'The fearful form of the cherubim: The four living creatures that support the throne of God exhibited to Ezekiel a fourfold aspect; they had each the face of a man, the face of a lion, and the face of an ox; they also had the face of an eagle. They had each four wings; they had the hands of a man under their wings. "Two wings of every one were joined one to the other, and two covered their bodies." They were accompanied by wheels which "went upon their four sides, and they turned not when they went"; "and their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and their wheels were full of eyes"; and the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." Such is a concise description of their appearance as set forth in Ezekiel (chap. i.).'
'The seraphim are described by Isaiah (vi. 1––3): "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." And in Revelation (iv. 6): "Round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind, and the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within."'
'It will be noticed that these descriptions differ from that of Ezekiel, not only in the number of wings, but also in the individuality of each beast being separate and independent, not compounded of the four.' [1]
In Christian angelic hierarchy the Seraphim rank first and most holy, positioned closest to God. However, in the Hebrew caste, Seraphim rank only as fifth.[2] Probably my favorite association is that of the Seraphim to dragons, as dragons are one of my personal totems.
'Literally "burning ones", the word seraph is normally a synonym for serpents when used in the Hebrew Bible. A seminal passage in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) used the term to describe fiery six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying "holy, holy, holy"'.
'The word seraphim, literally "burning ones", transliterates a Hebrew plural noun; translation yields seraphs. The word saraph/seraphim appears three times in the Torah (Numbers 21:6–8, Deuteronomy 8:15) and four times in the Book of Isaiah (6:2–6, 14:29, 30:6). In Numbers and Deuteronomy the "seraphim" are serpents—the association of serpents as "burning ones" is possibly due to the burning sensation of the poison (of snakes). Isaiah also uses the word in close association with words to describe snakes (nachash, the generic word for snakes, in 14:29, and epheh, viper, in 30:6).
Seraphs appear in the 2nd-century BC Book of Enoch where they are designated as drakones (δράκονες "serpents"), and are mentioned, in conjunction with cherubs, as the heavenly creatures standing nearest to the throne of God. Two other classes of celestial beings were equated with the seraphim - the phoenixes and the chalkydri (from Greek χαλκός "copper", "brass" + ύδρα "hydra", "water-snake"; lit. "brazen hydras" or "serpents"), who were both described as "flying elements of the sun".
They appear also in the Christian Gnostic text On the Origin of the World, described as "dragon-shaped angels". [3]
Dragon (n.)
early 13c., from Old French dragon, from Latin draconem (nominative draco) "huge serpent, dragon," from Greek drakon (genitive drakontos) "serpent, giant seafish," apparently from drak-, strong aorist stem of derkesthai "to see clearly," from PIE *derk- "to see." Perhaps the literal sense is "the one with the (deadly) glance." [4]
'Some authorities hold that the seraphim had their origin in the Egyptian "seref," a composite, winged creature, half lion and half eagle, which guarded graves, carried dead kings up to heaven, and transmittedprayers thither.' [5]
And yet other Egyptologists feel "the Seraphim were inspired by Wadjet, an Egyptian goddess of the Sun, fire and the Milky Way. Depicted as a cobra standing aggressively, Wadjet was the protector of Ra and of the Pharaoh, and was a prevalent emblem of the divine might of the egyptian kings, hence becoming very common symbol. Influenced by the power of the Serpent as a guardian, ancient Hebrews likely incorporated protective cobras in their symbolism, and while creatures akin to the seraph are difficult to find in Canaanite Mythology, the idea that Wadjet is the inspiration for these beings is universally accepted by archaeologists...The Mesoamerican feathered serpent deities like Tohil and Quetzalcoatl are obviously also similar, some of them being solar deities." [6]
*
BOTH classes of angels (Seraphim and Cherubim) are associated with symbology of the four Elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), the Fixed Qualities (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable), and Directions (South, North, East, West) in Astrology; as well as the four suits of the Tarot (Wands, Pentacles, Swords, Cups); and the four suits of a regular deck of playing cards (Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, Hearts). Thus, Seraphim and Cherubim are both thought to represent the following concepts; the Seraphim individually, the Cherubim as a composite: Lion=Fire (Leo, South/Summer); Calf or Ox=Earth (Taurus, North/Spring); Man=Air (Aquarius, East/Winter); Eagle=Water (Scorpio, West/Fall). The Fixed qualities of each brings stability, fecundity and diversity enough to allow humanity to prosper and take root. You could say the Fixed Qualities offer the building blocks to civilization. The Elements represent basic energetic signatures believed to comprise all matter animate and inanimate. And the Directions equate each the four seasons: Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall (typically it's read Summer, Spring, Fall, Winter, but I was keeping sequentially with the quoted selection above).
The Rider-Waite deck, et al, depict the four Fixed figures on its World card, where all things are thought to manifest according to what is aligned with one's highest benefit and most fulfilling happiness.
Sadly, since some sources cite Lucifer as having once been a Seraphim (Seraphim=serpent; Lucifer=serpent [7]; or possibly a Gregori or possibly a Cherubim, who knows), and an Archangel (sometimes the former class is seen as being the leaders or part of the latter [8], there are those who feel that a gang of fallen Seraphim, lead by the Anti-Christ, will come to assert dominion over the Earth. According to the Book of Enoch, these same Fallen Angels or Watchers, also called the Anunnaki (Sumerian) and, sometimes the Elohim (Hebrew), interbred with humans to create a hybrid race. Certain modern alien narratives state that the Anunnaki, the fallen Seraphim, and their human/alien hybrid spawn, the Nephilim, are fiercesome alien beings with a negative agenda of domination and mind control.
Well, you can't win 'em all.
Fortunately, The Book of Enoch describes more than one kind of Watcher or Seraphim (I'm tentatively using them interchangeably pending more research) for Wikipedia (yeah, I know) states, "The Third Book of Enoch gives attention to the UNfallen Watchers."
You're welcome, Interwebs!
[1] http://www.sacred-texts.com/lcr/fsca/fsca12.htm
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph
[4] http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=dragon
[5] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13437-seraphim
[6] http://gwawinapterus.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/heavenly-dragons/
[7] http://www.raphael.net/scripture/seraphim.htm
[8] http://angels.about.com/od/AngelsReligiousTexts/a/Seraphim-Angels-Burning-With-Passion-For-God.htm
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