Archangel Haniel: love, harmony and the Moon

Haniel is the archangel of harmony and grace. He is the one people pray to for love — romantic and friendly alike — and to find beauty again in a life short of it. Tradition shows him in an androgynous form, with grey wings, and ties him to the Moon. He is one of the nine ruling archangels.

If you were born between 23 November and 31 December, Haniel is the archangel who watches over your guardian angel.

Who is Archangel Haniel?

Haniel rules the choir of the Principalities, the seventh of the nine choirs of the Kabbalah, under the Sephirah Netzach. He is also met as Anael, Hanael or Aniel. The Kabbalah ties Netzach to Venus and to Friday; angelic tradition ties Haniel to the Moon and to feminine energy — both point the same way, towards gentleness and connection.

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The Moon, the feminine and the rose

Haniel is the oldest of the rulers in terms of the reverence paid to him. Tradition traces it back to Babylon, where astronomy and religion were one and the same — which is why he stayed tied to a celestial body rather than to a story. That body is the Moon, and calling on him during the full moon is held to be especially effective, above all when you are trying to let something go.

That is where his link with feminine energy comes from, and it is not a matter of gender. Tradition is explicit: men carry that side too, as women carry the other, and both gain from connecting to it. It is also why he is shown in an androgynous form, with grey wings.

The rose is his emblem, a symbol of beauty, and the prayer this page has carried for years keeps its trace: it asks to be guided “towards the star of white roses, in an ocean of emerald”. That image is where his colour comes from.

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What are Haniel’s powers?

Four domains, all held in one idea: getting the connection right.

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The 8 guardian angels of the choir of Principalities

Haniel does not watch over you directly: he rules eight guardian angels who take over from one another five days at a time, from 23 November to 31 December. Yours is one of them if you were born inside that window.

Not sure which one is yours? Your date of birth is all it takes.

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How to invoke Archangel Haniel?

Pick a moment when you are not rushed, think deeply about what you want, then state your request. The full moon is the time tradition recommends, especially when it is about letting something go rather than obtaining something.

A moonstone held in the hand suits this energy well, and a rose set in front of you is enough to hold the intention. Frame your request the way his prayer does: accepting that it will only happen if it is right.

Prayer taken from the French version of this page.

The rose, the moonstone and the grey wings

Haniel is one of the few archangels shown with neither a weapon nor a book. His attributes are a rose and grey wings, and his form is often androgynous: nothing about him cuts, and that is the point.

His stone is the moonstone, which follows from his link with that body. Worth noting: our older records hesitate between several stones for him — we keep the one his own editions name and that matches the Moon.

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Frequently asked questions about Archangel Haniel

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Going further

Haniel works in phases: his answers rarely follow the timetable you had in mind.

Haniel rules the Principalities; the Virtues answer to Raphael and the Archangels to Michael. A feather found on your path or your angel number are other ways of hearing what they have to say.