Ratziel

Ratziel, also known as Raziel, is a powerful archangel whose name is typically translated from the Hebrew as “Secret of God” or “Keeper of Secrets.” In the Western esoteric tradition, Ratziel is the archangel of Chokmah, the second Sephirah on the Tree of Life. Chokmah represents the primordial, dynamic outpouring of divine wisdom, and Ratziel serves as the vehicle for that fiery, creative force.

In the system of Liber 777, this corresponds to step 2 on the Tree of Life, the sphere of Chokmah. Ratziel governs the divine wisdom that initiates all creation, not as passive knowledge but as an active, radiant emanation. As the archangel of Assiah (the material world) on this Sephirah, Ratziel is the angelic bridge that translates the raw, unbounded energy of Chokmah into a form that can shape reality.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Chokmah is associated with the zodiac and the Primum Mobile, the first movement of the cosmos. More specifically, Ratziel is connected to the entire sphere of the fixed stars and the outermost wheel of creation. In the astrological attributions of the Golden Dawn and Thelema, this archangel governs the outermost ring of the cosmos from which all planetary influences descend.

Historical context

Ratziel appears in several major Jewish mystical sources, most famously in the Sefer Raziel HaMalakh (The Book of the Angel Raziel). According to legend, Ratziel gave this secret book to Adam after the Fall, and it was later passed to Noah, Abraham, and finally to Solomon. In these traditions, the book contains the deepest mysteries of creation, including names of God and their uses.

In later Kabbalistic and Hermetic works, Ratziel became the archangel of the second Sephirah. Because he guards divine secrets, he is the angel most often invoked for esoteric knowledge and visionary insight. This function is consistent across medieval Kabbalah, Renaissance magic (e.g., Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy), and modern ceremonial magic. In Dionysius the Areopagite’s hierarchy, he is often placed among the Cherubim. The Cherubim are the angels of wisdom, and Ratziel is their chief.

Ratziel’s position as the archangel of Chokmah places him just below Metatron (Kether) and above Tzaphkiel (Binah). This means Ratziel is the direct channel for the first emanation of divine wisdom into the structured universe. It is the fiery, masculine counterpart to the more receptive, understanding nature of Binah.

Ratziel in table 777

In Liber 777, at the row of Archangels of Assiah (scale step 2, Chokmah), the named subject is Ratziel. This archangel governs the outermost cosmic sphere (the Primum Mobile), the number 2, the letter Beth, and the path of wisdom. As such, Ratziel is the angelic power that communicates secret knowledge directly from the divine mind to the initiate.