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Angels
By Robert Zoller

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 Angels

What is an angel? The word derives from Greek and means

"messenger." As such, it is often inextricably bound to the
message it imparts and is intimately connected with that which is
then understood by the recipient or with the understanding itself.
In usual parlance, the word has been used to denote a spiritual
being of power and intelligence superior to man which serves
some role in the spiritual economy acting in conformity with
God's Will.

Angels are one category of a larger class of non-physical beings

called spirits. They are usually invisible but can, under certain
circumstances become visible to humans. Generally, however,
they pursue their duties unseen and unacknowledged.

Medieval Christian & Jewish theologians devised elaborate

scientific angelologies. They defined in exacting terms what they
thought the angels' natures were, what kind of substances they
were, how much space they could take up, where each stood in
the celestial hierarchy and what the nature of their actions were.

Broadly speaking, Medieval angels were divided into two groups:

good angels who served God's Will and bad angels who rebelled
against God's Will. The latter bad angles, due to their wickedness
were cast out of Heaven and imprisoned on, in and under the
Earth. This was to restrict the scope of their evil machinations to
this world and to Hell.

Indeed, it is interesting to note that in the Medieval Jewish

angelology, on occasion label bad angels with the names of
Gentile gods. One example is Asmodeus who, though a bad
angel, has a fondness for the Jews and willingly helps them. His
name shows him to be of ancient Persian derivation, regarded by
the Persians as a beneficent spiritual being. In Asmodeus we see
the demonization of the gods of the religion of one's enemy, a
practice by no means restricted to the Jews.
Though the bad angels were referred to by the Medieval
angelologists as "dark" and the good angels as "light," in fact both
could appear radiant. Thus, unhappy humanity was frequently
duped into foul, self destructive behaviour by bad angels
disguised in radiant appearance. The discernment of spirits was
not given to everyone, but it was generally conceded that if you
were troubled by angels whose true nature was suspect, the best
thing to do was to call in a priest. If he could not distinguish what
was going on, he would know whom to call next.

More recently, the term "angel" has come to be used in a New

Age sense. In this case, as is usual with New Age doctrines,
the precise meaning of "angel" is rather unclear. It seems to be
synonymous with "fairy" or to share characteristics which fairies
are also supposed to have. Speaking generally, New Age angels
are always good, beneficent in their actions, pleasant to look at,
sweet of voice and, to some, indistinguishable from alien visitors
from outer space!

Overview To Study
This study will set forth the Medieval view of a particular class of
angels, the guardian angels, for it is the Medieval view which
shaped the conception of the guardian angel held by occultists.

I will show the ancient, pagan origin of the Medieval Christian &
Jewish conceptualisation of them, focussing upon the Hermetic
Tradition and will discuss the important link between astrology
and the theological interest in guardian angels. Finally, I will
bring the heavenly guardian angel down to earth and show you
how you can attain immediate, first hand conscious knowledge of
your own guardian angel.

While I give the personal method later in this study I reserve the
astrological method. This is because I have concluded that the
quick path of the dilettante who customary approaches complex
matters in a piecemeal fashion is best cut away. This leaves the
field, as is proper to the serious student intent on mastering what
is an exhaustive and complex subject .
Pre-Christian Origins
In what we are about to discuss, it is important to note that the
doctrine of the guardian angel is part of a larger doctrine of the
angelic hierarchies, which stretches back into distant
Pre-Christian antiquity. In this regard, the following texts are of
note:

John Scotus Eriugena's Periphyseon sive de divisione naturae (9th

century). Eriugena's work carried over from Greek into Latin
(thereby making them accessible to the Latin speaking
Westerners) the ideas about angels found in The Celestial
Hierarchies of pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c 500 AD). This
work in turn rested upon the work of the pagan Neoplatonist
Proclus (c 410-485 AD), particularly his Elements of Theology.
Proclus was influenced by his predecessor, the pagan Neoplatonic
philosopher of the Syrian school, Iamblichus (4th century), whos
work, On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and
Assyrians, we will consider in some detail.

In The Celestial Hierarchies we find a doctrine that derives from

Procluss Elements of Theology. According to its author, the
angels are part of nine "choirs of angels," i.e. nine grades of
intelligences.

