This collection of excerpts from Rudolf Steiner's works is a fairly complete summary of what he said about angels - angels only, not the hierarchies, just the ninth member of the hierarchies.

 

This is a spiritual scientific presentation, not a romantice or sentimental one, although there are a number of excerpts that can be uplifting and exalting.  In referring to angels, Rudolf Steiner is quite free in the use of vocabulary, varying according to whom he addressed, the context in which he spoke, the circumstances of the time, and his own continued development. 

 

The following terms were used in reference to the angels: devas, pitris (fathers), luna petri, arhats (initiate angels in human form), angels, angeli, genius, spirit-self, the ego in man's first three years, the dead in the positive manner of working upon us, the spirits of twilight, the host of the holy spirit, living thought beings, the sons of life, dhyan-chohans, dhyanic beings, ideals, messengers, the youth at the end of Mark's Gospel, the Nathan Jesus being, and the Apollo being.  The terms are mentioned to alert the reader to the varying references in the text.

 

The Appendix contains a number of verses by Rudolf Steiner regarding the work of the angels, to be used in a practical way in real life situations, and in one's own continued striving.  A few special texts are also included to further the understanding of one's own experiencing of the angel, and to clarify how one can come to such experiencing.

 

- Richard Lewis, from the Introduction