(A copy of a letter to a friend)
Dear Annie,
You asked me to provide a précis of Matthew Fox’s work : The Physics of Angels. Of course I have no particular qualification to give me authority on this topic so I’ve based my assertions on the ideas of Pseudo-Dionysus, Thomas Aquinas and Hildegard of Bilgen, (as outlined by Matthew Fox) along with my own thoughts on the matter.
I would remind you however that we both know people who are capable of communing with these beings ‘face to face’ and I can only suggest that their observations would always be better than my intellectualizations.
In preparing this study I have been affected in both thought and feeling, (an unusual combination for me) so I would say first up that Angels are real agents of change. More importantly I believe that to understand Angels is to understand our own place in the scheme of creation.
To begin:
We tend to group this type of being under the generic label ‘Angels’ , whereas they actually range from ‘super duper’ galaxy guiding Seraphim to our friendly neighborhood television style guardian Angel.
Angels exist across a gradient of divine expression between the unmanifested (God) and the physical plane. We cannot talk of more or less divine Angels for all express the light of divinity, but we can talk of the degree of purity of that expression; as different levels of angelic existence express divine light through differing amounts of filters.
Angels exist in a continuing “OMG – wow!” state in relation to their awareness of God. This has been loosely translated as ‘Praise’ in Christendom (which has really boring hymn singing connotations for us) but is better understood to be a ‘blissed out power urge to be like THAT’.
It has been said that ‘praise is the noise that joy and awe make’ – so this continual function of praise, which is common to all angels, emanates from their very being – they cannot do otherwise, (err …. with that one small exception, namely ‘you know who’). Mankind, when exposed to angels come away joyful. In fact Angels are mankind’s co-workers though our role is slightly different to theirs.
Hierarchy:
Pseudo-Dionysus invented the term ‘hierarchy’ for describing the ordering of angels. In fact Greek had a term ‘Calendae’ (from which we get ‘calendar’) which meant ‘an ordering’ but as parts of a cycle but Pseudo-Dionysus meant ordered in closeness to the likeness of God. ‘Hieros’ of course means ‘sacred’ so a hierarchy is literally ‘an ordering in holiness’.
I need to wander away from Pseudo-Dionysus as source for a moment: for I think he structured his order about Hermetic principles, so a little bit of hermetic theory is needed. Note: In Pseudo-Dionysus ’s time Hermetic understanding was the norm of mystery systems… he wasn’t hiding stuff, it’s just we’ve forgotten to look at things this way.
When something is created (in the Hermetic understanding) an active principle (male) interacts with a passive principle (female) and create a balancing Neutral result. The identity of this Neutral result (the child) becomes a new Active principle. Complicated I know but it basically means opposites produce a result that in turn starts a new cycle.
Now Pseudo-Dionysus designated 9 choirs of angels, ranging from Seraphim down to Angels, AND then he grouped them in bunches of three. So choirs 1-3 form a group, choirs 4 – 6 form another and finally choirs 7-9 form a third.
Hermetically the cycling of a set of 3 choirs is repeated 3 times, but implied is that each group of three is also part of a super cycle. That is, choirs 1,2 and 3 make up an active principle, choirs 4,5,6 are combined to be passive and that choirs 7,8 and 9 form the neutral 3rd aspect.
So where’s the ‘final child’ of this hermetic process …. The 10th choir as it were, which is the new beginning that will fulfill the whole pattern?
For Hermetic principle demands the pattern is fulfilled – Perhaps Mankind is that.
Likewise Pseudo-Dionysus describes how Angels tend toward 3 major forms of expression; firstly bringing order (active), then releasing knowledge (passive) and finally initiating activity (neutral).
Of course we could ask ‘Why would they bother?’ The only answer is because they seek to participate in the Divine Likeness – this means each is trying to be a ‘face of God’ on their plane of existence.
When we look at the doings of Angels we also find 3 activities – consequences if you like of the 3 forms of expression. Some bring purification (active), some bring enlightenment (passive) and others bring perfection (neutral).
