Kharakhel i Mitsrael are a paired angelic formula that rules over Coins at the Binah level of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The name Kharakhel (Charakhel) likely derives from Hebrew roots meaning "gracious one of God" (חר — grace, fire; אל — God), while Mitsrael (Mitzrael) suggests "bond of God" or "help of God" (מצר — straits, narrow place; אל — God). Together they represent the constriction and grace that underpin material manifestation, a duality appropriate to the third Sephirah.

Position on the Tree of Life

In the 777 table, this pair occupies the 3 (scale step) slot of the column "Pairs of Angels ruling Coins," corresponding to Binah (Understanding). Binah is the third Sephirah on the Tree of Life, often called the Great Mother, the receptive principle of form, limitation, and the womb of all being. The Coins (Pentacles) are the suit of material foundation, and at the Binah level they are infused with the heavy, binding gravity of Understanding. Kharakhel i Mitsrael thus govern the alchemical marriage of gracious contraction — a fiery grace that takes shape within defined boundaries — and the stricture that gives coinage its weight and substance.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Binah is traditionally associated with Saturn (Shabbathai) and the planet Saturn itself. In a broader sense, the “Coins” correspond to the element Earth, yet at scale step 3 the ruling planet is Saturn in its nocturnal, formative aspect. Kharakhel i Mitsrael therefore express the angelic aspect of Saturnine limitation that is nevertheless gracious — the slow, patient condensation of spiritual currency into practical matter. The numeration of the names (not required here) would accord with the number of Binah, 3, or with the squares of Saturn on the kamea.

Historical context

The tradition of paired angels ruling coins emerges from the overlapping streams of Hekhalot mysticism, Jewish angelology, and Renaissance Christian Cabalist manuals. By the 16th century, authors such as Cornelius Agrippa and later Thomas Rudd catalogued angelic names for each Sephirah and each planet subdivided into grades. The specific pairs “Nemmamiyah and Ieyaleh” (step 2), “Charakhel and Mitzrael” (step 3), and so on, appear in manuscripts that transmitted angelic invocations for material prosperity and talismanic coinage. A probable source is the Schwesterengel (sibling angel) system found in the Lemegeton or in certain grimoires derived from the Heptameron and Ars Paulina, where ruling angels govern times, seasons, and physical objects. In the 777 compilation, Aleister Crowley systematised this tradition by tabulating the pairs according to the thirty-two paths, so that each Sephirah from Kether to Malkuth receives a distinct angelic guard for the coin sphere.

The names themselves are neither biblical nor Talmudic; they belong to the post-exilic angelic onomasticon, likely constructed from divine epithets (e.g., “-el” suffix) fused with verbs or nouns conveying the function of the pair. “Charakhel” may echo the root charah (to burn, to be fierce) and thus signifies a purifying intensity, while “Mitzrael” recalls mitsrayim (Egypt, place of affliction) or metsar (a strait, distress). The implication is that the alignment of Coins under Binah requires both a fiery activation and a binding channel — tension and release polished into a useful medium.

In Liber 777

In the table, Kharakhel i Mitsrael appear in row CXXXII (Pairs of Angels ruling Coins) at the Binah step. They are flanked by Nemamiyah and Ieyaleh (Chokmah) above and Umabel and Iach-hel (Chesed) below. The sequence shows how the angelic pairing intensifies the restraining, crystallising quality of the Coins as one descends from the first supernal to the more manifest Sephiroth. Thus this pair stands as the guardian formula of wealth understood not as mere abundance but as sacred limit — the coin stamped with the image of the Mother.