Archangel Raphael: the physician of the Universe

Raphael is the archangel you call on to heal. His name says it plainly: “God heals”. Tradition calls him the physician of the Universe, and his field does not stop at the body — it covers what hurts without showing. He is one of the nine ruling archangels, and one of only three named in Scripture.

If you were born between 14 October and 22 November, Raphael is the archangel who watches over your guardian angel.

Who is Archangel Raphael?

Raphael rules the choir of the Virtues, the sixth of the nine choirs of the Kabbalah, under the Sephirah Tiphereth. He is shown with a caduceus — the emblem of the medical professions — or with a traveller’s staff, and he appears surrounded by a green light. Both objects tell the same story, the one from the Book of Tobit.

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The Book of Tobit: the travelling companion

Raphael’s founding story is a journey. In the Book of Tobit he walks the road with the son without saying who he is, and brings him home with what it takes to give his blind father back his sight. Only at the end does he reveal himself: “For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tobit 12:15).

All his emblems come from that story. The staff, because he walked beside a man without making himself known — which is why travellers still call on him for safety on the road. The caduceus and the healing of the eyes, because that is where he does his work. The prayer this page carries recalls it: “O you who healed Tobias’ eyes”.

He is also shown with a flaming sword, a sign of his power against evil, but that is not what people ask of him. What they ask is to soothe, to ease, to bring recovery closer — and tradition adds that animals benefit from the same gift.

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What are Raphael’s powers?

Four domains, all gathered around the same verb.

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The 8 guardian angels of the choir of Virtues

Raphael does not watch over you directly: he rules eight guardian angels who take over from one another five days at a time, from 14 October to 22 November. 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 Raphael?

There is no particular condition: tradition says anyone who believes in spiritual beings can speak to him. Settle somewhere quiet and state clearly what needs healing — for you, for someone close, or for an animal.

Picture the green light that surrounds him: it is said to work on mood as much as on the ailment. An emerald or a malachite held in the hand supports the request. And it goes without saying: a prayer does not replace a doctor, it accompanies one.

Traditional prayer taken from the previous version of this page.

The caduceus, the staff and the green light

The caduceus is the emblem of the medical professions, and it is Raphael’s most telling attribute: it says what is expected of him. The traveller’s staff — or shepherd’s staff — says the other half of the character, the one who walks alongside and watches over the well-being of those on the road.

His green light is the sign by which he is recognised. Green is the colour of care and of living things: when you picture Raphael, that is the aura you place around the person, or around the part of the body that hurts.

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Frequently asked questions about Archangel Raphael

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Going further

Healing takes time; Raphael’s signs usually arrive along the way.

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