Angels

"You, celestial being, have been created to be an angel of the Lord."

- The inner "programming" of an angel

Angels are celestial beings created by God. They are winged spirits native to Heaven, imbued with holy white light. Their true form is nothing less of holy righteous beasts, ranging from two to six feathered wings, four animalistic heads, and can be as tall as skyscrapers.

Early History
Sometime after God and Death's existence, God creates Heaven. He later creates the first beasts, the Leviathans, and let them roam Heaven, eating and devouring everything in their path. Death found them entertaining, but God was concerned for the sake of the "petri dish", so he locked them in Purgatory.

God later creates perfect creatures, the archangels (Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel), the first type of Celestials. Metatron, the scribe of God, was created at an unspecified time. However, Metatron was present and was recording the events as God was proceeding with creation. Soon afterward, God makes the Seraphim, angels and Cupids. After a while, God then creates the Earth (what Lucifer calls His last great "handiwork").

Lucifer was God's favorite creation, but once humanity dawned, God makes them his most beloved, which infuriates Lucifer. He attempts to convince God of their flawed nature, but God doesn't listen. Then, he entreats to Michael, but he won't disobey his father. Lucifer then begins a rebellion, trying to overthrow his father, but Michael leads the host of Heaven, and defeats Lucifer. Gabriel can't stand the constant arguments, so he flees to Earth, posing as The Trickster. Lucifer goes to Earth and corrupts a human soul, Lilith, into the first demon. This angers God, and Michael, on God's command, casts Lucifer into Hell, located in the deepest part, locked with 600 seals, 66 of which needs to break for his release. A prophecy states that one day Lucifer will break free, initiating the Apocalypse, and that Michael will kill him and bring paradise to Earth.

Castiel and his Garrison tentively watch the first humans hold dominion over the Earth, as God intended. Like, pruning, constructing and building. Whistle, the first amphibians "heave" themselves on a beach. Castiel's immediate Garrison - Anna, Uriel, Hester, Balthazar and Inias - are stationed to protect and watch the Earth. They watch and wait in silence for thousands of years, hearing nothing from God or their superiors in Heaven.

In 1970s, the Angels secretly arrange for John Winchester and Mary Campbell to fall in love and conceive two children: Dean and Sam Winchester.

Season 4
In 2008, Castiel is sent to rescue Dean from Hell. He leads a siege against Hell's defences, along with Uriel and several other angels. Castiel successfully saves Dean, but not in time to stop him from breaking the very first Seal. On Earth, the Angels try to stop Lilith from bringing about the Rising of the Witnesses, but they fail, and another seal is broken. When two witches prepare to summon the demon Samhain - which will break yet another seal - Castiel and Uriel are sent to destroy the town to prevent Samhain's rise. The Winchesters, however, refuse to let them kill everyone in the town, and set out to stop Samhain's summoning themselves. Unfortunately, they fail to prevent the summoning, and though they defeat Samhain, the seal is already broken.

Fallen Angel, Anna Milton, is on Earth, as she "cut" out her Grace (Angelic energy/core which supports their power), is in a ward. She can hear Angels speaking, and escapes. After much searching, Alastair, a Demon, finds her and is accompanied by two demon brutes. But Castiel and Uriel arrive, and they showdown. Uriel easily dispatches both of Alastair's guards, and Castiel is overpowered and apprehended by Alastair. Anna regains her Grace, and becomes a full-blown Angel again. In consequence of her consuming her Grace, intense light leaks out of her eyes, and envelopes the room, destroying Alastair's vessel.



The Angels manage to save a Seal - in this case the attempted killings of two Reapers - by tricking Sam and Dean into investigating a town where people have stopped dying. In addition, they capture Alastair. Around this time, seven Angels from Castiel's Garrison are murdered, and Lilith is immediately suspected.

Castiel and Uriel have Dean, Alastair's former apprentice during his time in Hell, torture Alastair to learn how Lilith is killing the Angels. Alastair, however, breaks free, beats up Dean, and almost exorcises Castiel when Sam appears and - after learning form Alastair that Lilith is not behind the deaths of the Angels - kills Alastair with his special powers. Castiel later discovers that his friend Uriel is the true culprit as well as an agent of Lucifer. Uriel tries to convince Castiel to help him free Lucifer, but Castiel refuses and fights his old friend. Though Uriel gets the upper hand, Anna appears and stabs him with an Angel Blade, killing the traitor.



