Meet Archangel Ariel, the Angel of Nature from learnreligions.com
Ariel means “altar” or “lion of God” in Hebrew. Other spellings include Ari’el, Arael, and Ariael. Ariel is known as the angel of nature.
As with all archangels, Ariel is sometimes depicted in male form; she is, however, more often seen as female. She oversees the protection and healing of animals and plants, as well as the care of the Earth’s elements (such as water, wind, and fire). She punishes those who harm God’s creation. In some interpretations, Ariel is also a liaison between the human and the elemental world of sprites, faeries, mystical crystals, and other manifestations of magic.
In art, Ariel is often depicted with a globe representing the Earth, or with elements of nature (such as water, fire, or rocks), to symbolize Ariel’s role caring for God’s creation on Earth. Ariel appears sometimes in male form and other times in the female form. She is often shown in pale pink or rainbow colors.
Origins of Ariel
In the Bible, Ariel’s name is used to refer to the holy city of Jerusalem in Isaiah 29, but the passage itself doesn’t refer to Archangel Ariel. The Jewish apocryphal text the Wisdom of Solomon describes Ariel as an angel who punishes demons. The Christian Gnostic text Pistis Sophia also says that Ariel works punishing the wicked. Later texts describe Ariel’s role caring for nature, including the “Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels” (published in the 1600s), which calls Ariel “Earth’s great lord.”
One of the Angelic Virtues
The angels were divided, according to St. Thomas Aquinas and other medieval authorities, into groups sometimes referred to as “choirs.” The choirs of angels include the seraphim and cherubim, as well as many other groups. Ariel is part of (or perhaps the leader of) the class of angels called the virtues, who inspire people on Earth to create great art and make great scientific discoveries, encourage them, and deliver miracles from God into people’s lives. Here is how one of the medieval theologians called Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite described the virtues in his work De Coelesti Hierarchia:
“The name of the holy Virtues signifies a certain powerful and unshakable virility welling forth into all their Godlike energies; not being weak and feeble for any reception of the divine Illuminations granted to it; mounting upwards in fullness of power to an assimilation with God; never falling away from the Divine Life through its own weakness, but ascending unwaveringly to the superessential Virtue which is the Source of virtue: fashioning itself, as far as it may, in virtue; perfectly turned towards the Source of virtue, and flowing forth providentially to those below it, abundantly filling them with virtue.”
How to Request Help From Ariel
Ariel serves as the patron angel of wild animals. Some Christians consider Ariel to be the patron saint of new beginnings.
People sometimes ask for Ariel’s help to take good care of the environment and God’s creatures (including both wild animals and pets) and to provide healing that they need, according to God’s will (Ariel works with the archangel Raphael when healing). Ariel can also help you to forge a stronger connection with the natural or elemental world.
To call upon Ariel, you need only request her guidance for goals that are within her realm. For example, you might ask her “please help me to heal this animal,” or “please help me to better understand the beauty of the natural world.” You can also burn an archangel candle dedicated to Ariel; such candles are typically pale pink or rainbow colored.
SOURCE: Hopler, Whitney. “Meet Archangel Ariel, the Angel of Nature.” Learn Religions, Feb. 8, 2021, learnreligions.com/archangel-ariel-the-angel-of-nature-124074.
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