Oriphiel (archangel)

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Oriphiel, whom Rudolf Steiner also calls the Angel of Wrath, is one of the 7 leading Archangels who rule over the planetary spheres. His dominion is the Saturn sphere. Oriphiel is also closely connected with the forces of Old Saturn, on which the germs of our sense organs were predisposed, and therefore also has a strong effect on the sensuality of man.

Oriphiel and the secrets of the Saturn sphere

The secrets of the Saturn sphere, over which Oriphiel rules, can only be seen when one has passed the age of 63.

„There are certain secrets of the world view that can only be seen through when one has reached a fairly high age. If one is in possession of the science of initiation, the individual ages allow one to look at the individual secrets of existence. Thus between the twenty-first and forty-second years of life one can see into the solar relations - not before. Thus between the forty-second and forty-ninth years one can see into the secrets of Mars; thus between the forty-ninth and fifty-sixth years into the secrets of Jupiter. But if one wishes to see the mysteries of the world in connection, one must have passed the age of sixty-three. Therefore, I would not have been able to say certain things, which I am now saying openly, before I was in this position. For if one wishes to see through that which relates to the Michael mysteries, which works from the spiritual region of the Sun, then one must look up from the Earth into the mysteries of the world through the wisdom of Saturn. Then one must be able to feel that twilight in the spiritual world, to live in it, which comes from Oriphiel ruling Saturn, who was the leading Archangel at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha and who will again be the leading Archangel after the Michael-time has expired.“ (Lit.:GA 240, p. 194f)

Oriphiel as leader of the planetary intelligences

Since the 8th century the planetary intelligences under the leadership of Oriphiel have increasingly emancipated themselves from the solar intelligence of Michael and have come into opposition to him.

„Only when these centuries came up, the 8th, 9th, 10th century, it just happened that the planetary intelligences took into account the circumstances that the Earth had changed, that the Sun had also changed. Yes, what is going on out there, what the astronomers describe, is only the outside. You know: Every eleven years or so we have a sunspot period; the Sun shines on the Earth in such a way that certain spots are dark, certain spots are blotchy. It was not always like that. In very ancient times the Sun shone down as a uniform disc, sunspots were not there. And the Sun, after thousands and thousands of years, will have many more spots than it has today, it will become more and more spotted. That is always the outer revelation of the fact that the Michael force, the cosmic force of intelligence, is decreasing more and more. In the increase of sunspots through the cosmic evolution, the decay of the Sun is revealed; the growing duller, the growing old of the Sun in the cosmos is more and more apparent. And the appearance of a sufficiently large number of sunspots made the other planetary intelligences realise that they no longer wished to be ruled by the Sun. They resolved to make the Earth no longer dependent on the Sun, but directly dependent on the whole Cosmos. This is done through the planetary counsels of the Archangeloi. Namely, under the leadership of Oriphiel, this emancipation of the planetary intelligence from the solar intelligence is taking place. It was a complete separation of world powers that until then had belonged together. The solar intelligence of Michael and the planetary intelligences gradually came into cosmic opposition to each other.“ (Lit.:GA 237, p. 170f)

Angel of Wrath

According to Rudolf Steiner, Oriphiel is the Angel of Wrath who purifies humanity with a strong hand:

„Whoever today, under Michael's rule, feels the urge to participate in the spiritual life, is called to serve the Archangel Michael and to learn under him, so that he may one day be mature enough to serve the terrible Oriphiel in the right way. A sacrifice is required of those who wish to consecrate themselves to a higher life. Only under the condition that one wants to receive the spiritual life and experience the awakening, if one later wants to use oneself, one's will, everything only in the service of humanity.

In four to six hundred years, the small group of people who are being prepared today will serve God Oriphiel, so that humanity may be saved. If in that age such people were to take over the spiritual leadership who have not been prepared to withstand all storms and to defy the hosts of Mammon, they would not be able to serve the Archangel Oriphiel in the right way, and humanity would not be lifted out of its misery. But in order for this to happen, we must work with all seriousness today, so that we can then fulfil our tasks in the right way.

But when the dark forces are at their most terrible, even the brightest light shines. Oriphiel has already reigned once. That was at the time when the Christ appeared on Earth. At that time, terrible powers of decay and decadence ruled everywhere on Earth. And only by cruel means could the human race be shaken up. Oriphiel is called the Angel of Wrath, who purifies humanity with a strong hand.

The Bible's account of Christ wielding the scourge to cleanse the temple of the changers has a profound meaning. At that time, when it was darkest on Earth, the Christ appeared as the Saviour of mankind. 109 years after Christ's appearance, the reign of Oriphiel came to an end and was replaced by Anael. Then followed Zachariel, then Raphael. At the time of the Renaissance Samael ruled, from the 16th century until November 1879 Gabriel. Then Michael took over, and around the year 2400 Oriphiel, the terrible angel of wrath, will again take over. And then, as once, the spiritual light will shine brightly and radiantly into the darkness: the Christ will again appear on earth, albeit in a different form than then. To receive Him, to serve Him, to this we are called.“ (Lit.:GA 266a, p. 184f)

Oriphiel Age

According to Rudolf Steiner, the last Archangel regency of Oriphiel lasted from 200 B.C. - 150 A.D. The Mystery of Golgotha fell into this period. Around 2300 or 2400 A.D. Oriphiel will replace the present regency of Michael with a new Oriphiel age. Oriphiel ages are always characterised by dramatic and very decisive events for the development of humanity. Oriphiel brings the wrath of God (Lit.:GA 266a, p. 263).