Some time after this, Castiel learns something important and tries to warn Dean, but is captured by the other angels and taken back to Heaven, where he is tortured back into obedience. It's later revealed by Zachariah, a Seraph and Castiel's direct superior, that Senior Management intend on allowing the 66 Seals to break, so that Lucifer can burst free, and have Michael in his true Vessel Dean, destroy him, and cause everlasting paradise on Earth. It's also revealed that God has left Heaven, leaving the Archangels in charge to do whatever they wish.

Season 5


As planned, Lilith is killed (the Last Seal) by Sam, and Lucifer is freed. But Dean says no to Michael, which impairs "the final charge", making Lucifer unstoppable for the remainder of Season 5. Throughout the season, Zachariah tries repeatedly to get Dean to say yes, but Dean continues to refuse and eventually kills Zachariah himself. Anna Milton attempts to stop the Apocalypse on her own by going back in time and killing John and Mary Winchester to prevent Sam's birth. She fails, however, and is killed by Michael. Gabriel resurfaces and tries to help the Winchesters kill Lucifer, but is killed himself. Throughout the season, Castiel, now a Fallen Angel with limited power works with the Winchesters to stop the Apocalypse.

Finally in Swan Song, Michael - in the vessel of the Sam and Dean's half-brother Adam Milligan - confronts Lucifer, Archangel to Archangel. Sam, who is serving as Lucifer's vessel, regains control of his body and throws both himself and Michael into Lucifer's Cage, ending the Apocalypse. Castiel, though killed by Lucifer during the final confrontation, is resurrected by God again as a Seraph and he resurrects Bobby Singer, heals Dean and heads back to Heaven to restore order as the new leader.

Season 6


In the aftermath of Michael's imprisonment and God's abandonment of Heaven, the angels fall into disarray. They don't know what to do or who to take orders from. Castiel, who had rebelled against Heaven in order to help the Winchesters, returns to Heaven and starts preaching the idea of Free Will to his fellow Angels. However, many of the Angels can't even grasp the concept. The remaining Archangel Raphael confronts Castiel and demands that he kneel and repent for his rebellion. Raphael also plans to release Michael and Lucifer from the Cage, thus restarting the Apocalypse. When Castiel refuses to go along with this, Raphael threatens to destroy him and his followers unless they submit.

Castiel reluctantly makes a pact with the new King of Hell Crowley. Crowley and Castiel go to Hell, which Crowley personally re-designed, and there they plot to open Purgatory and absorb the souls of all the deceased monsters inside. Crowley gives Castiel 50,000 souls, which he uses to initiate a war against Raphael. Castiel also pulls Sam out of Lucifer's Cage, but accidentally forgets his soul. Despite gaining control of Heaven's Weapons, which the Angel Balthazar had stolen from the vault, Castiel's war goes badly, and he becomes more and more desperate to find Purgatory. When the Winchesters discover what he's been doing, they confront him, and he tries to convince them that he has to do this. When they refuse to back down, Castiel breaks Sam's 'wall', allowing his horrific memories of Hell to flood his mind.

Later, Castiel goes back on his deal with Crowley, and after opening Purgatory successfully, takes in all of Purgatory's souls. Unknown to him, he also absorbs the Leviathan. Castiel, utilizing/channeling the souls power (known among fans as "Godstiel"), obliterates Raphael.

Season 7
Castiel then goes to Heaven, and smites every surviving angel who ever helped Raphael. He informs the remaining angels that he is their father now, and that they must be obedient children or suffer the consequences. He then returns to Earth to begin destroying everything he perceives to be evil. Eventually, realizing the error of his ways, he goes to the Winchesters and Bobby for help. He says that if he were strong enough, he'd "fix" Sam. With their aid, he manages to send the souls back to Purgatory, but the Leviathan remain.

The Leviathan take over his vessel and him, and beat up Dean and Bobby. Then, they leave, and disperse into the water supply, leaving Castiel and his vessel seemingly destroyed. However, he is resurrected yet again, and Castiel awakens without any memory of who or what he is. He goes by the name "Emanuel" and marries the human woman who found him. Dean and Meg are able to remind him of who and what he is, and he, upon re-gaining his memory, tries to save Sam - who's been driven to near insanity by hallucinations of Lucifer - but realizes that the 'wall' has completely crumbled. He then shifts Sam's "pain" (condition) unto himself. While this cures Sam, Castiel is forced to stay at the mental hospital under the protection of Meg.



Meanwhile back in Heaven, the angels Hester and Inias have taken command of the few angels remaining. When Dean and Sam break the "shell" of The Word of God reputedly, a ting is emitted, one that only Angels can hear. When Castiel hears it, he awakens, only differently; more timid, calm, and refused to fight. At the same time, Hester and Inias go to Earth to retrieve both the Word and the Prophet Kevin Tran - who has been chosen to be the Keeper of the Word. However, the Winchesters need Kevin to the stop the Leviathan and a conflict ensues between the Winchesters and the Angels. The dispute ends when Meg steps in and kills Hester, after which Inias takes charge and agrees to stand down.