Those closest to God (archangels) have supernatural knowledge

(as God does). Angels below the rank of archangels have
preternatural not supernatural knowledge. Humans too can have
preternatural knowledge e.g. mystical experience. Thus there are
three kinds of knowledge. Man has natural knowledge but the
highest of these can have preternatural knowledge (knowledge
out of the ordinary course of nature); angels have preternatural
knowledge but the highest of these, those closest to God, can have
supernatural knowledge (knowledge of things beyond or above
nature, transcendent knowledge); God has supernatural
knowledge because He is above nature.
 The Nine "Choirs" of Angels

Seraphim Triad 1

Thrones Cherubim

Powers Dominations Triad 2

Authorities

Archangels Principalities Triad 3

Angels

Man

In The Celestial Hierarchies of the Pseudo-Dionysius, written

circa 500 AD by a Syrian Christian Neoplatonist and falsely
attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite mentioned in the Acts of
the Apostles, that the ascent of man to the knowledge of God
involves nine stages of understanding (intellectus) arranged in
three groups of three. Each level of being consisting of a
purifying, illuminating and perfecting activity or understanding
seen as a choir of angels. It will be important for us to recognise
that the Medieval theologians equated angels as active
understandings, or intellects. The ascent of man to God entails
going from one understanding to a higher understanding through
nine such stages.

You may recognise the arrangement of these choirs of angels as

corresponding to the Jewish Kabbalistic Tree of Life and perhaps
you will recall that each stage in the Tree of Life diagram, called a
Sephirah (pl. Sephiroth), has an astronomical/astrological
correlate. These are the "spheres of heaven" in the old geocentric
cosmos still used by astrologers.

The planets are arranged in the "Chaldaean Order". The slowest

planet, Saturn is equated to Binah; Jupiter to Chesed; Mars to
Geburah; Sun to Tiferet; Venus to Netzach; Mercury to Hod;
Moon the fastest moving celestial body, to Yesod and Earth, the
World of Elements, to Malkuth.
Celestial Hierarchies (derived from Jewish Kabbalah)
as Christian Cabala. ex Agrippa.

1. Keter: Chayyot HaKadosh

3. Binah: Aralim 2. Chokmah: Ophanim

5. Gevurah: Seraphim 4. Chesed: Chashmalim

6. Tiferet: Melakim

8. Hod: Beni Elohim 7. Netzach: Elohim

9. Yesod: Kerubim

10. Malkuth: Ashim

Please note that the above diagram, called the Tree of Life, is not
only a cosmological diagram representing the pattern according
to which God is said to have created the world, and a diagram of
the old geocentric cosmos. It is also regarded as representing the
figure of the Cosmic Man (Adam Kadmon).

Keter, which means Crown, sits naturally upon his head,

Chochmah and Binah represent the two sides of the brain, Chesed
and Gevurah the shoulders and arms, Tiferet the heart, Hod and
Netzach the hands, Yesod the genitals and Malkuth the feet. Note
also that each of the Sephiroth has a Name of God associated with
it. We need not concern ourselves with all of those names here,
but the one associated with Keter is germane to our purpose. It is
Eheieh, I AM.

Church Origins
As said above, Medieval Christianity gave considerable attention
to angels. Yet the Church carried over ideas it inherited from
ancient Judaism and Paganism. Let us turn to the Catholic Church
sources for an elucidation of its understanding of angels.
 "That every individual soul has a guardian angel has never been
defined by the Church, and is, consequently, not an Article of Faith; but
it is the "mind of the Church," as St Jerome expressed it: "How great the
dignity of the soul, since each one has from his birth an angel
commissioned to guard it." (Comm. in Matt., xviii, lib. II).
The Catholic Encyclopedia Online http://www.newadvent.org/
(the following several citations come from thhe same source.)

The Catholic Church recognises that it perpetuates an idea

deriving from pagan antiquity. The same source tells us that:

"This belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all

antiquity; pagans like Menander and Plutarch (cf. Euseb., "Praep.
Evang.", xii) and Neoplatonists, like Plotinus, held it. It was also the
belief of the Babylonians and Assyrians, as their monuments testify, for
a figure of a guardian angel now in the British Museum once decorated
an Assyrian palace, and might well serve for a modern representation;
while Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, says: `He (the
Assyrian god Marduk) sent a tutelary deity (cherub) of grace to go at
my side; in everything that I did, he made my work to succeed.

Among the Jews the belief in guardian angels is attested to in the

Old Testament, Psalm 91:11 (King James Version), which,
speaking of one who trusts in the Lord as his refuge and fortress,
says:

"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways."

Psalm 34.7 (KJV) reads:

"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him,
and delivereth them."

The Old Testament conceived of God's angels as His ministers

who carried out his behest, and who were at times given special
commissions regarding men. There is no special teaching; the
doctrine is rather taken for granted.

In the Christian New Testament, the doctrine is stated more

clearly. Angels are everywhere the intermediaries between God
and man. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus, endorsing the Old Testament
teaching on angels says:
"See that you despise not one of these little ones [children]: for I say
unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my
Father which is in heaven."

The doctrine here set forth is two-fold. Even little children have
guardian angels, and although these angels have missions to fulfil
on Earth, they remain in contact with the vision of God in
Heaven.

Paul's Letter to the Hebrews (1:14) states the Christian doctrine on

angels clearest:

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation?"