„After the Michaelic age comes the age of Oriphiel. This will be an evil, terrible age, in which all the terrible forces of egoism, harshness, crudeness and unkindness will be unleashed. It is the task of the little group of spiritualised souls to let pure truth, love and goodness flow into this evil age and thus purify it and bring the world forward towards the sixth day of creation, in the dawn of which we now stand.“ (Lit.:GA 266a, p. 258)

„In the age of Oriphiel, Christ was born; when Oriphiel comes to rule again (in a few centuries), the spiritual light brought by Christian Rosenkreutz and now being spread must also have produced a host of clear-sighted people who are purposeful pioneers. This will bring about the separation into two main currents, a race of the good and a race of the bad. The fifth root race will perish through evil.“ (Lit.:GA 266a, p. 170)

„Michael's reign of radiance will again be replaced by a dark, terrible age which will begin around the year 2400. Already today, at the same time as Michael, a dark god has taken up his reign: the god Mammon.

For occultism, Mammon is not only the god of money. Rather, he is the leader of all low, black forces. And his hosts attack not only the souls of men, but also the physical bodies of men, to corrode and ruin them. People talk so much about bacilli today not because they know more about them, but because they have really taken on a very special form today. And in the future they will become alarmingly prevalent. When that black age approaches, fratricidal strife and fratricidal warfare will rage in a dreadful manner, and the poor bodies of men will waste away in a terrible way infested with disease and pestilence. The brand of sin will be impressed on the bodies of men for all to see. Then another archangel will have dominion: Oriphiel. He must come to awaken people, to awaken them to their true destiny through cruel torments. And so that this can happen in the right way, a small group of people must be prepared today, so that in four to six hundred years, in the black age, they could spread the esoteric life and guide humanity.

Whoever today, under Michael's rule, feels the urge to participate in spiritual life, is called to serve the Archangel Michael and to learn under him, so that he may one day be mature enough to serve the terrible Oriphiel in the right way. A sacrifice is required of those who wish to consecrate themselves to a higher life. Only under the condition that one wants to receive the spiritual life and experience the awakening, if one later wants to use oneself, one's will, everything only in the service of humanity.

In four to six hundred years, the small group of people who are being prepared today will serve God Oriphiel, so that humanity may be saved. If in that age such people were to take over the spiritual leadership who have not been prepared to withstand all storms and to defy the hosts of Mammon, they would not be able to serve the Archangel Oriphiel in the right way, and humanity would not be lifted out of its misery. But in order for this to happen, we must work with all seriousness today, so that we can then fulfil our tasks in the right way.

But when the dark forces are at their most terrible, even the brightest light shines. Oriphiel has already reigned once. That was at the time when the Christ appeared on Earth. At that time, terrible powers of decay and decadence ruled everywhere on Earth. And only by cruel means could the human race be shaken up. Oriphiel is called the Angel of Wrath, who purifies humanity with a strong hand.

The Bible's account of Christ wielding the scourge to cleanse the temple of the changers has a profound meaning. At that time, when it was darkest on Earth, the Christ appeared as the Saviour of mankind. 109 years after Christ's appearance, the reign of Oriphiel came to an end and was replaced by Anael. Then followed Zachariel, then Raphael. At the time of the Renaissance Samael ruled, from the 16th century until November 1879 Gabriel. Then Michael took over, and around the year 2400 Oriphiel, the terrible angel of wrath, will again take over. And then, as once, the spiritual light will shine brightly and radiantly into the darkness: the Christ will again appear on Earth, albeit in a different form than then. To receive Him, to serve Him, to this we are called.“ (Lit.:GA 266a, p. 283ff)

Oriphiel's effect on sensuality and sexuality

The impulses of Oriphiel have an effect on the sensuality of man and especially on sexuality. These forces are already at work today, but will increase significantly in the coming Oriphelian age.

„The Earth is now (periodically) under the influence of the Saturnian forces of the Earth, that is, the forces which the Earth has retained from Old Saturn, on which the first beginnings to our organs were formed. (Saturn's task was to develop the first germs to our physical sense organs).

The Earth is periodically under the influence of the forces of the planets whose condition we have passed through. And so we are now under the influence of the Saturnian forces of the Earth. The Saturnian forces act on the sense organs, which are developed to a height not reached before. This explains why the striving and aspiration of humanity is directed to such a great extent towards the sensuous.

Oriphiel receives his powers from the present Saturn. After four hundred years he will take up his reign again. Then, when the earthly forces of Saturn unite with the forces of the present Saturn, things will become much worse on Earth. The terrible degenerations which we already see in sexual matters will reach a much higher degree; they could not exist at all if Saturn did not rule the Earth.“ (Lit.:GA 266a, p. 261f)

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.
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