more exalted hierarchies, but nevertheless, our path of destiny rests in his hands conjointly with the other guiding angels of our fellow human beings. Thart way it ensures the right karmic balance. However, in the course of human development, a significant disorder has arisen within karma, which cannot solely be balanced by the angels, but ultimate balance is only attainable with the help of the Christ.

Separation of Spirits in the World of the Angeloi

Blackboard drawing for GA 237, p. 144 (plate 7)

Angels who are connected with people who strive for spiritual development in the sense of anthroposophical spiritual science constantly learn something more and rise yet higher spiritually, while angels who have to guide people without such striving sink lower. This leads to a separation of spirits in the world of the Angeloi, as schematically indicated in the accompanying blackboard drawing.

„Let us suppose that karma unfolds in a manner that some personality is now seized by the anthroposophical impulses, is seized with heart and mind, I would like to say, with spirit and soul. Then, yes, then something is necessary which sounds decidedly strange, paradoxical; but it is necessary: then his angel must learn something. And that, you see, is something tremendously significant. The fate of the anthroposophists, which takes place between anthroposophists and non-anthroposophists, ripples into the world of the Angeloi. This leads to a separation of spirits in the world of the Angeloi. The Angelos who accompanies the Anthroposophist to their next incarnations learns to find his way deeper into the spiritual realms than he could before. And the Angelos who belongs to the other, who cannot enter at all, sinks down. And it is first shown in the fate of the Angeloi how the great divorce happens. It is now the case - and this is something, my dear friends, to which I would like to draw your hearts' attention - that out of a relatively unified kingdom of the Angeloi there arises a kingdom of the Angeloi divided into two, a kingdom of the Angeloi with one train up into higher worlds and with one train down into lower worlds. While here on earth the formation of the Michael-community is taking place, we can look above what is taking place here as Michael-community, ascending Angeloi (see drawing, yellow), descending Angeloi (green).“

– GA 237, p. 143f

Experiencing the effectiveness of one's own guardian angel

„A good means which everyone can use to achieve greater clarity about ones own personality is to observe certain passages in our life more closely, but at least once a year, perhaps around our birthdays. Then we should ask ourselves: What good or bad deeds have I done during the course of this period? If we then examine ourselves seriously, we will find in most cases that our good deeds do not stem from our personality, but that we let them happen out of an inner impulse. This inner impulse is our guardian angel who drives us to our good deeds. On the other hand, we should not rely entirely on it and think at every opportunity: the guardian angel will already give me the impulse - for that would be quite wrong; the guardian angel would soon leave us, that is, in a certain sense, abandon us.“

– GA 266b, p. 169f

The consciousness of the angels

Rudolf Steiner characterises the nature and consciousness of angels thus:

„If we now ask ourselves: What is the consciousness of the angelic beings? - we get the following answer: in a certain respect it is a higher consciousness, and it is characterised as a higher consciousness by the fact that it does not reach down to the mineral kingdom. The angelic consciousness does not reach down to where the stones, the minerals are. On the other hand, in this angelic consciousness there are vegetable beings, animal beings, human beings and the angels' own kingdom, which plays the same role there as the human kingdom does for us. Therefore we can say that these angels also perceive four realms with their consciousness, the realm of plants, animals, human beings and the realm of angels.

This is the peculiarity of the angelic beings: they have no physical body, and for this reason also no organs of a physical body, no eyes and ears and so on. That is why they do not perceive the physical realm. They have the etheric body as their lowest substance of being. This gives them a certain kinship with the plants. They can therefore descend with their consciousness to the plants; they can still perceive plants. Where there is a mineral, however, they perceive a hollow space, just as we have described it for man during the state of devacha, where man will also perceive the space that a mineral fills here on the physical plane as a hollow space. Thus, wherever there is physical realm here, these angels perceive a hollow space. On the other hand, their consciousness rises up to where man's consciousness does not yet rise.“

– GA 102, p. 138f