According to Paul, therefore, the function of guardian angels is to

lead us, if we want, to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae I:113:4) held that only the

lowest orders of angels are deputised guardian angels, although
other Christian theologians (e.g. Scotus and Durandus) declared
that an angel from any of the orders of the angelic hierarchy could
be a guardian angel.

According to Medieval Christian theology, all men and women,

Christian and pagan, saved and damned, good and bad, even
Satan himself, has a guardian angel who seeks to curtail the
damage he does to others and himself and to lead him to The
Good.

Although there are good angels and bad angels, God does not
allot bad angels as guardians for men. Nevertheless, through
man's sins and through the abuse of his Free Will, it can happen
that a man capitulates in his will and succumbs to the influences
of evil spirits, ignoring the persuasions of his good angel.

Guardian angels impart to us their good influences by

telepathically acting upon our imaginations and informing our
intellect (understanding). That is, they can induce images in our
imaginations suggesting a given action or an undesirable
consequence of an action we are contemplating and they can
insinuate into our understanding, reasons to do or not do
something. In this way, they can indirectly influence our will per
modum suadentis, i.e. by way of persuasion. Our will nevertheless
remains free to decide upon a course of action. People can, and
often do, ignore the prodding of angels.

For Thomas Aquinas, angels were wholly intellectual creatures,

pure spirit, having no bodies of any kind (although they had the
ability to fashion material bodies for themselves as needed). Being
intellects, or understandings, they fulfilled their cosmic roles and
the guidance of men through purely intellectual operations.

Angels could, by such intellectual agency effect what a modern

parapsychologist would term a kind of psychokinesis, or
movement of a physical body from place to place through mental
power alone. In this way, the Medieval Theologian-Physicists
accounted for angelic agency in the running of the Cosmos, as in
the movements of the celestial spheres (astronomical bodies) and
the various meteorological phenomena as well as their occasional
appearances to humans.

For the Christians, Christ is the head of every angel. This is

equivalent to saying that Christ is the underlying principle upon
which the distinguishing characteristics of each class of angel and
every individual in that class is founded. As Christ is the I AM,1
1
Jesus Christ = I Am

KJV John 18: 5 "They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, `I
AM HE.'..."

Vulgate Secundum Ioannem 18:5 "Responderunt ei: Iesum Nazarenum. Dicit eis
Iesus: EGO SUM:..."

KJV John 18:8 " Jesus answered, `I have told you that I AM HE:'..."

Vulgate Secundum Ioannem 18:8 "Respondit Jesus: Dixi vobis, quia EGO SUM:..."

KJV John 6:48 "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE."

6:51 "I AM THE LIVING BREAD which came down from heaven:..."

7:28 "Ye both know me, and whence I AM; and I AM not come of myself, but he
that sent me is true, whom ye know not." 29. "But I know him: for I AM from him,
and he hath sent me."

KJV John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE
WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
life."

Vulgate Secundum Ioannem 8:12 "Iterum ergo locutus est eis Iesus, dicens: EGO
SUM lux mundi:..."

KJV John 8:58 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I AM.
this is equivalent to saying that all the choirs of angels and every
individual of each choir is an articulation and specification of the I
AM (the Witness in us). This will be seen to be important later in
this discussion.

Every Religion demonises the deities of the religion it supplants

and alters the sacred terms of its predecessor by giving new
names to old concepts. Thus, the dmons of the pagans became
the angels of Christianity. All pagan references to demons were
regarded as bad and lumped together with the evil angels of the
Jews so that for the Christians the class "evil angels" came to be
connoted by the term "demon." This was largely the result of the
struggle between early Christianity and Late Roman Paganism
from the 2nd century to 6th century AD, which, had by that time
also become highly astrological.

The Role of Dmons In Late Paganism

There were four orders of spiritual beings: Gods, heroes, dmons
and men. The dmons were the minions of the gods, i.e. they
executed the will of the divine, exactly as the angels do for the
Christian God. Heroes were human beings who had attained a
semi-divine state as a result of transcendental excellence in some
field of human endeavour. They are clearly analogous to the
saints in Medieval Christianity who have achieved the perfection

Vulgate Secundum Ioannem 8: 58 Dixit eis Iesus: Amen, amen dico vobis,
antequam Abraham fieret, EGO SUM.

KJV John 9:5 "As long as I am in the world, I AM the light of the world."

KJV John 14:6 "I AM the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father
but by me."

Vulgate Secundum Ioannem 14:6 "EGO SUM via, veritas et vita. Nemo venit ad
Patrem nisi per me."

Exodus 3:6 God says to Moses from the burning bush "I am the God of thy father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

In Exodus 13 Moses asks, "Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and
shall say unto them the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall
say unto me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?" In Exodus 3:14 God
answers: "I AM THAT I AM...thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath
sent me unto you.

