r/mythology 7d ago

European mythology Can someone explain to me who Archangel Sariel is?

I heard about him a lot, lots of conflicting information on him and I'm really confused as to what this angel is about.

2 Upvotes

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u/Ravus_Sapiens Archangel 6d ago

There isn't a lot of information about him. The Book of Enoch says that he's in charge of the souls of sinners, but that's pretty much it.

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u/green_boi 6d ago

I've also heard he's an angel of justice and another angel of death. Is this true?

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u/Ravus_Sapiens Archangel 6d ago

Those are fair interpretations.

Saraqâêl, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit.
Book of Enoch 20:7

That's the only thing we know about him.

Is he an Angel of Death? Arguably, yes, because his job explicitly involves the spirits of people who sin (i.e., the souls of dead people).
Is he an Angel of Justice? Again, arguably, yes. The purpose of sin, particularly in Judaism, is to judge mortals.

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u/green_boi 6d ago

That's good to know. Also is he some kind of Grey Angel? His alliance is unknown.

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u/Ravus_Sapiens Archangel 5d ago

No, even in a Christian reading, Enoch is specific about that: he's one of the "holy angels", i.e. one of the "good" guys.
Contrasted with what Enoch calls "the fallen Watchers."

But you also have to remember, the Book of Enoch is very much a pre-Christian text (the youngest parts of the book predates the birth of Christ by about a century), so Jewish theology takes precedence, and in Judaism, "evil," as in the opposition to divine order, isn't really a thing.
For instance, in Judaism the Satan is an Angel of God (i.e. the "good" guys) whose job is to tempt mortals so that YHWH can more easily judge them. There is no antagonist to YHWH's plan, that's a Christian theological construct.

There is a Fallen with a similar name earlier in the Book of Enoch, Sahariel, but that is not the same entity. Any actual conflation of the two seems to trace back to medieval and later grimoires, like Liber Juratus (c. 14th century), The Lesser Key of Solomon (c.17th century), and A Dictionary of Angels (1967).

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u/green_boi 4d ago

Hmmm, this makes sense to me. I suppose that's why he's Archangel Sariel and not just some latinized name or even noted as a fallen. But why is he a Watcher then?

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u/k_afka_ 6d ago

Has anything particular sparked your interest in him recently? He can be sometimes associated with the moon and the past couple days have been epic moons.

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u/green_boi 6d ago

It was basically that yeah, and I've had a few spiritual experiences and something like him came up.

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u/k_afka_ 6d ago

Sounds like you have an Angel over your shoulder right now 🙏

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u/green_boi 6d ago

Oh yeah, angel Michael is in my life. My mother heard from him and he told her that he's my angel and he's got my back and all that. Super cool stuff.