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"The Assumption of the Virgin" , by Francesco Botticini |
Michelmas, also called Feast of Saint Michael and
All Angels ( which, to me at least, is the most befitting name actually ) is Christian
holiday celebrated on 29th of September ( according to Gregorian
calendar ) or 21st of
November ( according to Julian calendar ) .
The holiday commemorates Angels,
all the hierarchies and all the Angels, lead by St Michael the
Archangel, which had defeated and hurled down the Lucifer from Heaven, after the
Great war in Heavens.
It’s the ever present Angels, and their sincere love and
guidance and help the provide to human race which is celebrated on this day. Angels
lack the physical body, because they
are made from different, let’s say more
subtle matter, and they can travel distances
nearly inconceivable to human mind in matters of 100th parts of
second, hence why they are often depicted with wings. They’ve also most often appeared
with wings to human beings. Word Angel,
comes from Greek “angelos” which means messenger.
Angelic hierarchy
Angels had in old days been worshiped as Deities, but the Council in Laodicea circa AD 320th anathemized and banned such practice among
Christians . Instead, Christians
established proper way to pay respect to
them, address them and so on. Angels
have also been divided into
categories, called spheres, triads or
Hierarchies, each of which containing there orders or choirs of Angels. Such division was purposed by
Pseudo-Dionysius Aeropagite, [1] and the
orders/choirs are as follow (
from highest to the lowest , or in descending order ):
·
Seraphim – six winged guardians of G’d’s Throne, continuously praising the
Lord, singing : “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole Earth is full
of his glory!”
·
Cherub – Four-faced angels, with faces of human,
ox , lion and an Eagle. They guard the way to the Three of Life ( in Garden of
Eden ) and G’d’s throne. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, Satan was Cherub.
·
Thrones – Living symbols of G’d’s justice and
authority, which appear utmost peculiar, in form of “wheel-within-a-wheel”
whose rims are covered with thousands of eyes. They appear in chariot vision of Ezekiel
·
Dominions – extremely beautiful, anthropomorphous angels, who regulate duties of lower angels
and preside over nations.
·
Virtues – angelic choir that stands behind
Thrones ( also called Wheels ) ,
monitor and control the movements
of the heavenly bodies to ensure the order in the cosmos
·
Powers – Also called authorities collaborate
with Principalities, also called Rulers, and are guardians of consciousness
and history . They oversee the distribution of power among
human beings ( hence the name ) and are extremely loyal.
·
Principalities – Angels with scepters and crown,
they carry out the orders of the Dominion, and bestow blessings on the material
world. They also inspire people on great acts and discoveries in Arts and Science, they entice ideas and creativity
in humans.
·
Archangels – Called Chief angels, are guardian
angels of countries and nations and they
also rule Angels. Traditionally Judaic and Christian sources see that there are
seven Archangels , four of which are sometimes mentioned as “major”,
namely Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.
·
Angels – Messengers of G’d, tightly connected
and concerned about living things. There are many of them, and they are what people normally thing of when
the word “angel” is mentioned.
Seven Archangels
Seven Archangels is
part of old tradition in Abrahamic religions of grouping Seven
Archangels together. The first mention of Seven Archangels is held to be
the one from non-canonical and
apocryphal “book of Enoch” , although some believe that the Seven Angels for the “Revelations” in Bible are the Seven
Archangels:
“And I saw the seven angels who stand
before God, and seven trumpets were given to them” [2]
Pope Saint Gregory I mentions Seven
Archangels as : Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel/Anael, Simiel, Orphiel and
Ragiel. Catholic church mentions only
three Archangels , being the first three listed.
In Orthodox Christian tradition, Seven
Archangels are as follow: Michael,
Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jegudiel and Raguel.
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Seven Archangels amulets, 1. and 2. seven vowels variations, 3. classic Seven Archangels gnostic amulet, from " Egyptian magic" by E.A. Wallas Budge |
Kabbalah speaks of ten Archangels (
according to the interpretations of Golden Dawn ) each correspondent to one of
the Ten spheres on Tree of Life, each
presiding over one of the ten “orders” also
correspondent to one of the Ten spheres.
At least four Archangels ( Michael,
Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel ) are
associated with a planet, cardinal direction and element each, but these
teachings are rarely, if ever seen as even remote part of Abrahamic religions,
but rather spawn from the occultism and hermeticism.
This ( Seven Archangels ) is one of the teachings remembered and
reverenced on Michaelmass.
MIchelmass customs and traditions
·
Michaelmass is a
day which is in occult thought believe to be highly prominent for works of
Enochian magick, magick of blessings, healing and spiritual development and all
kind of spiritual work
·
In Europe, particularly
Western, tradition associated with
Michlemass is Curfew, which was a
symbolic hinting the upcoming arrival of
the winter. This was most often done by tolling the Church bell each night, in
distinct number of strikes, until the Shrove Tuesday. It was also time of the
year when household fires were supposed
to be doused .
