There are many legends as to who the Queen Of The Angels really is. In Catholicism, the queen of angels ("regina angelium") is the Virgin Mary. In the cabala, it is the Shekinah; in gnosticism, it is Pistis Sophia. [Rf. Voragine, "The Golden Legend".]
Listed here are many of the traditions and their view on the Queen Of The Angels.
Female Angels
In Jewish occult lore, female angels are rare (the Shekinah is one). In gnostic lore there is, pre-eminently, Pistis Sophia ("faith, knowledge"), a great female aeon or archon, or angel. In Arabic legend, female angels are not uncommon and were often objects of worship or veration; they were called "benad hasche", that is, daughters of God.
Acamoth
One of the aeons, and a daughter of Pistis Sophia. In Ophitic gnosticism, Achamoth is the mother of the evil god Ildabaoth. [Rf. King, "The Gnostics and Their Remains.] (Aeon: in gnosticism, the aeon is a celestial power of a high order. It is a term used to designate the 1st created being or beings, with Abraxix as head; also, as an emanation of God, to be compared with the sefira. Since Crecation there have been, according to Basilides, 365 aeons (other sources give 8, 12, 24, & 30), chief among them, apart from Abraxis, being the female personification of wisdom (Pistis Sophia) and the male personification of power (Dynamis). Prior to the 6th century and the Dionysian hierachic system, the aeons were counted among the 10 angelic orders; they were personalized by the 3rd-century Hippolytus thus: Bythios, Mixis, Ageratos, Henosis, Autophyes, Hedone, Akinetos, Nonogenes, and Macaria. As far back as the 1st & 2nd centuries C.E., Ignatuius Theophorus, in his "Epistles to the Trallians", spoke of the "mightiness of the aeons, the diversity between thrones and authorities, the preeminence of the seraphim." "The aeons," says W. R. Newbold in "Descent of Christ in the Odes of Solomon" ("Journal of Biblical Literature", Dec 1912), "are the hypostatized thoughts of God, " emanated in pairs, male and female, and, "taken together form the pleroma or fullness of God." There is a myth of a proud aeon (probably Abraxis) who mirrored himself on chaos and become lord of the world. Early in life, George William Russell, the Irish poet and mystic, decided to sign his writings, "Aeon." A proofreader, who could not decipher the word, queried "AE"? Russell adopted the initials and thereafter never wrote under his own name. [Rf. King, "The Gnostics and Their Remains; Mead, "Fragments of a Faith Forgotten"; Geaorge William Russell (AE), "The Candle of Vision"]
Agrat bat Mahlat
An angel of prostitution, one of the 4 mates of Sammael. The other 3 mates are Lilith and Naamah, and Eisheth Zenunim. (Sammael or Samael: (Satanil, Samil, Satan, Seir, Salmael, etc.)-- a combination of "sam" meaning poison and "el" meaning angel. In rabbinic literature, Samael is chief of the Satans and the angel of death. In the "Secrets of Enoch (Enoch II) he is the prince of demons and a magician. Samael has been regarded both as evil and good; as one of the greatest and one of the foulest spirits operating in Heven, on earth, and in Hell. On the one hand he is said to be chief ruler of the 5th Heaven (in Jewish legendary lore his residence is usually placed in the 7th Heaven), one of the 7 regents of the world served by 2 million angels; on the other hand, he is "that great serpent with 12 wings that draws after him, in his fall, the solar system." [Cf. "Revelation 12.] Samael is also the angel of death (one of a number of such angels) whom God sent to fetch the soul of Moses when the Lawgiver's days on eath had come to an end. Talmuc "Yalkut I, 110", speaks of Samael as Esau's guardian angel. "Sotah 10b" speaks of Samael as Edom's sar (angelic prince guardian). In the "Sayings of Rabbi Eliezer", Samael is charged with being the one (in the guise of a serpent) who tempted Eve, seduced her, and became by her the father of Cain. In "The Zohar" (Vayishlah 170b), Samael is the dark angel who wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, although Michael, Uriel, Metatron, and others have been identified as this antagonist. Samael is also equated with the satan (i.e., the adversary) who tempted