Angel Vehuel (no. 49): reign, psalm, symbolism and reading

Who is Vehuel, angel no. 49?

Vehuel is the forty-ninth angel on the list and the first of the choir of Principalities. He shares his three Hebrew letters with Vehuiah, angel no. 1 on the list: only the suffix changes (-el instead of -iah). The theme of divine greatness, which opens the list, therefore returns here.

French works attribute to him greatness of soul, elevation of spirit and a form of nobility. The image is that of someone who looks higher than himself, without pride.

In the classical list of the Shem HaMephorash, the 72 names are read from three verses of Exodus (14:19 to 21), and Vehuel occupies place 49. What follows is presented according to the Kabbalistic and esoteric tradition, and not as an established fact. The origin of the system is set out in our presentation of the 72 angels.

Reference points in tradition

These dates follow the most widespread calendar: five days per angel from 21 March (angel no. 1), over a year of 365 days. Other lists shift the periods by one or several days, and 29 February poses a specific problem detailed on the page guardian angel calculation. As for the hour, many authors speak of local solar time, others of legal time.

The verse and the name

The verse is a praise from Psalm 145: “The Lord is great and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.” The Hebrew word rendered “unsearchable” suggests that there is no limit to what can be explored. This psalm is an alphabetical acrostic, each verse beginning with a successive letter, and it has found its place in Jewish daily prayer under the name “Ashrei”.

The name is formed from the Hebrew triplet והו (Vav, Hé, Vav) followed by the ending El. The same triplet gives Vehuiah at no. 1, with the suffix Iah; this repetition is due to the method of reading the three verses of Exodus, which does not produce 72 entirely different triplets. Verse 3 is numbered the same way in Hebrew and English-numbered Bibles; the Vulgate places this psalm at number 144.

What tradition associates with Vehuel

According to French editions, Vehuel evokes:

• Greatness of soul: showing generosity, breadth of mind.
• Elevation: turning one’s gaze toward what goes beyond immediate interest.
• Humility before what is greater than oneself, a necessary counterpart to greatness.
• Nobility in the moral sense, independent of social rank.

It is sometimes added that this angel warns against pride; the remark is the work of an individual author and has no ancient source.

A reading for today

Greatness is an ambiguous word today, often confused with domination. Vehuel points to another meaning: measuring oneself against what surpasses us (nature, a work, a cause) and being enlarged by it. This feeling of wonder, which psychology studies under the English name awe, does not depend on any particular angel.

His period of the year and his sign

Vehuel’s period, from 16 to 20 November, falls in autumn (northern hemisphere, within the framework of the original calendar). Roughly speaking, it covers the sign of Scorpio. These mid-November days, brief and already cold, are the opposite of splendour: the elevation spoken of by tradition is inward. In the table of the 36 decans, each ten-day span receives two angels: Vehuel shares his with Daniel (no. 50).

In the choir of Principalities

The Principalities open the third and last triad of the “Celestial Hierarchy” attributed to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (around 500), together with the Archangels and the Angels. The Greek word is archai, “principles” or “beginnings”. The New Testament speaks of “principalities” (for example Ephesians 3:10 and Colossians 1:16), without always specifying whether they are favourable beings. Scholastic theology, after Thomas Aquinas, readily links them to the governing of peoples and of those who lead them, relying on the book of Daniel (10:13), which speaks of the “prince of the kingdom of Persia”. In the list of the 72, this choir groups angels 49 to 56.

Vehuel is the first of the Principalities: he inaugurates the third triad, the closest to the human world. In this image, he launches a series in which greatness serves peoples and institutions rather than personal splendour.

To place Vehuel in the sequence of angels, here are his immediate neighbours: Mihael (no. 48) before him and Daniel (no. 50) after him. The choir is presented in detail on the page Choir of Principalities.

A gentle practice with Vehuel

A perspective exercise, lasting about twenty minutes:

1. On a clear night, go out to a safe place, dressed warmly (November is chilly); failing that, look at a star chart.
2. Look at the sky for five minutes without speaking.
3. Note three things greater than yourself that matter to you: a collective project, a work, a landscape.
4. Choose a small gesture of service connected to them, and read verse 3 of Psalm 145.

You may also simply reread the first angel on the list, Vehuiah, whose letters Vehuel shares.

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 elevation, protection or any event. Read these pages for the images they offer and for the reflection they inspire.

On the religious level, the Catholic Church does not recognise this system of the 72 names and names only three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, according to Scripture. The psalms, for their part, belong to the prayer of many religious traditions, well beyond this system.

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.