1John 5:10 "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: "
of the Christian life. The saints are, so-to-speak, Christian heroes
or heroic Christians. This observation is made in order to
underscore the continuity that obtains between Medieval
Christianity & Ancient Paganism. This becomes clearer when we
consider what the 4th century pagan Neoplatonist Iamblichus has
to say about the "peculiar dmon."

Reference should be made to Iamblichus on The Mysteries of the

Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians, translated by Thomas
Taylor, Prometheus Trust, Frome, 1999. For further details of this
work and other Talyor translations please visit:
www.new-library.com/zoller/links for the current link to the
Prometheus Trust website.

The book is written as a correspondence between the Greek

philosopher, Porphyry, and an Egyptian priest, Anebo who is
merely a foil for the author, thought to be Iamblichus. From the
very outset, we find overt astrological relevance. We also find that
the knowledge of this peculiar dmon gives us liberation from
Fate.

Porphyry asks concerning the peculiar dmon, if it must be

inquired how he is imparted by the lord of the nativity, and
according to what kind of efflux, life, or power he passes down
from himself to us? Also, whether he exists, or does not exist?
And whether the discovery of the lord of the nativity is
impossible or possible? For if it is possible, he is happy who having
learned the scheme of his nativity, and knowing his proper dmon,
becomes liberated from Fate (see Porphyrys Epistle to Anebo
beginning at page 12 and also page 144)

Iamblichus's answers to these questions are given on pages

143-148. However, first he addresses the question of liberation
from Fate.

Liberation from Fate

On page 140 Iamblichus (Anebo) denies that "all things are bound
with the indissoluble bonds of Necessity, which we call Fate." The soul
can be led to the intelligibles, separated from generated things,
have contact with real being, and that which is divine. The Gods
dissolve Fate, but the last natures, which proceed from them and
are all tied up with bodies and the generation of the world, give
completion to Fate. The Gods rule over necessity through
intellectual persuasion and are rightly worshipped so that they
may liberate us from the evils impending from Fate.

Not everything is comprehended in Fate, but there is another

principle of the soul, which is superior to all nature and
generation, through which we can be united with the gods and
transcend the mundane order, and participate in eternal life and
the energy of the supercelestial gods. Through this principle, we
are able to liberate ourselves from Fate.

For when the more excellent parts of ourselves energise, and the
soul is elevated to natures better than itself, then it is entirely
separated from generation and gives itself to another order of
things, entirely abandoning the former order with which it was
connected.

Note the phrase "intellectual persuasion" so similar to Aquinass

formula per modum suadentis, by way of persuasion, used to
describe the manner in which angels indirectly affect the human
will, i.e. by telepathically influencing the human intellect. Also,
note that, for the pagan Iamblichus, the Gods liberate men from
Fate. For the Christian, God, especially in the Second Person of
the Trinity, as Christ, liberates. In both cases, proper relation to
the Divine can free one from Fate.

This "principle of the soul, which is superior to all nature and

generation, through which we can be united to the Gods, transcend the
mundane order, participate in eternal life, the energy of the
supercelestial Gods, and liberate ourselves from fate" is the Intellect
(Nous), the understanding. Note that this is the opinion of both
the Christians and the pagans.

On the Peculiar Dmon

On page 140 Iamblichus recognises that the peculiar dmon is
invoked from the decans, dispensators of influence [terms?
Monomoirai?], zodiacal signs, stars, Sun and Moon, the Greater
and the Lesser Bear, all the elements and the world. Yet, he says
that the least of these, the lord of the nativity alone, is not
sufficient in imparting this dmon. In fact, on page 146 he states
that "there are many other principles of it more universal than this." He
does not say exactly what he means by this, but we may take it
that in invoking the dmon, the Zodiac and the Poles are more
universal than the Almutem (for further teaching on these terms
refer to www.new-library.com/zoller/courses Diploma Course
in Medieval Astrology).

On page 143 he says that the peculiar dmon does not come from
just the scheme of the peculiar nativity, nor is the dmon in
question the genesiurgic dmon (who could not liberate from
Fate), but rather from the whole Heaven. Furthermore, the
allotment of this dmon to us occurs regardless of whether or not
we understand how it happens: "...the efflux of the stars distributes
to us the dmon, whether we know it or not." Yet, astrologers do
understand these things. The science of astrology is true (see page
145).

The method for finding the dmon from the lord or lords of the
nativity is given by astrologers. "They deliver clear methods for the
discovery of it,...some giving us five, some more and some less than five
rules" for doing so (at page 145).

While the discovery of the dmon is difficult from the nativity,

we are told that it may be known more fully and easily through
theurgic methods. That is, by ritual performances designed to link
us, through our understanding, to that principle from which we
derive.

