Angels originate in the Jewish tradition which predates Christianity quite a bit.....
Also the word angel comes from the word angellos which simply means messenger, there are messengers of the divine in many cultures. Archangel Michael is believed to be based on a Chaldean spiritual being.
The word demon comes from the word daimon which simply means spirit, not necessarily evil or good.
Having worked with angels and demons, they're equally fascinating. I have spent more time with angelic entities than demonic ones though. Angels aren't the cute cherubim images we have been inundated with over the years - they are very old-school if that makes sense. Ones I've worked with seem to resemble ancient Babylonian if taking a form. Both will cause you to face yourself - demons in near physical manifestation.
I think angels and demons have more to do with the own duality found within ourselves. Everyone has these two sides and each serves a strong purpose in our life. Demons we can command, order, make them do our bidding with a firm hand while angels will work only if they find the cause justifiable. This is of course all in my personal experience and it can differ from person to person. I know some people personally find one or the other distasteful and refuse to work with it.
Either way, very powerful magic. I'd liken it to perhaps a lesser form of using djinn or archon.
As for incubuses and succubuses, I haven't worked with either of those and thus have no opinion.
Hadit, you're right, the names are titles. But what you failed to mention is that the translation you gave is only one way to translate it. For instance, the "Sam" of Samael means blind or poison. "el" is a loaded word, with one translation meaning "god". El was, after all also a title used for a variety of deities depending on the region. I like to think that when there are double meanings that both can and do apply. So it could be "poison of god" or it could mean "blind god". You could of course create a list of other variations, but I'm including two that show the most contrast. Most "angels" and "demons" were viewed as deities originally. I don't believe that all "angels" and "demons" are deity status, but many of the most well known ones do have their roots.
The problem is, that people think of "gods" as being "all powerful" when it was never that simple within polytheistic cultures of ancient times. God is a word that has developed quite a lot over time and people expect it to mean the same thing from culture to culture when language doesn't convert over into one another so very simply.
That's why I prefer to merely say "higher being". It makes it so much less complicated!
The intent of this forum was to be about opinions not facts. The only true fact on the subject of demons and angels is that there are no facts. Science has yet too prove or disprove them. Your opinions may be that they do or do not exhist but niether is fact. The mature route is to debate and discuss, the immature route is to argue and insult. I would advise everyone to remember your words speak more about yourself than the subject of what you say.
I agree Whiteraven, however I have always believed angels to not be gods, but then again the Jews did not believe pagan gods to be gods and originally thought of them as a group of angels (within the qabalah), that is not even of an archangelic status. I believe it is the Christian magicians who then turned the pagan deities into demons, or 'lesser spirits'.
I think of Archangels as Briatic beings, I think of gods as being higher than that in the Atziluthic plane of existence. But that is just the need to categorise I suppose....
I like to think of them as an expression of the source filtered through the lens of our perception and belief and agree that the term higher being is much more simpler to use and beneficial in the long run.
I have no education or experience on any of those 'beings' except from angels. I have always believed in spirits since being a young child, but didn't think there was anything else until more recently in life. I have been guided by them, when I say them, I mean more than one angel has helped me on more than one occasion, for several years now. I am not a Christian as I do not believe in one God and I never thought I would believe in Angels because in the world I was brought up in Angels did the work of God - end of! It has been a strange path of testing them and confusing messages for me, but that was down to my own personal battle and not through lack of love and warm feeling and safety they seem to project. I am now enjoying a learning curve of amazing proportion as I discover the knowledge that makes some of the puzzle pieces fit and I'm sure I will fill in the rest with more understanding as well as my own ideas too. But I am not an expert, just learning and can only say what I believe and what I have felt. So in my opinion I can only say that I believe angels are real and you can connect with them to help bring you messages or help you follow your life path. I have not read too much on here about angels but there are plenty of books and I know spirtwolf could tell you more (the only one I have noticed so far that knows them well). I hope you find the information you seek - if not try asking an angel :)
@Hadit, I like the way you think. I believe in many "gods" but don't see deities the way many do. I believe the gods are subject to this world and that just as we have a micocosm within us that makes up who we are, our macrocosm is the microcosm of what we refer to as the "Source". Each is interconnected because we are the link between the macro and microcosm we exist within. I also think that the "realms" of deities are actually their own little world that they invite us into. In that way, yes, we are all a facet, all a reflection of the Source. But it could very well be turtles all the way up. So categorization does indeed work. But I don't like doing so because I feel that it makes some beings seem inferior to others, when in truth they all have special purpose or skill that is better performed by them.
@BeingMe It looks like you have quite a nice foundation. If you have an affiniity for communication with what you consider angels, then perhaps you should consider studying Enochian magick.
Just as I am an expression of the source- have my own particular nature and strengths etc. so do the gods. I am a manifestation of a particular force and I have to carry out my task- as human beings however we have many capabilities.
Gods and spiritual being are in my opinion the manifestations of certain natural forces. People hate it when I say this, but it does not mean I do not believe they can be individual beings. These natural forces are more specific (macrocosmic) they are all found within our beings (in terms of mental states and behaviours) because we are a reflection of all that is higher than us.
I believe the qabalistic way of categorization is just to make the generation of a specific invocation easier- starting from the abstract god in the furthermost world and focusing this energy down to a specific angel which governs a specific principle in the closest plane (and even further in some cases to spirits.)
I recently started working through scrying the enochian aethyr Tex. Certainly interesting stuff, those angels are most certainly very talkative in my own experience.
That sounds interesting. I'd love for you to post a little about some of your experience with it when you have the time.
I agree with you and I think we have very similar beliefs, it's just the perspective is altered through our different paths. And I can just about guaranty that we have thoroughly confused the majority of the people reading this =P