·
In Serbia and
Montenegro, Michaelmas is a “slava” ( lit. feast-day ) but unlike with other
“slava” the wheat was not cooked, nor the special cake prepared, nor had the wine been spilt, for these Slavic
people believe “Angels have neither body nor blood” [3]
·
“A great custom in
England was to dine on goose on Michaelmas . One reason for this was said to be
that Queen Elizabeth I was eating goose
when news of the defeat of the Armada was brought to her. In celebration she said
that henceforth she would always eat
goose on Michaelmas day . Others than followed her lead” [4] It’s no surprise
knowing this, that one of the alternative names in UK for the holiday was Goose day.
·
It’s believed on Balkan
peninsula that rising with the Sun on Michaelmas, and then staring into one
own’ reflection in the mirror for a
while served to prolong youth of the body, and promote longevity. In fact old folk
say that If, one sees image on St. Michael
in the mirror, instead of their own, will
attain immortality*
·
There are many
weather divinations associated with
Michelmass in UK. For example : “If
Michaelmas brings many acorns, Christmas will cover the fields with snow”, or
“A dark Michelmas, A light Christmas”
·
Eating goose on
MIchelmas , was apparently believed (
also in UK ) to ensure a constant flow
of wealth/money throughout the year , which
the following example of folk rhyme illustrate: “Eat a goose on
MIchelmas da y, want not for money all the year” , or “He who eats a goose on Michelmas day,
shan’t money lack or debts to pay” [5]
·
Catching a ( naturally ) falling leaf and making a
wish, on Michelmas, is a popular tradition among European people.
·
It was customary in
Eastern Europe to eat an apple in the morning on Michelmas, before anything
else is consumed, in order to signify
how we recall the sin of Adam and Eve,
and thus indicate our devotion and humility
and servitude to G’d
·
Balkan peninsula folk
believe anything You find important,
should be symbolically done 7 times, or asked for ( in prayer ) seven times on
this day. Anything that brings us luck should also be done 7 times. If we wish to be successful in something we must “re-enact”
or mimic the positive outcome of the event in some manner 7 times on Michaelmas. [6]
Asking for help from St. Michael the
Archangel
Michelmas is ideal day to petition St.
Archangel Michael , particularly to deliver us from our own sins, and long
standing, and persistent conditions, such as chronic illnesses, mental
troubles, heavy and long standing crossings and so on. I have written on how to work with St. Michael on here , before, so You
could use that as an guideline to outline some kind of appropriate ritual
. There is also an interesting spell circling around the net, much like a
chain letter and is called “Three day wishing
spell” which asks for help from Archangels Michael,
Gabriel and Raphael in making three of Your wishes come true.
Seven candles ritual
This is a folk ritual, I’ve seen done on
Michaelmas, few times here, on Balkan peninsula. It’s simplicity itself,
but people seem to believe here it has
great power.
One is required to light Seven white
candles, or seven pure beeswax candles, on Michelmas, and pray for seven things they
need, or one urgent, serious and intricate issue. These things must never be
pure whims, they have to be things the petitioner actually needs. The candles were lined up so as to form a
straight line, and lit from left to right. When each candle is lit, one of the
Names of Archangels is uttered silently three times. Then the petitioner would
light some Frankincense in the censer and
fumigate the area around the candles, three times clockwise. After this
the incense would be placed behind the candles. After this Archangels were
petitioned, and some people would recite
“Our Father” prayer before and after prayer to the Archangels. After this the candles were left to burn all
the way down, and the wax was disposed of either by burying them in Your own
yard, or leaving them near some Church. There are people who would also throw
them into river that runs towards East.
Celestial incense
I’ve came up with the following formula to
aid me in my spiritual works associated with Angels, but it also makes a very
nice Uncrossing-Cleansing formula . It can be used in ritual work with Angels, and
it can be used in conjunction with Angel oil .
Combine:
·
Camphor resin· Powdered Bay Laurel leaf
· Angelica root
· Frankincense tears
· OPTIONAL: Powdered lemon rinds or few drops of Essential oil to scentless talc base
And burn on charcoal blocks to honor the
Angels ( and Archangels ) and get
their assistance in any matters where You
may need their help.
*wether actual, corporeal immortality was what folk refer to with this, it’s hard to say, however, it’s seems to be rather an “poetic” way to suggest aging extremely graciously, which meant looking decades Younger than one really is, and being extremely healthy
NOTES : This article was composed and written by myself , hence If You wish to use any part of it elsewhere online, feel free, but add credits: Shadow of Shadow's magick place, or Shadow-333@hotmail.com or a direct link to this post
CREDITS AND REFERENCES:
[2] Retrieved from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%208:2&version=NIV
[3] acc. to writings in “Kalendar za Srecne Dane” ( lit. Calendar for the lucky days ) by “Jasna Jojic Pavlovski
[4] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSVlxT525vo
[5] As under [4]
[6] As under [3]
IMAGE CREDITS: First image is from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francesco_Botticini_-_The_Assumption_of_the_Virgin.jpg used for illustrative purposes here without any ill will,
Second image is my own creation. The third image is from "Egyptian magic" by E.A. Wallas Budge, page 178th
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