David to number Israel [Rf. I Chronicles 21]. "Targum Jonathan to the Prophets" renders Genesis 3:6 as: "And the woman saw Samael the angel of death." This verse is tanslated in the "Paraphrase of Job, 28:7", as: "the path of the Tree of Life which Samael, who flies like a bird, did not know, and which the eye of Eve did not perceive." In Waite, "The Holy Kabbahlah", p.244, Samael is characterized as the "severity of God" and is lited as 5th of the archangels of the world of Briah. Here he corresponds to the sefira Geburah. Cornelius Agrippa, "Three Books of Occult Philosophy", equates Samel with the Greek god Typhon. "Baruch III, 4", mentions "the angel Sammael." In Charles, "the Ascension of Isaiah IV, 7", occurs this passage: "And we ascended to the firmament, I and he (i.e., Isaiah and his escorting angel, a very glorious one, not named--but compare with the angel that Abraham encounters in the "Apocalypse of Abraham"], and there I saw Sammael and his hosts, and there was great fighting therin and the angels of Satan were envying one another." It is clear here that Sammael and Satan are interchangeable. In Longfellow's extensive poem, "The Golden Legend", when the rabbi asks Judas Iscariot why the dogs howl at night, the answer is: "In the Rabbinical book it sayeth/The dogs howl when, with icy breath,/Great Sammael, the Angel of Death,/Takes through the town his flight." In fiction, "Red Samel the Seducer," father of the hero, is a character in Cabell, "The Devil's Own Dear Son. Cabell calls Samael the "youngest and most virile of the 72 princes of Hell, a red-headed rogue who had made his reputation some centuries ago with both Even and Lilith." To Cabell, Samel belongs to the order of seraphim and is "first of the art critics."
Al Ussa
In pagan Arab mythology, a female angel. Her idol was destroyed on orders of Hohammed. [Rf. Jobes, "Dictionary of Mythology Folklore and Symbols.]
Apsu
In Babylonian mythology, Apsu is a female (?) angel of the abyss; "father" of the Babylonian gods as well as "wife" of Tamat. Apsu is finally slain by his (her) son Ea. [Rf. Lenormant, "Chaldean Magic"; Mackenzie, "myths of Babylonia and Assyria.]
Ardousisur (Arduisher)
In Zoroastrianism, Ardouisur is a female-ized (i.e., cherub). Among the attributes of this cherub is making females prolific and giving them easy childbirht, and even supplying them with breast milk. [Rf. "The Dabastan", p. 167.] Her title is "giver of living water, " says King in "The Gnostics and Their Remains", p. 106. (cherub (singular for cherubim): in the cabala, Cherub is one of the angels of the air. Cherubim: in name as well as in concept, the cherubim are Assyrian or Akkadian in origin. The work, in Akkadian, is karibu and means "one who prays" or "one who intercedes", although Dionysius declared the word to mean knowledge. In anceint Assyrian art, the chrubim were pictured as huge, winged creatures with leonine or human faces, bodies of bulls or sphinxes, eagles, etc. They were usually placed at entrances to palaces or temples as guardian spirits. In early Canaanitish lore, the cherubim were not conceived of as angels. [Cf. view of Theodorus, Bishop of Heracleaa, who declared, "these cherubims not to be any Angelicall powers, but rather some horrible visions of Beasts, which might terrify Adam from the entrance of paradise", from Salkeld, "A treatise of Angels". It was only later that the cherubim began to be regarded as heavenly spirits. To Philo ("On the Cherubim") they symbolized God's highest and chiefest potencies, sovereignty, and goodness. They are the 1st angels to be mentioned (and to be construed as angels) in the Old Testament (Genesis 3:22). They guarded with flaming sword the Tree of Life and Eden, hence their designation as the "flame of whirling swords." In Exodus 25:18 we find 2 cherubim "of gold," one on either side of the Ark (see picturization in Schaff, "A Dictionary of the Bible"). [Cf. "cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat" in Hebrews 9"5.] In Ezekiel (10:14) 4 cherubim, each with 4 faces and 4 wings, appear at the river Chebar where the Hebrew prophet glimpses them. In I Kings 6:23, the 2 cherubim in Solomon's temple are carved out of