Archangel Uriel
old Russian Orthodox icon

In Hebrew, Uriel means "God is my light" or "Fire of God." He is one of the most prominent angels of noncanonical tradition. In the Book of Enoch Uriel "presides over clamour and terror." (I Enoch 20:2) He accompanies Enoch in his journeys through heaven and the under-world.

Archangel Uriel is sent to Noah to warn him of the deluge and teach him how to escape (I Enoch 10:1-5). In the apocryphal text of the Second Book of Esdras (written after 100 A.D.) Uriel is the archangel of salvation.

Uriel acts as interpreter of the prophet Ezra's visions and instructs him in the secrets of the universe.

In Jewish apocalyptic text called Sibylline Oracles (a collection of Messianic prophecies of the period 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.), Uriel is described as one of the "immortal angels of the undying God" who on the day of judgment, will "bring forth to judgment all the sorrowful forms, yea, of the ghosts of the ancient Titans and of the giants, and all whom the flood overtook . . . and all these
shall he bring to the judgment seat . . . and set before God's seat."

In Milton's Pardise Lost, Uriel is the "regent of the sun" and the "sharpest-sighted spirit of all in heaven" who functions as God's eyes.

The Synod of Laodicea in the fourth century banned the naming of any angels other than Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael—the only angels mentioned in what was considered scripture.
They prohibited by a canon that prayer should be offered to angels on the grounds that it was idolatry and detracted from the worship of Christ.

The synod held its meeting at Laodicea in Phrygia because the people there believed angels to be defenders of the Law and were therefore supposedly "worshipping" them. Despite the condemnation of angel worship, after the IVth century the worship of angels other than those sanctioned by the Church began to flourish.

In 745 A.D. the Roman Council under Pope Zachary again rejected the worship of these other angels. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 recognized the popularity of Christian devotion to the angels and finally sanctioned their veneration. The Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly banned the worship of angels not named in its officially approved scriptures.

The worship of angels not named in scripture was again banned by a Roman synod convoked under Pope Zachary in 745 and by Church councils in the ninth and fifteenth centuries. In 1950 Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Human Genesis reaffirmed that Catholics were only allowed to use the names of Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

In 1964 when Vatican II revised the liturgy of the mass, it eliminated Pope Leo XIII’s prayer to Archangel Michael, which had been said at the end of each mass since 1886, because it did not refer to the Eucharist or the communion of Christ with his disciples. The premise that the early Christians were “worshiping” angels was an assumption; praying to the Archangels by way of calling for their intercession in time of crisis is not worshiping angels; it is allowing them to perform their lawful role on behalf of the issue of God for which they were created by God.

Bowing to the Light within the manifestation of God, angelic or human, is the acknowledgment of the God Flame within, not a deification of the creation or offspring of the one God whom we worship. Under the pretext that Christians were “worshiping” angels, Church councils have kept Christians from pronouncing the names of the Archangels, which embody the power of God on the ray on which they serve (e.g., Archangel Uriel embodies the power of God on the Sixth Ray, Jophiel on the Second, Chamuel on the Third, Zadkiel on the Seventh and Uzziel on the Eighth); thereby the people have been deprived of the intercessory power of the Seven Archangels who can assist them in realizing the Universal Christ on the paths of the Seven Rays and in fighting the battle of Armageddon.

In truth, the church hierarchies feared that by invoking the Archangels the people would gain power and illumination and, being endued by the Holy Ghost, would see through the usurpers of Christ’s true doctrine—that each individual is free to engage in the communion of saints in heaven and on earth and to receive God’s emissaries and the angelic hosts at his command as did the biblical personages of old.

For men of ecclesiastical posture to use their sacred offices and trust to deny the people’s lawful communion, by the Holy Ghost, with the Lord Jesus Christ and his hosts is not only antiscriptural but it doth offend our conscience and cause us to violate the admonishment of Hebrews 13:2: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” and Ps. 91:11: “He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.”

Uriel, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael are the four archangels mentioned most often in Hebrew, Kabbalistic and Christian traditions. The name Uriel (Hebrew: Auriel, aleph, vau, resh, yod, aleph, lamed) literally means "Fire of God," "Flame of God," "Light of God," or even "Sun of God."

