Archangel Haniel

I was delighted to see an old friend appear when I chose the card for this month: Archangel Haniel. She is not a well-known figure, but my experience in working with her has been that she is no less powerful than her fellow Archangels, and her special qualities can provide a balm for these troubled times.

As her imagery suggests, Haniel is strongly associated with the Moon, which is in turn associated with qualities that are widely accepted as feminine. Haniel’s name means ‘Grace, or Glory of God’ and I like Kyle Gray’s description from his writings about her: 

Haniel’s energy has a lunar effect—when she works with us, she can bring a tide of change that affects our whole life. As the glory of God, she enables us to see our divine gifts and qualities. She reminds us that these aren’t always intense; they can be so subtle that we miss them. But when we call on this angel, she will illuminate them so that we can shine as a glorious child of God.

Personally, I have learned so much from Haniel about why it is important to honor our feelings—an important aspect of Divine Feminine wisdom—rather than always trying to suppress them. I come from a background where emotions are suppressed as a matter of course, so successfully that it took a long time for me to recognize this in myself, and the detrimental effects it was having. When my mother died last year, Haniel appeared again and again to wrap a healing blanket of compassion around me that allowed plenty of space for my feelings to be honored without overwhelming me. Through that experience, I came to understand at a deeper level why we must honor our emotions if we wish to heal both personal and collective traumas.

It struck me then, as it does now, that while Haniel’s gentle yet powerful energy of allowing is usually too subtle to get our attention, it may be the most needed thing on the planet right now. It is so easy to get caught up in all the drama playing out in the world today, and all signs indicate that this is only going to intensify in the weeks, months, and dare I say, years to come. The stress of these times is literally killing us, but what if we could learn to simply soften around our emotional reactions to everything that’s happening, allow them to be there, and invite the angels to support us in this?

I suspect this might help us find ways to heal the wounds of separation that have brought humanity to this point of crisis, solutions that we were simply unable to see before because we were so focused on the problem. It might help us accept necessary changes to our lifestyle that must happen to address the socioeconomic inequality that is killing the planet’s life support system even as it tears communities and nations apart. Most critically, it will help more of us lessen the grip of ego consciousness on our minds, so we can awaken to the unity that we have always been, which is the single most powerful force for healing in the world.

The tide changes slowly and gently, but it leaves nothing untouched. This month and beyond, I invite you to discover what Archangel Haniel can teach you about the power of feminine qualities like compassion, allowing, humility and trust to help you live with grace in changing times.