olive wood. In rabbinic and occult lore, the cherubim are prevailingly thought of as charioteers of God, bearer of His throne, and personifications of the winds. In Revelations (4:8) they are living creatures who render undeasing praise to their Maker. Here St. John refers to them as beasts (holy, divine beasts), 6-winged and "full of eyes within." John of Damascus in his "Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" also speaks of the Cherubim as "many-eyed". In Talmud the cherubim are equated with the order ophanim (wheels or chariots) or the order hayyoth (holy beasts) and are said to reside in the 6th or 7th Heaven. In the Dionysian scheme, the cherubim rank 2nd in the 9-choir hierarchy and ar guardians of the fiexed stars. Cheif rulers, as listed in most occult works, includ Ophaniel, Rikbiel, Cherubiel, Raphael, Gabriel, Sophiel, and--before his fall--Satan, who was, as Parente says in "The Angels", "the supreme angel in the choir of cherubim." In the early traditions of Muslim lore it is claimed that the cherubim were formed from the tears Michael shed over the sins of the faithful. [Rf. Hastings, "Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics" IV, 616, "Demons and Spirits (Muslim)."] In secular lore the cherubim have been called "black cherubim" (Dante), "young-eyed cherubim" (Shakespeare), "helmed cherubim" (Milton). Blake describes Satan as the "covering cherub" and turns the Ezekiel vision of the 4 creatures into his own "Four Zoas". The latter sound the 4 trumpets heralding the apocalypse. As angels of light, glory, and keepers of the celestial records, the cherubim excel in knowledge. [Rf. Lindsay, "Kerubim in Semitic Religion and Art."] The notion of winged, multiple-headed beasts serving as guardians of temples and palaces must have been general in many near-Eastern countries, for in addition to appearing in Assyryan-Chaldean-Babylonian art and writings (where the authors of Isaiah and Ezekiel doubtlessly first came upon them), they appear, as already noted, in Canaanitish lore (with which the Israelites were, of course, familiar, and which influenced or colored the accounts in Genesis and other Old Testament books). An ivory from the collection of king of Megiddo, circa 1200 B.C.E., reproduced on p. 45 of the "Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible", showes a Canaanite ruler seated on a throne, "supported by winged lions with human heads." These, say the editors of the "Atlas", "are the imaginary, composite beings which the Israelites called cherubim." As winged beasts with human heads, 2 cherubim are shown supporting the throne of Hiram, kind of anceint Byblos (see reproduction, p 132, vol. A-D of "interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible"). Among works of more modern times, Rubens' "Apotheosis of James I" (hanging in the banqueting hall of Whitehall in London and filling the long side panels) shows a precession of cherubs.)
Armaita (Aramaiti, Armaiti)
In Persian mythology, one of the 6 or 7 amesha spentas or archangels. She is the spirit of truth, wisdom, and goodness who became incarnate and visited the earth "to help the good." [Rf. "Grundiss der iranischen Philologie III"; Forlong, "Encyclopedia of Religions", Redfield, "Gods/A Dictionary of the Deities of All Lands."]
Aruru
In Sumerian mythology, a female messenger of the gods who created man from clay. She was the mother of the hero Gilgamesh.
Astarte (Ashteroth, Ashtoreth, Ishtar-Venus, etc.)
Chief female diety of the ancient Phoenicians, Syrians, Carthaginians. Astarte was a Syrian moon goddess of fertility. As Ashteroth she was worshipped by the Jews in times when idolatry was prevalent in Plestine: "Ashotoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians" (II Kinds, 23:13), the Zidonians being the Phoenicians. Jeremiah called Ashtoreth the "queen of heaven." The Greeks borrowed their Aphrodite from Astarte. Finally, Astarte shows up, in occult lore, as the demon for the month of April. In "Paradise Lost" (I, 438), Astarte is a fallen angel, quated with Astoreth. [Rf. Redfield, "Gods/A Dictionary of the Deities of All Lands"; De Plancy, "Dictionnaire Infernal" IV, 138; and near-Eastern mythologies.]