Uriel is the beautiful angel of music and poetry. He is a fiery character and associated with absolute righteousness and repentance. It is said that at the Day of Judgment he will destroy
the gates of Hell, of which he is the doorkeeper. He is sometimes shown holding his fiery sword
of justice in one hand and the keys to the gates of Hades in the other hand.

Some accounts place Archangel Uriel at the head of the third order or company of angels. Others identify Uriel as one of the Seven Spirits before the Throne. Kabbalistic writings assign Uriel to the middle pillar of the Tree of Life, and specifically to the sephirah Malkuth, the Kingdom.

Malkuth represents the lowest point of descent of the divine force, from which it ascends again to complete the cycle of manifestation and pralaya. The penetration of divine force to the physical plane is of particular interest at this time, because of the increasing intensity of seventh-ray energy in the world.

In Christian tradition, Uriel is the Angel of Music, the Angel of Poetry and the Angel of Prophecy. Accepted as an archangel by the Church for many centuries, he was finally removed from the records in 745 AD as the Church became increasingly concerned with the prominence the public was placing upon angels.

According to various stories Uriel attacked Moses for failing to circumcise his son. Uriel is also known for his role as Regent of the Sun in the book of Revelation. In the Talmud, Uriel stands before the throne of God.

"Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus."
—Enoch 1, Chapter 20

The Book of Enoch describes Uriel as "one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus . . . the leader of them all." Later we read in the same book: "Uriel showed to me, whom the Lord of glory hath set for ever over all the luminaries of the heaven . . . the sun, moon, and stars, all the ministering creatures which make their revolution in all the chariots of the heaven."

In Paradise Lost, John Milton mentions "Th' Arch-Angel URIEL, one of the seav'n, Who in God's presence, neerest to his Throne . . . Regent of the Sun." In his oratorio, The Creation, composed in Vienna in 1797, Franz Joseph Haydn has Uriel announce the words from Genesis: "And God saw the light, that it was good . . . And God said, Let there be light in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day from the night, and to give light upon the earth . . . He made the stars also."

Colin Wilson describes encounters between Uriel and the XIVth century scholar, Dr. John Dee. Dee's assistant, Edward Kelley, saw a cherub in a crystal ball. Dee identified the cherub from his Kabbalistic knowledge as "Uriel, the angel of light." Later, in 1582, Dee had a vision of a child angel floating outside the window, holding a crystal egg. Again he identified this with Uriel.

Wilson claims that the crystal egg is preserved in the British Museum. [Colin Wilson. The Occult: A History. Random House, 1971, pp. 273-4]. Whether Uriel appears as a child, a powerful man or a woman of regal bearing, the archangel continues to command the imagination, reverence and devotion of people around the world.

Uriel is often referred to as the Great Archangel of the Earth, positioned to its North. Archangel Uriel assists in communicating with nature. He can be called on to assist with material and earthly matters. Uriel is the angel of Ecology, of science of the whole Earth and the inter-relationship of all life upon it.

He also supervises the Nature Spirits, those fairies and sprites who inhabit the elements of earth, air, fire and water and who add so much to the beauty of nature. The richness of his thick hair is encircled by a ring of glossy laurel leaves entwined in moss, and he wears linen robes woven in gold, green and russet red on the tiny looms of the "little people" of the earth.

Uriel is often seen with the bold and steady emblem of a bull embroidered upon his breast. Sometimes he is seen as winged, pawing the ground amidst a tapestry of ripened corn and scarlet poppies. This is the sign of Taurus—the solid, browsing animal and creature of the Earth, which signals instinctive perception of the physical world and the four great senses —Touch, Smell, Sight and Sound.

One contemporary account describes the archangel thus: "He (or she) is the keeper of the mysteries which are deep within the planet, underground and in the hidden depths of the living world."

Uriel holds many titles including Prince of Seraphim, Angel of the Presence, Angel of Poetry, Angel of Prophecy, Angel of Repentance, Angel of Thunder and Terror, Angel of Music, Angel
of September, Angel of Hunger, Angel of the South, Angel of Political Reform, Angel of the Nut Tree and Ruler of Hades.

According to Corinne Heline:

"The beautiful Uriel stands guardian over the activities of the summer. The ripening of grain and the floodtide of blossom are under his guidance. He also supervises the Nature Spirits, those fascinating little sprites who inhabit the elements of earth, air, fire and water, and who lend so much to the beautification of all nature. The highest initiatory teachings belonging to the New Age . . . are under the direction of Uriel."

