The Global Encyclopedia of Entities and Oddities: A

## Description

*A book from the The Global Encyclopedia of Entities and Oddities series of encyclopedias, covering Á Bao A Qu to Aziza.*

## Excerpt

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233

**Androsphinx:** See *Sphinx*.

**Angelic Entities:**

(*Historically* cherubim, *malāk*, *malakhim*, seraphim) are a category of elusive high-ranking (T3-T?) entities encompassing a wide variety of forms, affinities and behaviours.  They can be found worldwide at high altitudes (particularly summits), as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as the 57th parallel south.

They are consistently described as winged, anywhere from bipennate to multipennate, ethereal and almost unanimously frightening, despite their Krieger Classification as *benevolent* (see: *References*).  Historical accounts from 140 BC and earlier confirm them as capable of humanoid form, described with "*human hands*" and multiple faces both humanoid and animal.  Others describe them as "flaming wheels", a swathe of plumage without defining features, a gaunt, half-rotted humanoid face covered in plate armour, or as androgynous and attractive humanoids in various states.  In the Near East their feathered wings (*pennae*) are vivid and bright-coloured across the colour spectrum, resembling that of of the family *Meropidae* (c: Bee-eaters) and other birds of the region.  The wings on those of Western Europe and the Americas are cited as white, off-white, or more rarely akin to those of the *Falco* genus, the falcons, esp. the gyrfalcon.  Lions and bulls feature prominently in early accounts of animal features, along with calves and lambs.  Several accounts from this period liken them to the fire affinity, describing their appearance like "*burning coals*," bright, and torchlike.546

Accounts of pactum will confirm this, though several scholars acknowledge angelic entities as difficult to categorize, due to their varying nature and ever-shifting forms. Of all angelic pacted pairs compiled from both historical account and survey (Amick, 1933), affinities are vast and many: a quarter account for arcane fire affinities, another for illusion work, twenty counts of telepathy, over a third of arcane healing, eight strength-related, several air affinities, three shapeshifters, one astral projection, a potential clairvoyance (see *References* and footnote) and what several 18th century texts refer to as *ether*. This is speculated to be a dated term for anything from atomic fission, chaos, gravity, and even the literal *diethyl ether*, C4H10O.

Praised and adored, particulary in the Near East, as holy messengers and omnipotent beings of utmost obedience, they are known for guiding sheep back to their flocks, kindness to children (as in many entities) and warning of calamities, thus displaying some level of alleged omnipotence.  Occasionally, there are accounts of them waylaying mountain travellers in order to wrestle or otherwise fight them, but the angelic entities themselves seem to regard this as recreational rather than potentially damaging to the hominids involved. They are also known for projecting staggering visions onto humans in an effort to communicate, which is regarded as anywhere to peaceful, pastoral scenes to the downright horrific (nightmares, visions of Hell).

Culturally, they are worshipped in Christian regions as messengers of an Abrahamic god or heavens. Even when *par pactum*, they are not prone to casual human speech, instead opting to communicate via mental projection (telepathy) or through more indirect methods, though accounts of talkative, and even *monologuing* angels are accounted for in Deputy Officer Edward Stratham's 18th century writings in the British territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...