Angel Yerathel (No. 27): Regency, Psalm, Symbolism and Reading

Who is Yerathel, angel No. 27?

Yerathel is the twenty-seventh angel in the list, at the heart of the choir of Dominions. His name is also written Ierathel or Yeratel. In French works he is linked to the idea of light: not the light of the sun, but the light that illuminates the mind, the knowledge that circulates and is shared.

Tradition also makes him the angel of words that liberate, in contrast to slander and verbal violence. He is often cited for those whose work involves writing and public speech.

Yerathel bears the number 27 in the list of the 72 angels of the Shem HaMephorash, which Kabbalistic tradition draws from three verses of Exodus (14:19 to 21). Everything that follows is presented according to Kabbalistic and esoteric tradition. For the origin of the system, read our introduction to the 72 angels.

Reference points in tradition

The dates follow the most common calendar (angel No. 1 reigns from 21 to 25 March, then five days per angel over 365 days). Sources sometimes shift by a few days, and leap years are treated differently: see how to calculate your guardian angel. According to many authors, the hour is counted in local solar time.

The verse and the name

The verse chosen is a plea from Psalm 140: the psalmist asks God to deliver him from the evil man and to preserve him from the violent man. The psalm then evokes sharp tongues, snares laid and words that wound. It is the prayer of someone on the receiving end of ill will who entrusts himself to someone greater than himself.

The angel takes from this verse its double face: a request for deliverance and, implicitly, an ideal of upright speech. Hence the link with light, which dispels rumours, and with the freedom to speak the truth.

According to tradition, the name is formed from the triplet of letters ירת (Yod, Resh, Tav) followed by the ending Aleph and Lamed (El, “God”). French spellings vary (Ierathel, Yeratel) depending on transliteration. Psalm 140 is Psalm 139 in the Vulgate; the title counts as verse 1 in Hebrew numbering. Lists of verses also differ slightly from one author to another.

What tradition associates with Yerathel

French works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries associate several themes with him:

• Light and knowledge: the spread of learning, civilisation, instruction.
• Right speech: expressing oneself clearly, against slander; hence the recent association with writers and journalists.
• Freedom of thought, understood as the right not to be silenced.
• Symbolic deliverance from painful or unjust situations, a theme taken directly from the verse.

These are interpretations: the names of the angels do not appear in the Bible, and these attributions vary from one publisher to another.

A reading for today

Today, Yerathel can serve as an emblem for a simple gesture: speaking or writing with care to be clear and fair. Anyone who has suffered a rumour, or who hesitates before writing a difficult message, knows what it means to look for “the right word”.

If a conflict weighs on you, this figure does not replace a real person to talk to: a friend, a mediator, a lawyer or a professional providing psychological support.

His period of the year and his sign

Yerathel’s period, from 29 July to 2 August, falls in summer (northern hemisphere, within the framework of the original calendar). It roughly covers the sign of Leo. In the table of the 36 decans, each ten-day span receives two angels: Yerathel shares his with Seheiah (No. 28).

In the choir of Dominions

In the “Celestial Hierarchy” attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (around 500), the Dominions open the second triad: they are credited with a role of governance and of regulating the order of the world. The term appears in the letter to the Colossians (1:16) and in the letter to the Ephesians (1:21). In the list of 72, this choir groups angels 25 to 32.

Yerathel is the third of the Dominions. Within the symbolism of this choir, which evokes order and regulation, he represents the part of order that passes through speech: rules that are spoken, written and shared.

To place Yerathel in the sequence of angels, here are his immediate neighbours: Haaiah (No. 26) before him and Seheiah (No. 28) after him. The choir is presented in detail on the page Choir of Dominions.

A gentle practice with Yerathel

A ten-minute writing exercise:

1. Choose a situation in which you must say something delicate, to a relative or a colleague.
2. First write, without showing it to anyone, what you would like to say in its harshest form.
3. Then rewrite it, keeping only what is true, precise and useful, without sweeping reproaches.
4. Read verse 2 of Psalm 140 once, calmly, then reread your text.

You remain the sole judge of what you send; this exercise is meant to clarify, not to decide for you.

What to keep in mind

This system is symbolic, not an established fact. Nothing demonstrates that a given angel corresponds to your date of birth, and no one can promise you protection or an outcome. Read these pages as a bestiary: for the images and the reflection they inspire.

The Catholic Church does not recognise this system: it retains only the three archangels named in Scripture, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Believers of all denominations nevertheless find in the psalms a text for prayer.

See also the guide to the 72 angels and the guide to the archangels.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Guide to the 72 guardian angels.