Barbelo
A great archon (female) "perfect in glory and next in rank to the Father-of-All." She is the consort of Cosmocrator. [Rf. the gnostic "Gospel of Mary" and the "Apocryphon of John."] In the "Texts of the Saviour", Barbelo is the daughter of Pistis Sophia, procreator of the superior angels. (Cosmocrator: in Valentian gnosticism, Cosmocrator is ruler of the material cosmos in the guise of Diabolos (the devil). His consort is Barbelo and together "they sing praise to the Powers of the Light," which would indicate that Cosmocrator is not wholly evil. [Rf. "Pistis Sophia"])
Benad Hasche ("daughters of God")
Female angels worshipped by Arabs. [Rf. Preface to Moore, "The Loves of the Angels.]
Derdekea
A heavenly female power who descends to earth for the salvation of man. In the gnostic "Paraphrase of Shem", Derdekea is referred to as the Supreme Mother. (also known as Drop in the gnostic "Berlin Codex")
Eisheth Zenunim (Isheth Zenunim)
In Zoharistic cabala, an angel of whoredom or prostitution, one of the 4 mates of the evil Sammael.
Ephinoia
In Valentianian gnosticism, the 1st female manifestation of God. Cf. the Shekinah, also Holy Ghost (the latter being regarded in some sources as the mother of the living, Zoe, hence female). [Rf. Doresse, "The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics", p. 202.]
Epititiokh
A virgin aeon, mentioned in gnostic lore. [Rf. Doresse, "The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics", p. 178.]
Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit)
Another name for the Comforter, the 3rd person in the Trinity, sometimes regarded as female. The apocryphal "The Gospel According to the Hebrews" makes the Lord speak of "my mother the Holy Ghost" who "took me by one of my hairs and carried me to the great mountain Tabor" (traditionally the mountain of the Transfiguration). The "mother" reference here is explained by the fact that in Aramaic, which Jesus spoke, as also in Hebrew, the word "spirit" or "ghost" is of feminine gender. Origen "On John II, 12", quotes the cited passages from "The Gospel According to the Hebrews." [Rf. Harnack, "History of Dogma" IV, 308; Hervieux, "The New Testament Apocrypha" p. 132; Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible, Tabor"] The "Commentary on Apocalypse of the Blessed John" suggest that "by the angel flying through the midst of Heaven is signified the Holy Spirit."
Hurmiz
One of the daughters of Lilith. Hurmiz is mentioned in Talmud "Sabbath" 151b. [Rf. Thompson, "Semitic Magic", p. 71.]
John the Baptist
The "forerunner angel" as in Exodus 23:20,; Malachi 3;1, Matthew 11:10. "Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way to breing thee into the place I have prepared." In "The Zohar" (Vayehi, 232a), Rabbi Judah delcared: "This angel, this deliverer of the world, is sometimes male, sometimes female. When he procures blessings for the world, he is male, resembling the male who prides blessings for the females. But when he comes to bring chastisement on the world, he is female, being, as it were, pregnant with the judgment." In the Coptic "book of John the Evangelist", Jesus speaks of "Helias the prophet" (meaning John the Baptist) and refers to the latter as an angel sent by Satan (sic) to baptize the water. [Rf. James, "The Apocrypal New Testament", p. 191] "In the incons of the Eastern Church he (John the Baptist) is always depicted with wings, to indicate his office as messenger (i.e., angel) sent before the face of Christ"--from Gales, "The Christian Lore of Angels."