On the Nature of the Peculiar Dmon

The peculiar dmon is distributed to us from the whole world
and from all life contained in it and through all the various bodies
through which the soul descends into generation. The dmon is
established in the paradigm before the soul descends into
generation and is the leader of the soul. It presides over the soul
and gives completion to its lives and binds it to the body when it
descends. It governs the peculiar animal of the soul, directs its life
and imparts to us our thoughts and reasoning. We perform such
things as it suggests to our intellects [note the method]. It
continues to govern us until, by priestly agency, we obtain a God
in its place as guardian and leader. Then the dmon either yields
or delivers his government to a more excellent nature, or is
subjected to him, as contributing to his guardianship, or in some
other way is ministrant to him as his lord.

The peculiar dmon rules over every principle in us; not over one
part of us. It is not true that one dmon rules our soul and
another our body while another rules our intellect, but the
dmon is multiform. Moreover, the dmon is always good.
The dmon transcends the soul's composition. There is one
peculiar presiding dmon for each individual - not common to all
men. He is invoked through a God or Cosmocrator who is lord of
dmons. When the peculiar dmon is present with us, he
delivers to us the proper mode of invoking him.

A list the characteristics of the peculiar dmon is as follows:

1. It is given to each human being from the whole heaven.

Although the peculiar dmon comprehends more than merely
the astrological computation of the lord of the nativity, in
practice such a computation appears to focus upon just that.
This seems to imply that the import and probably the proper
interpretation of the results of the computation must include a
consideration of more than the just the lord of the nativity
alone.

2. Each of us has our own peculiar dmon. It is not a universal

spirit.

3. It is always good.

4. It rules over us in our entirety, not just some part of us.

5. It is the leader of the soul.

6. It gives completion to the soul's lives and binds it to body

when it descends.

7. It directs the soul's life and imparts to us our thoughts and

reasoning. We perform such things as it suggests to our
intellect.

8. Implied is that it liberates us from Fate by elevating our

intellect or understanding, the faculty through which we can
be united to the Gods, transcend the mundane order,
participate in eternal life, the energy of the supercelestial
Gods, and liberate ourselves from Fate.

9. "The dmon transcends the soul's composition." That is, it is

superior to and simpler than the soul, which is composed of
various forms and lacks an overarching coherence per se.
From the foregoing it should be apparent that the Medieval
Christian doctrine of the guardian angel may have derived from
the Jewish teachings, as far as the general concept of the role of
guardian angels appointed by God for the guidance of man goes.
But Aquinas's description of how the angels execute their duty
seems to have more in common with Iamblichus's pagan doctrine
of the nature and operation of the "peculiar dmon". This
suggests that the pagan "peculiar dmon" and the guardian angel
are the same spiritual being.

What has been said makes it clear that the 4th century
Neoplatonists thought it possible to know the peculiar dmon in
at least two ways. Intellectually, through an astrological
calculation and through immediate experience via theurgic ritual
invocation. While Iamblichus states that the astrologers know
how to calculate the lord of the nativity, he does not say precisely
what the criteria are.

A number of astrological authors, including Vettius Valens,

Hephaistio of Thebes and Firmicus Maternus , from the early
centuries of the Christian Era discuss various methods for finding
the "Lord of the Nativity." But note that Iamblichus mentions five
criteria, one of which involves the decans of the Zodiac.

We would be at an impasse in trying to rediscover the ancient

astrological method for computing the lord of the nativity were it
not for the fact that the complete method for calculating it has
been preserved for us in the work of the 12th century Jewish
astrologer, Abraham ibn Ezra (1092-1167).

Ibn Ezras Astrological Calculation for the Lord of the Nativity

In Ibn Ezra's Book of Nativities is found a technique for
discovering the lord of the nativity, called in Latin, the Almutem
figuris.

The word almutem is a Latin corruption of an Arabic word,

almutaz, which means Winner or Victor and alludes to a pointing
system whereby the planet having the greatest power in the natal
figure is identified according to both essential and accidental
dignity.

The method involves the consideration of the essential dignities of

the seven visible planets in five principle places of life, the
accidental dignities of the same planets and the consideration of
the planetary ruler of the day of birth as well as the hour of birth.
The planet receiving the greatest number of points is the
Winner, Victor or Almutem. As was said above this and other
methods are fully taught in the Diploma Course in Medieval
Astrology found at www.new-library.com/zoller/courses

Curiously, Ibn Ezra depicts the method as a technique for

discerning the physical attractiveness of the native and for
understanding his psychology. Yet, clearly the technique is far
more complex than necessary for understanding either the
appearance or the psychology of the native. Medieval Astrology
has numerous simple techniques for doing these things and Ibn
Ezra's works show clearly that he was aware of this. Reading the
technique as given in Ibn Ezra's book, one is forced into the
conviction that the author is presenting a method for doing
something other than delineating what it superficially appears to
be about.