Corinne Heline, The Blessed Virgin Mary
New Age Press, 1971, p. 110

Ascended Masters' Teaching on Archangel Uriel and Archeia Aurora

Archangel Uriel, whose name means “fire of God” or “God is my light,” is one of the leading angels of noncanonical tradition in which he appears as a seraph, cherub, flame of God, angel of the Presence, and presider over Tartarus (Hades). In I Enoch 20:2, he is the holy angel “who presides over clamour and terror”; he is also the angelic guide who accompanies Enoch in his journeys through heaven and the underworld.

In Paradise Lost III, Milton describes Uriel as “Regent of the Sun” and “sharpest sighted spirit of all in Heaven.” As the archangel of salvation in II Esdras, he acts as interpreter of Ezra’s visions and instructs him in the secrets of the universe. Although there is an obscure “Saint Uriel,” whose symbol is a flame held in an open hand, Archangel Uriel is noticeably absent from Catholic tradition.

According to the Capitular of Charlemagne, 789 A.D., the worship of Uriel was further rejected by a Roman Church Council under Pope Zachary. In ascended master teaching, Uriel and his divine complement, Aurora, are honored as the archangel and archeia of the sixth (purple and gold) ray of peace—it is the flame of Jesus Christ and the Piscean dispensation. They serve together to focus the flame of ministration and service and maintain an etheric retreat in the Tatra Mountains, south of Cracow, Poland. The presence of Uriel can be magnetized by the playing and singing of Brahms’ Lullaby.

Uriel and his twin flame, Aurora, serve on the purple and gold ray, the sixth ray, and they tutor individuals in gaining mastery in the solar-plexus chakra. This sixth ray is the ray of service and ministration, peace, brotherhood, resurrection and divine judgment of all that is evil. The purple and gold ray is flecked with ruby, which adds the intense action of divine love. It brings forth the desire to gain self-mastery in one’s Christ consciousness in order to serve both God and man.

Uriel and Aurora bring vibrations of peace and brotherhood wherever they are called. Whenever there is the need to soothe disagreements or to bring about brotherhood between people, they want to help. Wielding the power of discriminating judgment carried by the light of this ray, Uriel and Aurora separate the real from the unreal and their angels bind all that is not of the light in individuals and in the earth.

To help us accomplish our goals in this life, Archangel Uriel told us to affirm that God is one with our true Self by using the fiat: Peace, be still and know that I AM God! Using this fiat can bring the light of the sixth-ray archangels into your world in a powerful way. It sets the tone for overcoming all that is less than the Christ consciousness within us. You can give it as many times as needed to feel the energy in your solar plexus chakra and consciousness literally shift and become more peaceful.

In the name of Archangel Uriel and Aurora, Peace, be still and know that I AM God!

Archangel Uriel in Art

The Archangel Uriel has not been a popular subject of artistic representation. A few images once graced churches in Rome, but Uriel fell out of favor with church officials in the early Renaissance period. Pope Clement III reportedly ordered the removal of Uriel's image from the church of Santa Maria del Angeli in Rome and another painting of Archangel Uriel in the church in Piazza Esedra was painted over.

One of the reasons seems to have been a mistaken notion that Uriel was somehow connected with the Johannine heresy which claimed that John the Baptist, not Jesus, was the true messiah. The Book of Enoch, having been suppressed by the Church Fathers ultimately sealed the fate
of this archangel's disappearance from the Christian mystical tradition.

Uriel escaped unjust criticism in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, and it is in South America that we have found—and still find—the greatest reverence for the archangel.

The pictures shown below span several centuries and continents.

Archangel Uriel, Greece
holding his fiery sword of justice in his right hand
and the keys to the gates of Hades in his left hand

Archangel Uriel with the Fallen Satan
Gustave Dore, France

Archangel Uriel, England, 1794
engraving by W. Harley,
in The Poetical Works of John Milton

Uriel
Warminster, England

Uriel, Fuego de Dios, Colombia
Anonymous XVIIth century painting
Chapel of Parroquia de Sopó, Bogota

Uriel Dei, Bolivia
Anonymous XVIIth century painting
Art National Museum, La Paz

Oracion al Arcangel Uriel, Venezuela
Anonymous painting, Caracas

Uriel, Texas
Saint James Episcopalian Church
modern stained glass, Texarkana