Lilith
In Jewish tradition, where she originated, Lilith is a female demon, enemy of the infants, bride of the evil angel Sammael (Satan). She predated Eve, had marital relations with Adam, and must thus be regarded as our first parent's 1st wife. According to Rabbi Eliezer ("The Book of Adam and Eve"), Lilith bore Adam every day 100 children. "The Zohar (Leviticus 19a) describes Lilith as "a hot fiery female who at first cohabited with man", but when Eve was created, "flew to the cities of the sea coast, " where she is "still trying to ensnare mankind." She has been identified (incorrectly) with the screech owl in Isaiah 34:14. In the cabala she is the demon of Friday and is represented as a naked woman whose body terminates in a serpent's tail. While commonly regarded as the creation of the rabbis of the early Middle Ages (the first traceable mention of Lilith occurs in a 10th-century folktale called the "Alphabet of Ben Sira"), Lilith is in fact drawn from the "lili", female demonic spirits in Mesophotamian demonology, and known as "ardat lili". The rabbis read Lilith into Scripture as the 1st temptress, as Adam's demon wife, and as the mother of Cain. [Rf. Thompson, "Semitic Magic; Christian, "The History and Practice of Magic."] In Talmudic lore, as also in the cabala ("The Zohar"), most demons are mortal, but Lilith and two other notorious female spirits of evil (Naamah and Agrat bat Mahlat) will "continue to exist and plague man until the Messianic day, when God will finally extirpate uncleanliness and evil from the face of the earth." In Scholem's articl on one of the medieval writers in the magazine "Mada'e ha Yahudut" (II, 164ff.), Lilith and Sammael are said to have "emanated from beneath the throne of Divine Glory, the legs of which were somewhat shaken by their [joint] activity." It is know, of course, that Sammael (Satan) was once a familiar figure in Heaven, but not that Lilith went by a score of names, 17 of which she revealed to Elijah when she was forced to do so by the Old Testament prophet. [The names of Lilith: Abeko, Abito, Amizo, Batna, Eilo, Ita, Izorpo, Kali, Kea, Kokos, Lilith, Odam, Partasah, Patrota, Podo, Satrina, Talto...Lilith is also named "Astaribo" in medieval magic..."Avitue" in rabbinic lore..."Bat Zuge" is a term for the evil Lilith when she is regarded as the 10th of the 10 unholy sefiroth or divine emanations issuing from the left side of God [Rf. "The Zolhar"]
Naamah ("pleasing")
In the cabala, one of 4 angels of prostitution, all mates of Sammael, the other 3 being Lilith, Eisheth Zenunim, and Agrat (Iggereth) Bat Mahlat. According to Rabbi Isaac, the sons of God, specifically Uzza and Azael, were corrupted by Naaman. Rabbi Simeon called her mother of demons, and Rabbi Hiya believed she was the "great seducer not only of men but of spirits and demons," and that, with Lilith, she "brought epilepsy to children." [Rf. "The Zohar I, 55a."] In "The Legends of the Jews I, 150", Naamah is the mother of the devil Asmodeus by the angel-demon Shamdan. In Genesis 4:22, Naamah is a mortal, the sister Tubal-cain.
Ouestucati
A female angel of an hour who comes from the hesperides and brings the sea wind. She is called "the lady of chaste hands" by H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) in the latter's poem "Sagesse". In the cabala, Ouestucati is the corresponding angel of Iehuiah. (Iehuiah: an angel of the order of thrones or of powers, a protector of princes, and one of the 72 angels bearing the mystical name of God Shemhamphorae. For Iehuiah's sigil, see Ambelain, "La Kabbale Pratique", p. 273.)
Pistis Sophia ("faith", "wisdom")
A female aeon, one of the greatest in gnostic lore. She is said to have procreated "the superior angles." It was Pistis Sophia who sent the serpent to entice Adam and Eve. [Rf. Mead, "Pistis Sophia".] According to the "Texts of the Saviour", she is the mother of Barbelo.
Rachel ("a ewe")
In the cabala, the Shekinah when "re-organized" as the Celestial Bride on her way to reunifications with God. She is one of the 4 matriarchs, rulers of the province in Heaven reserved for the daughters, wives, and sisters of the great Hebrew patriarchs. [Rf. Scholem, "Major Trensd in Jewish Mysticism; Ginzberg, "The Legends of the Jews" V, 33.]
Savatri (Savitri, Savitar)
One of the 7 or 12 adityas or "infinite ones" (angels) in Vedic lore. He (or she) is a sun god or goddess, and is described as having "a golden hand, golden eyes" and "drawn by luminous brown steeds with white feet." In Vedic hymns Savatri is identified with Prajapati, the Creator. "Upon that excellent glory/of the god Savitar may we meditate;/May he stimulate our prayers." [Rf. Forlong, Encylopedia of Religions"; Gaynor, "Dictionary of Mysticism"; Redfield, "Gods/A Dictionary of the Deities of All Lands.]