Comparison of Ibn Ezra's technique for finding the Almutem

figuris or lord of the nativity with Iamblichus's remarks about the
astrological computation of the peculiar dmon, make it
undeniable that what Ibn Ezra was passing down, albeit
clandestinely, was the astrological technique for identifying the
lord of the nativity, i.e. the peculiar dmon or guardian angel,
which had somehow been preserved among the Arabic
astrologers who had doubtless received it from the Byzantine
Greek astrologers of the 7th and 8th centuries. Ibn Ezra studied
the astrological works of Masha`allah, a leading 8th century
astrologer of Egyptian Jewish origins in the employ of the
Moslem Califate.

Interpretaion of the Lord of the Nativity

The real question is to decide how, once you have calculated the
Almutem figuris, are you to interpret it? Ibn Ezra's text gives us no
insight here since it purports to serve other ends.

As it turns out, this astrological doctrine of the Almutem figuris

was an important consideration, not only in Medieval Astrology,
but also in Medieval Magic, where its spiritual significance was
appreciated, if not wholly abused.

In the infamous nigromantic book known as the Picatrix, written

in Moslem Spain (commonly held to have been written around
1200 but containing material which is much older), the
anonymous author tells us that the Almutem figuris is the key to
knowing what spirit (or psychic centre) the native is focused in.

There are, we are told, three "spirits," one may be ruled by. The
spirits referred to are the three-fold differentiation of the
universal spiritus, or pneuma, which ancient science postulated as
existing in order to explain physiological and psychological
processes in the human body. This spiritus was born upon the air
and breathed into the body along with it during respiration. Once
in the chest, in the region of the heart it differentiated, so the
theory held, into the natural, animal and rational spirits. If one is
ruled by the natural spirit, all he wants to do is eat and make love.
If one is ruled by the animal spirit, all he wants to do is dominate
others and if one is ruled by the rational spirit, all he wants to do
is contemplate eternal truths. Such a one alone, we are told, is fit
to be a philosopher.

In another place in the same book, we are told that if the Almutem
figuris were the Moon or Venus, the natural spirit rules the native.
If it is the Sun or Mars, he is ruled by the animal spirit and if it is
Mercury or Jupiter, he is ruled by the rational spirit. Notably
absent is any reference to Saturn and we are left with the
speculation that Saturn indicates nigromancy itself. Nigromancy
is essentially black magic and the Picatrix was accordingly a
condemned book. Merely the possession of this book was
sufficient to condemn its owner to the stake.

As with any astrological delineation, the lord of the nativity will

be delineated according to the planet's nature, zodiacal state and
local determination. Indeed, it should be possible to reduce the
astrological symbolism involved to a single sentence.

The Picatrix goes on to discuss the black magical exploitation of

the Almutem figuris. We need not go into that aspect of things and,
once you realise what the Almutem figuris represents, namely
one's guardian angel, it becomes apparent that the Picatrix is not
telling the full story about it any more than Iamblichus, Ibn Ezra
or Thomas Aquinas were.
Synthesis
So far we have been looking , through, fragments of an ancient
science at the nature and role of the guardian angel and its
astrological identification. Let us now synthesise what we have
learned as follows:

1. Each person has a guardian angel.

2. One's guardian angel is unique to him.

3. Since an angel is an intellect, it is an understanding. We may

say it is an Idea. It is an active thing, an expression of God's
will and it is always good.

4. This guardian angel or understanding rules our lives, giving

shape to the general structure of our life, constantly seeking to
elevate us to the highest good in order that we may be saved,
achieve eternal life and be liberated from Fate. All the same,
because we have Free Will, we may ignore such prodding and
choose a worse life in bondage to Fate.

5. The guardian angel (also known as the tutelary deity) seeks to

communicate its wisdom to us by inducing images into our
imagination, communicating with us through dreams, and
telepathically influencing our intellects per modum suadentis,
thereby indirectly affecting our will. It can also, through a
psychokinetic power, move objects from one place to another
and fashion a temporary material body for itself in order to
appear visibly to men.

6. This guardian angel, known to the pagan philosopher

Iamblichus, may be known directly through theurgic
invocation or indirectly by astrological calculation of the lord
of the nativity.

7. The astrological identification of the guardian angel is made

through the lord of the nativity. It follows that this lord of the
nativity will be expressed in astrological symbolism, i.e. a
planet in a Zodiacal sign. This symbolic representation may be
expressed in a single sentence.
8. The technique for calculating the lord of the nativity is found
fully set forth in Abraham Ibn Ezra's 12th century Book on
Nativities and is taught in the Diploma Course found at
www.new-library.com/zoller/courses.

9. The Picatrix gives us a partial explanation of how to interpret

the Almutem figuris.

