Angel Reyel (No. 29): Regency, Psalm, Symbolism and Reading

Who is Reyel, angel No. 29?

Reyel is the twenty-ninth angel of the list, the fifth of the choir of Dominions. Authors also write his name Reiaiel or Reiiel. Tradition makes him an angel of support, associated with liberation and the search for truth.

His image, in French editions, is that of a defender of those who feel crushed by outside influences. His figure is often linked with meditation and with inner life.

Reyel bears the number 29 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 says, in few words, that God is the help of the psalmist and the support of his life. Psalm 54 is a brief prayer: it asks to be saved while strangers have risen against him; the psalm’s title sees David as betrayed by the Ziphites.

The motif of support appears here. The expression is concrete: a “prop” on which one can rely when everything wavers. Reyel becomes the angel of this inner support, rather than of a struggle.

According to tradition, the name is formed from the triplet of letters ריי (Resh, Yod, Yod) followed by the ending Aleph and Lamed (El, “God”). French spellings vary (Reiaiel, Reiiel) depending on transliteration. Psalm 54 is Psalm 53 in the Vulgate; its title occupies two verses in Hebrew numbering, hence the shift. Lists of verses also differ slightly from one author to another.

What tradition associates with Reyel

Lists of attributes most often mention:

• Support and consolation in difficult periods.
• Liberation from dependencies and from pressing influences, a recent theme linked to the figure of the defender.
• Spiritual truth: meditation, study of fundamental questions, which French authors associate with Reyel.
• Discernment between what belongs to us and what is imposed on us.

Some recent works also speak of protection against “curses” or a psychological “hold”: this is a popular reading, with no established basis.

A reading for today

From a present-day perspective, Reyel invites a simple question: what can I lean on? When everything moves fast, naming two or three reliable supports (a person, a place, a habit) is a useful gesture that many people find soothing.

The angel’s figure can serve as an anchor point for this review, nothing more.

His period of the year and his sign

Reyel’s period, from 8 to 12 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: Reyel shares his with Omael (No. 30).

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.

Reyel is the fifth angel of the Dominions, at the centre of the choir. He represents its dimension of maintenance: upholding order also means supporting those who carry it.

To place Reyel in the sequence of angels, here are his immediate neighbours: Seheiah (No. 28) before him and Omael (No. 30) after him. The choir is presented in detail on the page Choir of Dominions.

A gentle practice with Reyel

A ten-minute exercise of the “three supports”:

1. Write on a sheet three people or things you can count on today.
2. For each one, note a concrete reason and a possible gesture of thanks.
3. Read verse 6 of Psalm 54, or summarise it in your own words, then breathe for a few moments.
4. Keep the sheet in a notebook to reread in a harder moment.

If you feel the need, you may accompany the exercise with a white candle, placed on a stable holder and never left unattended.

What to keep in mind

Take this page as an honest presentation of a tradition, with its sources and its disagreements: neither diagnosis, nor horoscope, nor prediction. If an idea speaks to you, so much the better; if not, the tradition itself asks nothing of you.

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.

If you feel under the control of another person, or are the victim of harassment or violence, a symbolic figure is not enough: in an emergency, call 17 in France (or 112, the emergency number throughout the European Union), or 3919 in France for domestic violence. For emotional distress, 3114 in France can be reached at any hour.

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.