Shekinah (Hebrew, "shachan", meaning "to reside"--Schechinah, Matrona, etc.)
The female manifestation of God in man, the diving "inwohnung" (indwelling). Also, the "bride of the Lord", compatible with the shakti of Shiva. The expression "the Shekinah rests" is used as a paraphrase for "God dwells." In Genesis 48:16 "the Angels which redeemed me from all evil, " uttered by Israel (Jacob), applies to the Shekinah, according to "The Zohar" (Balak 187a). In the New Testament sense, the Shekinah is the glory emanating from God, His effulgence. The passage in Matthew 18:20 is translated by C. W. Emmet (in Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible") to read: "when two sit together and are occupied with the word of the Law, the Shekinah is with him." As interpreted by the Rabbi Johanan ("Midrash Rabba"; Exodus), Michael is the glory of Shekinah. The Shekinah is the liberating Angel, manifesting in her male aspect as Metatron. In the cabala, she is the 10th sefira Malkuth, otherwise the Queen. The creation of the world was, according to "The Zohar", the work of the Shekinah. Here, too, the Shekihah is spoken of as "abiding in the 12 holy chariots and the 12 supernal hayyoth." Elsewhere in "The Zohar" she is mentioned as a messenger from on high who, when she first appeared to Moses, was called an angel, just as she was called by Jacob. In "The Zohar" (Exodus 51a) she is "the way of the Tree of Life" and the "angel of the Lord." Maimonides in "moreh Nubuchim" regarded the Shekinah as an intermediary between God and the world, or as a perphrasis for God. [Rf. "Universal Jewish Encylopaedia", vol. 9, p. 501.] The Shekinah has been identified with the Holy Ghost and the Epinoia of the gnostic Valentinus. Of her it has been said (Waite, "The Holy Kabbalah") "Behold, I send and angel before thee, to keep the in the way" (Exodus 23.20), which has also been applied to Metatron and John the Baptist, "the forerunner angel." According to legend (Ginzberg, "The Legends of the Jews II", 148 and 200), Aaron died by a kiss from the Shekinah. In the same source (II, 260) it is related that Abraham caused the Shekinah to come down from the 2nd Heaven. And Talmud tells us that when God drove Adam out of the earthly paradise, the Shekinah remained behind "enthroned above a cherub under the Tree of Life, her splendor being 65,000 times brighter than the sun," and that this radiance "made all upon whom it fell exempt from disease"; and, further, that then "neither insects nor demons could come nigh unto such to do them harm." An account somewhat at variance with the foregoing is given in Scholems' two works: "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism" and "Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition", where it is reported that the Shekinah was sent into exile on Adam's fall and that "to lead the Shekinah back to God and to unite her with Him is the true purpose of the Torah." A reference to the dwelling place of the Shekinah occurs in "Canticles Rabba 6": "The original abode of the Shekinah was among the tahtonim [that is, among the lower ones: human beings, earth]. When Adam sinned, i [the abode] ascended to the 1st Heaven. With Cain's sin, it ascended to the 2nd Heaven. With Enoch's, to the 3rd. With the generation of the Flood, to the 4th. With the generations of the Tower of Babel, to the 5th. With the Sodomites, to the 6th. With the sin of the Egyptians in the days of Abraham, to the 7th." Corresponding to these there arose 7 righteous men who brought the Shekinah back to earth again. They were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kehath (Levi's son and Moses' grandfather), Amram, and Moses. A haggadah about the Shekinah is that she hovers over all conjugal unions between Jewish husbands and wives and blesses such unions with her presence. [See "Talmud Shabbath 55b"; "Bereshith Rabba" 98, 4. In this reference, cf. the Roman goddes Pertunda, presider over the marriage couch.]
Woman Clothes with the Sun
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of 12 stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered" (Revelation 12:1-2). This is perhaps the only instance in angelology where a heavenly creature is pregnant. From the text, she is the celestial prototype or counterpart of the Virgin Mary, mother of the son of God. According to Heckethorn, "The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries" (I, 108), the Woman Clothed with the Sun stems from the Egyptian Isis.
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