The key point is that Hierarchies are emanative, that is they self-manifest from the creative relationship between parts – so that as the creative first image happened (seraphim) then there had to be a passive, then a neutral etc till there were 9 choirs. Each is as important in the perfect resonance.
So, the Hierarchy isn’t status based, rather it reflects various hues of the one light.
As I’ve written earlier – Angels are in a continual ‘OMG’ sate which emanates from their being. In a sense an angel exists as a conscious witness to the manifestation of what we call God, and their responses and actions come from that very big picture.
Aquinas and Hildegard both stress that point – angels act from their being, not from some rational decision making process. To ‘acknowledge God in all things’ is therefore built into Angelic perception.
So what of Mankind? It is said that ‘You know Who’ (Satan) rebelled when God asked it to worship Mankind, whom God regarded as the culmination of creation. Presumably too, when each new Angel pops into existence they get the same request and in that moment of their one and only choice their destiny is cast.
Satan’s sin of course was pride – He was after all a Cherubim and those glorious beings would find the barely conscious being of newly created mankind very limited. God on the other celestial hand was really asking Satan for submission to His plan. Satan and for that matter us, could only be reach that submission by either sharing in God’s vision or trusting it’s perfection.
Into the cold and dark, in other words ‘away from the life giving glory’ Satan and his side were cast. This wasn’t I suspect so much an autocratic judgement on naughtiness as it was a consequence of Satan and his cohorts being being unable to see the light anyway.
Mankind’s Role
The key quest Annie is “What is in Man’s nature?” If angels are to praise, what is mankind born to do?” It can’t be in anyway contrary to the Angelic role yet must include the added capability of our material manifestation and the fact we exist on all levels simultaneously.
There are two clues to this vital answer. The first is God’s first empowerment given to mankind back in the garden of Eden. God gave us, and never took away by the way, the power to NAME every living creature. Before anything else we were empowered to set up existence how we wished it to be.
The second clue is from the other Cherubim who came among mankind and who sacrificed it’s energies to catalyze the awakening of mankind – The Christ. It said to it’s own “that whatever they bind/loose on earth so it is in heaven” etc. It’s the same power as the naming – but made conscious.
So mankind has the power to give spiritual meaning and worth to physical things. We can give creation back unto God. This is mankind’s role – To make sacred.
Implications
I believe this is really very important because if we act from our being then we are emanating change rather than asserting our will. The whole Old Testament bible is full of wandering people naming places and people and blessing those things. In other words they were anchoring themselves and their world into the spiritual.
Then again they could have been spiritual beings who were anchoring themselves into the physical. (Long ago I dreamt of Mario who told me to prepare to read Leviticus 25:23-24. I’d never read that book before that dream so I was amazed to see the assertion that this world/plane isn’t ours.)
Imagine for a moment we could throw out the various dogmatic or ethical compasses we use to navigate Life. Imagine too that we asked instead “What action most sets this person/situation into the context of spirit.” – Then we are seeking to make sacred and fulfilling our ‘design specifications’ as God’s instrument.
If too we were to affirm “This too is a part of God’s radiant plan” then of course that would be our Angelic selves joining in. This understanding of Angels provides a framework on which we – you and me, can act always affirmatively and in touch with our original worth.
So what of love?
I was about to finish then I realized how much this echoes the ‘Situation Ethics’ model proposed in the early 1960’s. That model used Love as the factor by which we choose which action.
Jesus and the New Testament of course push love too, and in essence Love would do that which fulfills both the Angel’s need to focus on God’s creation and Mankind’s role of blessing. So, use Love then within self and the expressions of praise and blessing (angels and men) will come naturally.
However, ‘Praising’ and ‘Blessing’ become the two tests Annie. Through them we can examine almost any dressed up ruling of this world and see if they have value to our Angelic nature. That which doesn’t do either is not for us.
Stuart