Guest Author - Deanna Joseph
Archangel Gabriel, whose name means “God is my strength,” is one of the few angels whose gender seems to point to being female. It is said that she sits at the left hand side of God (left being feminine) in the Seventh Heaven, and she is the ruler of the cherubim (the order of angels who act as intercessors and carry out God’s will). Gabriel is one of only two angels mentioned in the old testament (the other is Archangel Michael).
Gabriel’s origins are Chaldean, and it’s believed she was a Babylonian goddess who was later transformed into an archangel (as were both Archangels Michael and Raphael).
In Islam, Gabriel is known as Jibril, the angel of truth. It was Gabriel who dictated the Koran to Mohammed and presented the Black Stone of the Kaba to Abraham in Mecca. To this day thousands of people travel to Mecca to kiss this stone.
Though seemingly feminine in nature, Gabriel is also an angel of great power. It’s believed that it is Gabriel who brought down the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (look out Las Vegas), and it’s said that she was the angel that wrestled with Jacob at Peniel. She parted the waters of the Red Sea when Moses was leading his people to safety away from the Egyptian armies, and it was she who inspired Joan of Arc to help the Dauphin.
Known as the angel of annunciation, it was Gabriel who brought the news to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Gabriel also announced to Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth, would give birth to John the Baptist (Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin). It is said that Gabriel struck Zechariah mute for not believing her!
Gabriel is also the angel of childbirth, and guides the unborn souls until their birth. It is said that the cleft just above the lip is where Gabriel touches the unborn soul and tells them “shhh….” and not to share any of the secrets of Heaven.
Archangel Gabriel’s symbol is the lily, and she is associated with the moon, which happens to represent motherhood, intuition, prophecies, dreams and visions. She is the angel who appeared to Daniel to help him interpret his dreams and to deliver the prophecy of the coming Messiah.
Gabriel is the patron saint of midwives, nurses, doctors, and all those who provide care throughout pregnancy and childbirth, teachers, nannies, messengers and all forms of communication and media.
