Angel Asaliah (no. 47): reign, psalm, symbolism and reading

Who is Asaliah, angel no. 47?

Asaliah is the forty-seventh angel on the list, the next-to-last of the choir of Virtues. French works link him to contemplation: that slow attention which pauses before creation in order to truly look at it, without immediately trying to make use of it. He is also associated with truth and justice, understood as a way of seeing things as they really are.

If we were to draw his portrait, it would be that of the patient naturalist, the pilgrim who walks without hurrying, the seeker who is still amazed by what he studies.

The number 47 in the list of the 72 angels belongs to Asaliah; the list itself is drawn, according to the Kabbalistic tradition, from three verses of Exodus (14:19 to 21). We present it here according to the Kabbalistic and esoteric tradition, with its divergences. For the history of the system, see our presentation of the 72 angels.

Reference points in tradition

Calendar followed: five days of reign per angel, continuously from 21 March (angel no. 1), with no extra day. Printed or online lists do not always agree to within a few days; for leap years, see the guardian angel calculation. The hour of reign is often understood as local solar time, which authors do not always specify.

The verse and the name

The verse chosen is a cry of wonder from Psalm 92: “How great are your works, Lord, and your thoughts very deep!” In its Hebrew text, this psalm bears the title “a song for the Sabbath day”; the Jewish tradition sings it to welcome that day of rest. Here wonder comes before action: before understanding the world, one contemplates it.

According to tradition, the name Asaliah is formed from the Hebrew letter triplet עשל (Aïn, Shin, Lamed) followed by the ending Iah, an abbreviation of the divine name (the same element found in “hallelujah”). French works often gloss his name as “Just God who reveals the truth”: this is a symbolic gloss, not a philological translation. The verse is the 6th of Psalm 92 in Hebrew numbering (with the title counted) and the 5th in English-numbered Bibles; the Vulgate places it in Psalm 91.

What tradition associates with Asaliah

In French works of the 19th and 20th centuries, Asaliah is linked to several themes that echo one another:

• Contemplation: the ability to look at a work, a landscape or an idea without rushing.
• Truth: seeing facts as they are, before judging.
• Justice, in the sense of an even-handed gaze, and not of a verdict.
• Intuition: that sense of things which we possess before being able to explain it.

These attributions appear neither in the Bible nor in the ancient texts of the Kabbalah; they vary from one publisher to another and are not established facts.

A reading for today

Today, Asaliah can serve as an emblem of attention. In a daily life filled with screens and emergencies, pausing for ten minutes in front of a tree, a stone or a face is already an act of contemplation. This habit echoes what mindfulness practices encourage as well: looking before labelling.

The image of justice that sees clearly also invites us to judge later: gathering the facts before reaching a conclusion. This is a line of reflection, nothing more: no angel guarantees you clear-sightedness.

His period of the year and his sign

Asaliah’s period, from 6 to 10 November, falls in autumn (northern hemisphere, within the framework of the original calendar). Roughly speaking, it covers the sign of Scorpio. It opens at the very end of autumn, when the days shorten quickly, which makes the invitation to look slowly feel quite natural. In the table of the 36 decans, each ten-day span receives two angels: Asaliah shares his with Mihael (no. 48).

In the choir of Virtues

In the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius (around 500), the Virtues are placed in the second triad, between the Dominions and the Powers; the word comes from the Greek dynameis, “powers”. Tradition sees in them the angels of the strength of the soul and of “signs”. In the list of the 72, this choir groups angels 41 to 48 and follows that of the Powers (33 to 40), whereas Dionysius reverses the two.

Asaliah is the seventh of the eight Virtues. In the symbolism of this choir, which evokes strength in action, he represents a quiet strength: that of sustained attention. He comes before Mihael, the last angel of the choir, before the opening of the choir of Principalities.

To place Asaliah in the sequence of angels, here are his immediate neighbours: Ariel (no. 46) before him and Mihael (no. 48) after him. The choir is presented in detail on the page Choir of Virtues.

A gentle practice with Asaliah

A ten-minute attention exercise, to be done outdoors or near a window:

1. Choose a simple object: a leaf, a pebble, a patch of sky.
2. Look at it for three minutes without naming or judging it; let the details appear (colour, texture, movement).
3. Note three details you had never noticed before.
4. Read verse 6 of Psalm 92 once, slowly, then reread your notes.

If you enjoy working with a stone, see also our meditation with a stone. This exercise is training in attention, with no effect demonstrated beyond what attention usually brings.

What to keep in mind

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

It is worth remembering that the Catholic Church does not recognise this system: only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named as archangels in Scripture, and the list of the 72 names is not among them. The psalms cited, for their part, remain a prayer text shared by many believers.

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.