Archangel Selaphiel: meaning, prayer, icons, associated stones

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Selaphiel, “I asked God”, is the archangel of prayer in the Orthodox tradition, shown with lowered eyes and arms crossed. Sources, links with Salathiel and modern readings.

Key points

Names	Selaphiel, Sealtiel, Salathiel, Selatiel, Selathiel
Meaning of the name	Sheal-ti-El: “I asked God”
Sources	Orthodox list of the seven archangels; the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan; absent from the Bible
Orthodox tradition	Archangel of prayer and adoration, honoured on 8 November
Modern tradition	Archangel of contemplation and prayer
Feast day	8 November (Synaxis of the Archangels)
Modern stones	Selenite, amethyst, rock crystal

Who is Selaphiel?

Selaphiel is known in several forms: Sealtiel, Selatiel, Salathiel. His name comes from the Hebrew Sheʾaltiʾel: “I asked God” or “ask God”. It is a name about prayer in its simplest sense: asking. He is presented in our guide to the archangels.

Selaphiel is not named in the Bible. He belongs to the list of the seven archangels of the Orthodox and Byzantine tradition, whose names spread through iconography. The similar name Salathiel (Shealtiel) was borne by men in the Bible, which can cause confusion.

Origin and textual sources

Source	Status	What it says about Selaphiel
Byzantine list of the seven archangels	Orthodox liturgical and iconographic tradition	Selaphiel is the fifth name there, after Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.
The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan (Christian apocryphal text, around the 6th century)	Apocryphal text preserved in Ethiopic and Arabic	God sends Selaphiel (Salathiel) and Suriel (Sariel) to lead Adam and Eve out of danger and bring them to the Cave of Treasures.
Revelation 8:3–4	Canonical text	An angel holds a golden censer and offers the prayers of the saints. A Christian tradition identifies him with Selaphiel; the text gives no name.
Devotion to the seven archangels (Palermo, 1516; Rome, 16th century)	Popular devotion, later restricted by the Church	The name circulated in the West before the Church recalled that it recognised only three archangels.

In the Bible, Salathiel (Shealtiel) is the father of Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:17; Ezra 3:2; Haggai 1:1) and appears in the genealogies of Jesus (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27). In 4 Ezra 3:1, the narrator presents himself as “Salathiel, who is also Ezra”. These are men, not angels.

Across the major religions of the West, Selaphiel is not a recognised angel. The Orthodox Church assigns him to the feast of 8 November.

Iconography

Selaphiel is easy to recognise: he is shown with head bowed, eyes lowered and hands crossed over his chest, in the attitude of an orant. Sometimes he kneels and holds a censer. The image conveys inwardness more than action: he is the archangel who prays before he is the one who acts.

Symbolism: asking and falling silent

Prayer is often summed up as a request, but Selaphiel’s attitude is one of silence: head lowered, arms crossed. In this image, praying does not mean speaking at length, but putting oneself in a state of listening. Many spiritual traditions, religious or not, link contemplation to a bodily posture that slows the mind.

In modern systems, Selaphiel has thus become the archangel of contemplation, prayer and meditation. These are symbols. They do not guarantee any result.

Feast, day and colour

The feast falls on 8 November, the day of the Synaxis of the Archangels among Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians. No day of the week is stably assigned to him. The modern colours (midnight blue, indigo, violet, white) vary from one author to another and come from recent choices.

What belongs to tradition and what is modern

Orthodox tradition: Selaphiel in the list of the seven archangels, feast of 8 November, the iconography of the orant.
Apocryphal text: the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan against Satan, where he intervenes together with Suriel.
Modern systems: an archangel of prayer, contemplation and meditation. They are recent, vary from one author to another, and rest on no religion.

The Catholic Church recognises only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. These correspondences serve as a support for imagination and attention. They should not be taken as facts.

Stones associated in modern traditions

Pale and violet stones, associated with contemplation, are the most often cited. Recent convention:

Selenite: soft gypsum (hardness 2), which is damaged by water and can be scratched with a fingernail
Amethyst: violet quartz (hardness 7), which fades in strong light
Rock crystal: colourless quartz (hardness 7), often imitated by glass

Each stone page gives its care and precautions.

Respectful practice

Five minutes of silence: sit down, hands resting on your knees, eyes half-closed, and count ten slow breaths. No result is promised.
A soft candle (white or midnight blue) set on a stable holder and a non-flammable surface. Never leave it unattended.
One request in a sentence: write down what you would like to ask, in a single sentence. Then read it again. This exercise helps to clarify.
If you are a believer: pray with the words of your own tradition. Selaphiel is not recognised by the Catholic Church; please respect its position.