Spirits Of Heaven And Hell - WordPress

Spirits of Heaven and HellSpirits of Heaven and HellAn Account of the Angels&A Directory of DevilsInspired by Folklore, Legend, Art, and Mythologyby Daniel James HanleyBasic Text EditionPage 1

Spirits of Heaven and HellTable of ContentsPart I: An Account of the Angels.3The Angels of Heaven.3The Hierarchy of Angels.4The Rulership of Heaven.5Angelic Characteristics.5The Common Angels.6ANGEL OF DEATH.6ANGEL OF MERCY.9CHARIOT ANGEL (Whirling Wheel).11CHERUB. 13GUARDIAN ANGEL.16HERALD ANGEL.18SERAPH.20WARRIOR ANGEL.22Part II: A Directory of Devils.25The Devils of Hell.25The Hierarchy of Devils.26The Rulership of Hell.27Diabolical Characteristics.27The Common Devils.28ACCUSER DEVIL.28CRAFT DEVIL.30CORRUPTER DEVIL (Sabbatic Goat).32Concerning the Black Sabbath.34LUMINOUS DEVIL (Fallen Angel).35PACT DEVIL (Black Man of the Crossroads).38SEDUCER DEVIL (Incubus/Succubus).40TORMENTOR DEVIL.42WRATH DEVIL.43Appendix I: The Spiritual Geography of Heaven.46The Ladder to Heaven.46The Tunnel of Light.46The Road to Heaven.46The Gates of Pearl.47The Gardens of the Blessed.47Time in Heaven.49Appendix II: The Seven Pits of Hell and Their Inhabitants.50The Prisons of the Damned.50Page 2

Spirits of Heaven and HellPart I:An Account of the AngelsThe Angels of HeavenThe mission of the Angels in the Cosmos isto protect it from Chaos, save its inhabitants fromevil, and restore all to perfect goodness. The Angelswork tirelessly to guide mortals towards benevolentacts, to defend innocents from evil, and maintain thesanctity of holy places. In this work they come intoconstant conflict with the other kind of spirits. TheCosmic Archons try to impose destinies uponhumanity, without regard for the moral qualities oftheir subjects. The Devils endlessly seek to corruptsouls and claim them for Hell. The Demons want toundo all of existence, and turn everything to madChaos. The Fairy Folk wish to enjoy and expressthemselves, without moral considerations. Whilethere is no doubt that the Angels represent thesingle most powerful class of extra-planer beings,both individually and as a whole, it is also true thatthey are set against vast numbers of other spiritswho constantly try to undermine the work of Virtue,Righteousness, and Mercy.At the zenith of the Cosmos are sevenrealms of pure benevolence, known collectively asHeaven, the Seven Heavens, Paradise, or theGardens of the Blessed. Inhabiting Heaven are theBlessed Souls of those who lived lives of virtue andgoodness. Protecting and tending to the souls of theBlessed are the beings of light called Angels.Each type of Angel is a perfect exemplar ofa benevolent virtue: Kindness, Charity, Chastity,Patience, Mercy, Diligence, Humility, or Faith. Sostrong is an angel's devotion to virtue that it isvisible as a shining light, sometimes emanatingfrom the head as a halo, other times surrounding thebeing as a burning nimbus. Virtue provides themeaning and direction of an Angel's existence, andthe Angels experience joy when they lead others toperfect happiness through its practice.Angels embody the two complimentarystrains of goodness: Righteousness and Mercy.Righteousness consists of strict devotion to thelawful forms of a well-ordered society, andwillingness to take positive action to protect goodand eliminate evil. Mercy consists of whollybenevolent intentions, commitment to help the lessfortunate, and compassionate understanding andforgiveness of the limitations of imperfect creatures.Certain Angels, by reason of their associated virtue,lean more towards either Righteousness or Mercy.Cherubim, for example, are so Righteous thatmerely being near one will burn non-Angelic beingswith the fire of holiness. The aptly-named Angels ofMercy, however, are so Merciful that they will evenintercede on behalf of Devils, asking that thediabolical creatures be spared, and given the chanceto redeem themselves. While the Angels maydisagree amongst themselves about the best way topromote beneficence, they never fail to cooperatefor the greater good.Fundamental to the way Angels see theCosmos is the event that they term “The Fall”.According to the Angels, all spirits were originallyAngels. Because Virtue is meaningless unless freelychosen, the Angels had been granted free will bytheir creator. The most powerful of their kind,seeing that he was better in every quantifiable waythan all other beings, lost the virtue of Humility. Hethereafter decided that he deserved to rule theCosmos. He corrupted many other Angels,promising to make them even more splendid andpowerful if they followed him. Finally, he led therebel Angels against their creator. The rebels failed,and their lack of virtue cause them to lose hold ofHeaven. The worst fell with their leader into the Pitsof Vice called Hell and became Devils, or else werelost to the madness of Chaos, and became Demons.Many of the Angels who had been involved in thecreation of the Cosmos had lost their commitmentto benevolence and joined the rebellion, hungeringto exercise total control over mundane creatures.Those Angels fell to the Planetary Spheres, andPage 3

