Michael, in Hebrew means Who is like God, מיכאל . In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions he is considered the chief of the armies of God.

He is the ruler of the sephira Hod, splendour, associated with the power of continual advancement. He is the archangel who restores our power and protects us from adversity and danger. He is one of the three archangels accepted by Catholics, and of the four principal archangels. He is associated with the element of fire, the south, summer, the sun and traditionally his day is Sunday.

He is the one who confronts Satan, Satan in the cabala has a different meaning from the one we know, in the sense of adversary or opponent; he is the shadow we all have within us, and the archangel Michael, with his attribute of light, helps us to bring it out and assimilate it, because to overcome darkness we only need to turn on a light and Michael provides us with it.

The astrological signs for which he has special sympathy and care are: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.

You may be asked to help, among other things, with:

• To give us back our power or to increase it as long as it is for a justified cause.
• To protect our loved ones and ourselves.
• Strengthen our will.
• Helping us to overcome adversity.
• Cleanse us of negative energy.
• Restore our splendour.
• Overcoming a difficult situation or our enemies.
• Bringing our shadow into the light to transcend it.

To empower the energies of Archangel Michael in our lives it is important to use his seal or pentacle together with a consecrated blue candle.

The seal or talisman can be used to call upon him at any time or next to the candle when asking for help.

The archangel Michael is associated with the element of fire, therefore he rules the signs of that element, namely: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; although anyone, regardless of their sign, can ask him for help.

In the article on archangels I explain that according to different beliefs, some consider the existence of 3, 4, 7 or 10 archangels. Usually four archangels are considered for the four elements and seven archangels in total according to many cosmogonies. If we consider seven archangels, the main sign ruled by the archangel Michael would be Leo, and so it is stated in many hermetic writings, Leo being the main fire sign of the zodiac.

Courage, passion and vitality are typical qualities of the fire element, together with the capacity for leadership. They are usually very passionate, cheerful, determined and adventurous people. So we can enhance all these qualities with the help of the archangel Michael.

People dominated by the fire element can have problems with anger, stubbornness, impatience and sometimes, in extreme moments, violence. All these negative aspects can be balanced by working with the archangel.

The relationship between the elements, the archangels and the zodiac goes back a long way, to the earliest times of Sumer and Babylon. The civilisations of the ancient Near East studied the relationship between the stars and mankind. In fact, the origins of the zodiac are lost in the mists of time. The word comes from the Greek zodion (little animal), designating the celestial part that the sun travels through in a year, being divided into twelve parts or signs.

Experts suggest that the Zodiac was invented by Babylonian astronomers, however, Sargon I of Akad (around 2334 BC) had an astrological work and from Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) it became a common scientific-religious practice (source: “dictionary of magic in the ancient world” Ana M. Vazquez Hoys. Óscar Muñoz Martín).

The zodiac represents the wheel of life (Zoe- life, diakos- wheel) and was related to the seven known planets in the beginning and later to the seven archangels in many traditions.

The magical tradition endows each planet with a magic square and an intelligence, a talisman or protective pantocrat can be created by putting together the squares of the seven planets.

The Egyptians, according to Budge, took the zodiac from the Greeks, and the Greeks from Babylon. The zodiac seeks to create an archetype similar to the tarot, creating a model for understanding existence, which is exactly what kabbalah does, hence its use and relationship in magical kabbalah.

The archangel Michael is the ruler of the eighth sephira or sphere in the cabala, the eighth in the tree of life. Hod is his name and means magnificence, splendour. This sphere has a close relationship with magic since, according to its guematry, it is related to the magical plant par excellence, the mandrake, and to the action of prophesying.

The virtue of this sefirah is truth and its vice is falsehood. They are opposite poles that must be balanced according to what is found in us, for this we must know our personal tree and know how we are with respect to this sefirah. In this action, the archangel Michael can help us to obtain the virtues of Hod and overcome its defects if we find ourselves unbalanced.

This sphere, and those influenced by birth by this archangel, will endow them with a highly practical sense and will make them suitable for commerce and money, they will also be good leaders if their communicative aspect is well aligned, speed will be another of their characteristics, which can produce the defect of impatience. All of these qualities we can ask the archangel Michael to both empower and balance them.