Reviewing the foregoing, it becomes apparent that the full

understanding of the guardian angel lies not in magic or
astrology alone but in both, as seen in a theological context.
Astrology offers something that Theology does not tell us, namely
the nature of our own guardian angel. Theology asserts that
guardian angels exist and places them in the spiritual economy.
Yet, it gives no means of arriving at a direct or indirect knowledge
of the guardian angel. Theurgy, which we may understand as a
particular species of Magic, gives methods of achieving direct
experience of the angel. Astrology, a way of describing it.

Closer Examination of the Guardian Angel

What then is the guardian angel? It is the seed idea or
understanding that is the cause of your existence as a separate
embodied human being. This seed idea regulates your life
constantly trying to keep you on course in the endeavour to
realise the essential worth or good which is the hidden driving
force behind the external manifestation of your life history.

The events of embodied life bring temptation, allurement and

obstacles to the realisation of your spiritual mission. These events
are constantly dragging us in one direction at one time and in
another, at different time thereby obscuring our true will, our star
and our spiritual source. But the angel allotted to us never leaves
us, despite the development in us of an identity and psychic
machinery based upon our bodily life and needs.

The angel remains the voice perpetually reminding us per modum

suadentis, by way of persuasion, of our original impulse, our true
individuality as opposed to the false identity imposed upon us by
life's pressures and our weak wills.

Considered astrologically, the guardian angel, identified by the

Almutem figuris, fulfils a role left void by the other astrological
indices of esoteric matters. The Sun sign shows the native's being,
which of the Twelve Tribes the native belongs to. The Ascendant
shows the demands of embodied existence, the Moon the
appetites and the native's mind.

Modern psychological astrologers will turn to Neptune to

delineate the "Spiritual" as a kind of general archetype. All these
considerations have their place in contemporary astrology, but
none of them can do what the Almutem figuris does. The Sun sign
is common to everyone born that month and no matter how the
Sun may be aspected in a given native's figure, such specification
narrows down the astrological indication to roughly the day of
birth. Because the calculation of the Almutem figuris takes into
consideration the ruler of the hour of birth and the swiftly
changing accidental dignities, its time margins are much
narrower, in the range of 15 to 30 minutes.

The signification of the Almutem figuris is far more individual than

any of the other indices named. Let no one object that the Sun
alone is the indicator of the I AM in the natal figure, for this
quality of the I AM is a feature of the entire ecliptic, of all the
Zodiacal signs from Aries to Pisces. In other words, the I AM is
characteristic of the Great Man, or Adam Kadmon of the Zodiac.
The Sun's position merely specifies its focus at any time and its
modification, month by month.

The Guardian Angel and the Individual

Knowledge of the guardian angel entails self-knowledge and
must be expressed in language. This necessarily entails the
formula "I am...(something)" and it is precisely here that the
spiritual world opens for us. For the I AM is Christ, the faithful
witness in us. As Christ is the head of every angel, so He is the
source and principle from which we descend. But this I AM in us
is universal. It is common to all sentient life. It is the very personal
specification of this universal I AM which the Almutem figuris
indicates.

The seed idea, the underlying understanding, which is the

guardian angel, signified by the lord of the nativity, is, in
Aristotelian terms, an intellectual substance. That is to say, it is an
understanding which makes possible a phenomenon. You are that
phenomenon.
The source of this seed idea is the Logos. It is an expression of
some aspect of that source and is therefore always Good. While
all the other factors of the natal figure, describe the objective and
subjective (psychological) aspects of the native's world, the
Almutem figuris, indicating the native's guardian angel, describes
the link between the psychological and the spiritual worlds for
that native.

By denoting the conditions characterising the native's link to the

spiritual world and the nature of his/her guardian angel, the
Almutem figuris is the index of the native's spiritual path. That is,
the path of spiritual evolution, that form of living which will most
effectively link us to the Divine I AM.

If the Almutem figuris is the Sun, the native will want to lead,
express creative power and be recognised. If the Moon, s/he will
want to care for, be cared for, eat and make love, dream, etc. If it
is Mercury, s/he will be diligent in the sciences, business and
communications. If it is Venus s/he will be a lover of beauty, of
music, of men or women etc. If it is Mars, s/he will fight in order
to dominate. If it is Jupiter, s/he will philosophise and teach. If it
is Saturn he will retire from society, investigate hidden things and
suffer adversity. In every case, the planet's nature, its Zodiacal
state and local determination modify the basic indications and
imply the nature of the distortions of the primordial idea or its
ease of realisation.

This primordial understanding is expressible in ordinary

language, regulates our lives and forms the backdrop of our
personal history. Yet, the forces of embodied life are such that we
often lose touch with our inner purpose, forget our original
dispensation and end up serving someone else's agenda, some
one else's purpose. We were created to serve a unique role in life
and simultaneously to serve a greater purpose, namely God's
purpose of which we are an important part.