Spirits of Heaven and Hellbecame the Archons. Finally, the Angels who hadtried to remain neutral in the conflict lost theirRighteousness, and thus fell from Paradise andbecame the Fairy Folk. Similarly, according to theAngels, humans were meant to be a perfectlyvirtuous creation and automatically enjoy eternity inHeaven. By the malice of the other spirits,particularly the Devils, humanity was corrupted andturned from its intended destiny. Naturally, theother varieties of spirits generally deny the Angel'saccount of their origins, with the notable exceptionof the Luminous Devils.as more powerful nobles who are even stronger intheir virtues.The Noble Angels of Death are titled:Dominions.Noble Angels of Mercy are titled:Virtues (not to be confused with virtue in general).Noble Chariot Angels are titled:Thrones.Noble Cherubim are titled:Holy Living Ones.Angels in general take a dim view of magic.They have seen too many innocent souls corruptedby the lure of sorcery to trust it. Nonetheless, thereare indeed virtuous Theurgists and benevolentWhite Witches who endeavor to serve the will ofHeaven. Such mortals must constantly resist thetemptation to use their powers for selfish ends,however. Angels do not grant supernatural powerswithout very good reason, and careful considerationof the possible outcome. Although, like all spirits,Angels are theoretically capable of teaching theArcane spells that correspond to their specialabilities, they almost never do so.Noble Herald Angels are titled:Principalities.Noble Seraphim are titled:Shining Ones.Noble Warrior Angels are titled:Powers.Noble Guardian Angels are titled:Lords.Above all else, Angels love humanity. It issaid that the Angels were commanded from theircreation to regard human beings as their specialconcern. No other class of extra-planer beings willaid human beings as quickly, or without obviousreward. An Angel will willingly allow its materialform to be destroyed in order to save a human life.Certain Angels will even go so far as to enter Hellin order to reclaim human souls whose vicesdragged them to the infernal pits, but whose goodactions in life ultimately merit Heaven's reward.Each of the seven regular Choirs is headedby an Archangel (except for the Cherubim, whohave four), beings utterly committed to serving theLord of Hosts and promoting perfect Virtue. Sostrong is the virtue of the more powerful Angelsthat they are almost pinned to Heaven by it, unableto bear the evil and corruption in the mundaneworld for long. Angelic nobles will usually onlyappear in the mundane world when acts of greatbenevolence have been committed, on theanniversaries of such events, or on other days ofholy significance. The awesome Archangels usuallyrequire difficult and exhausting rites, performed bythe most virtuous of clergy, in order to come to themundane world.The Hierarchy of AngelsAngels are organized into groups calledChoirs. There are seven regular Choirs, eachcorresponding to a Virtue and a particular Garden ofHeaven, plus an eighth Choir consisting of theGuardian Angels that inhabit the whole of Paradise.Each Choir consists of common members, as wellPage 4

Spirits of Heaven and HellThe Angels of Death are ruled by:The Archangel of Death.Archangel of Secrets. Also said to surround theLord of Hosts at all times are four of the mightiestChariot Angels, like whirling wheels of chrysolitefilled with eyes, as well as the Four Archangels ofthe Cherubim.The Angels of Mercy are ruled by:The Archangel of Mercy.The Chariot Angels are ruled by:The Archangel of Secrets.The Angels are also said to have a Queen.She considered by some sages to be the spouse ofthe Lord of Hosts, and to have once been the onlymortal to have ever been free of all vices, andperfect in every virtue. Others propose that theQueen of the Angels is actually the feminine formof the Lord of Hosts himself, taken when he wishesfor non-angelic beings to be graced with hisPresence. Some sages speculate that the The Lordof Hosts and the Queen of the Angels are actuallythe embodiments of Righteousness and Mercy,respectively. When she appears to mortals, theQueen of the Angels is said to resemble a youngwoman of perfect loveliness, beautifully butmodestly dressed, whose body radiates soft lightlike that of a summer day, and who is almost alwaysattended by numerous Angels of Mercy. Angelswho are asked about the true nature of the Lord ofHosts and the Queen of the Angels generally replythat mortal beings should apply themselves toworks of Righteousness and Mercy, and not confusethemselves with questions whose actual answersmere men can never comprehend.The Cherubim are ruled by:The Four Archangels of the North, South, East,and West.The Herald Angels are ruled by:The Archangel of the Annunciation.The Seraphim are ruled by:The One Before the Throne.The Warrior Angels are ruled by:The Warrior Archangel.The Guardian Angels have no single Archangel.The Rulership of HeavenThe Angels claim to have been created by,and to faithfully serve, a divinity known as the Lordof Hosts. Many sages state that the Lord of Hosts isthe most likely candidate to be the actual UltimateGod - the true First Cause of existence, and a powerwho wholly transcends lesser divinities. Other sagesspeculate that while the Lord of Hosts is notactually the Ultimate God, he is the most powerfulemissary of the Ultimate God in the Cosmos, andthe only divine power whose will is identical to thatof the Ultimate God. Some account say that thenatural shape of the Lord of Hosts is that of anenormous being like a man, whose upper bodyseems to made of bright metal, whose lower body ismade of fire, and whose whole being radiatessearing white light that breaks into prismatic bands.The light from his body is supposed to shine sostrongly, that no mundane being can safely look athim for more than a moment. The Lord of Hosts ispictured as sitting upon a throne seemingly made ofglowing sapphire, but which is actually theAngelic CharacteristicsAll Angels share the following characteristics:Extraplaner Type: Angels are native to Heaven,and can be affected by magic that targets extraplaner creatures. Angels can only be slainpermanently if fought in Heaven itself. Usually,only the material body of the Angel can bedestroyed, temporarily banishing the Angel back toHeaven. Wicked sorcerers who are so bold as toattempt to command Angels should be prepared toattract the notice of beings whose mere presencecan burn a mortal body to cinders.Page 5