By achieving an intellectual knowledge of our angel we are

enabled to return to our source, to be reminded of our intrinsic
worth, to put aside non-essentials, to flee from distortions of our
true nature, to love God, ourselves and our fellow man and
consciously to co-operate in the Divine Plan. Knowledge of the
guardian angel via the Almutem figuris enables the astrologer to
practice a truly spiritual astrology that goes beyond the merely
psychological.
Through knowing our angel we know ourselves. Through self
knowledge we achieve preternatural knowledge and may know
the I AM. Through knowing the I AM we know Christ. Through
knowing Christ we may know God. Through knowing God we
know all there is.
Method For Discovering The Guardian Angel.

The following is a two-fold method for coming to a knowledge of

your guardian angel. It is a proxy for theurgic invocation and
consists of meditation and a self examination.

If engaged in honestly and rigorously these practices ought to

lead to the same result as the calculation and delineation of the
Almutem figuris in your natal figure and even to clarify what may
seem ambiguous in the astrological delineation.

1. Meditation
This may require persistent and regular practice of 15 to 30
minutes a day for a given length of time. Exactly how long will
vary from person to person.

Procedure
Sit in a comfortable position and relax. Allow your breathing to
be regular: neither too fast nor too slow; neither too deep nor too
shallow.

When the body and the mind become still, turn your attention
inward to the Witness which is identified as that within you
which is watching what is happening. This may happen almost
immediately or it may take time.

The mind often chatters and gives a running commentary or

criticism of whatever is taking place. This must be allowed to
subside before real success in this meditation can happen. Do not
try to suppress the noise in the head, just let it go and keep
returning your attention to the Witness.

Once your attention rests in the Witness, a sense of well being and
certainty will arise. After communing with the Witness for a time,
call to mind your own face. See it as clearly as you can and ask
"Who are you?" At first, nothing is likely to happen, but after a
while, the mind will begin presenting images, emotions,
memories and strings of associations to the Witness.

The Witness will be able to regard all this with a benign

indifference, self sufficient in itself but aware of the stream of
answers to the question asked. Allow yourself to ponder these
images etc and to remain aloof as if you were reviewing a friend's
life. Upon ceasing the meditation, write down what you
remember. Repeat this meditation as often as you like, but it is
advisable not to do it more than once a day.

2. Self examination
This practice makes use of another side of your mind. It is a
private activity and it is not wise to share it with anyone.

Procedure
Sit down at a desk or table that has been entirely cleared of
everything on it and if necessary cleaned.

Take a pad of lined paper and a pencil and head one of the sheets
of paper "Good Actions." Head another sheet "Bad Actions." Then
list all the deeds you have ever committed placing the deeds you
recognise as good on the sheet headed "Good Actions" and the
bad deeds on the sheet headed "Bad Actions." Be complete.

You do not have to show this to anyone else and are free to
destroy it after you have finished, so hold nothing back. It may be
painful to remember your misdeeds. Equally, if you are self-
critical by nature you may find it hard to remember your good
deeds, but you must spend as much time as is required to dig out
as many of your good and bad deeds as possible and to record
them on as many sheets of paper as are necessary.

Once you have objectified the contents of your memory on the

pages before you, take one of the lists - either the good deeds or
the bad deeds - and read through it with an eye to discovering
any common themes which lie behind the particulars of the deeds
themselves. Such common themes may be found in the objective
nature of the deeds (what was done), or in the inner nature of the
deeds (quality of what was done). Once you have identified the
themes, note them at the head of the list . Then do the same thing
with the other list.

Next, compare the themes discovered in the list of "Good Actions"

with those found in the list of "Bad Actions." Analyse them
looking for what is common to both. You will be able, with some
objectivity, to discover a theme which comprehends your good
and your bad deeds and which encompass the theme(s) you
identified in your list of "Good Actions" and "Bad Actions."
This last theme which encompasses the theme(s) you identified in
your list of "Good Actions" and "Bad Actions" is the calling card
of your guardian angel, i.e. the seed idea or understanding.
Consideration of this theme will show you that there is an aspect
to it which is beneficial, noble, altruistic and good and that its
relevance to your evil deeds is a distortion or misapplication of
the good side.

A little reflection on the way this theme underlies your evil deeds
will be instructive in leading you to see that your basic nature is
good. Your bad deeds being more the result of ignorance, wrong
reference and misapplication than of essential evil.

Having reached this point you ought to press on and contemplate

the essential goodness of your seed idea and how it flows from its
parent the Word or Logos. Fix your attention on the intimate,
empowering relationship between the I AM and the seed idea, as
in I AM + seed idea. It is at this point that the individual comes
in contact with the universal. You will find that it is love which is
the glue holding the seed idea in relation with the I AM.