Castiel provides Dean and Sam with his blood for the weapon then goes off on his own. When looking for flowers and fruit (flowers come first obviously) he can't hear anything from his garrison. After a long silence, he goes to the home of the Prophet Kevin Tran and finds the entire Garrison dead or in hiding - victims of the Leviathan.

Upon Dean's request, Castiel teleports himself and Dean to the Impala, and he ultimately decides to take part in the fight. Together, the two of them sneak into SucroCorp's lab, where they find Dick Roman and another Leviathan Royce testing a batch of poisoned creamers. Cas douses Royce with Borax as Dean beheads him. He then restrains Dick Roman long enough for Dean to stab him with the Bone Of Righteous Mortal Washed In the Three Bloods of Fallen, killing the Leviathan leader, though he and Dean are transported to Purgatory in the process.

Season 8
A repercussion of stabbing Dick with the Anti-Leviathan weapon, both Dean and Castiel are pulled into Purgatory. Heaven's Angels are terribly reduced, leaving an unknown amount of Angels. An observer and admirer of Castiel, Samandriel, takes a vessel, and contributes in the auctioning of one of the Words of God.



A new group of angels, led by Naomi, rescued Castiel from Purgatory. They are keen on keeping track of developments involving the tablets containing the Words of God.

The demon Crowley captures Samandriel and tortures him for information on the prophets using an Angel Sword. Samandriel is certain that he will be rescued, but Crowley states that Heaven is in such disorder that they probably have not noticed his absence. Samandriel assures him that he had given him the names of all the current prophets, and that the next generation of prophets had not been created yet.



Samandriel is finally broken by Crowley and reveals there is an Angel Tablet. Naomi then orders Castiel to kill Samandriel. Castiel, without a choice and without remembering her orders, stabs him with an angel blade, killing him, after Sam, Dean, and himself rescued him from Crowley's demons. While rescuing him and hearing Samandriel being broken, Castiel remembers Naomi torturing him in a similar manner.

Naomi later sends Castiel to find the Angel Tablet which is located in one of Lucifer's Crypts. With the help of Meg and the Winchesters, Castiel locates the tablet, but on Naomi's orders, tries to kill Dean. The tablet sets Castiel free and he flees with it to protect it from everyone. The angels are shown to have no luck locating him. Crowley offers a deal between himself and Naomi who he knows, but she disappears before he can even finish.



As Sam attempts to rescue Bobby Singer from Hell as the second trial to close the gates of Hell, Naomi introduces herself to a skeptical Dean as an ally, insisting that she wants to save Castiel who she claims is still insane and to close the gates of Hell. Naomi informs Dean that Sam is trapped in Purgatory and aids in completing the second trial by driving off Crowley and freeing Bobby from Crowley's trap to rise into Heaven.

Naomi later captures Castiel and reveals that he has taken part in many atrocities throughout human history but has had them erased from his mind as he never truly follows his orders. Naomi is forced to flee when Crowley arrives with a gun capable of killing angels as the bullets are made from a melted-down Angel Blade. Crowley is working with the angel Ion who is disillusioned with Heaven and the angels due to what they are being forced to do. Crowley gets the angel tablet from Castiel, but after he leaves, Castiel manages to kill Ion and escape. At the same time, the Winchesters find Metatron who explains that when God left, the Archangels decided to take over everything, a plan that Naomi is apparently still following. Metatron is convinced to help and rescues Kevin Tran from Crowley. Castiel later comes to the Winchesters for help, severely wounded and badly weakened by Crowley.



Metatron eventually comes to Castiel for help after learning the state of Heaven and about him from Kevin Tran. Heaven is in a state of civil war with many factions warring for control. While Naomi had been believed to be the new ruler of Heaven, she is merely one of the many faction leaders. Metatron has decided to seal up Heaven to prevent the war from spilling onto Earth and to force the angels to sit down and hash out their problems. Castiel and Metatron start the trials to seal up Heaven by killing a Nephilim, the child of an angel and a human.



Metatron later revealed to Castiel that the second trial is to retrieve the bow of a cupid. Before they could complete the trial, however, Naomi's agents located the pair. Metatron was captured by Naomi and a host of angels. Castiel pursued the second trial and managed to convince a cupid to give up her bow, thus completing the second trial. Meanwhile, Naomi attempted to uncover Metatron's knowledge of the tablets, but discovered that Metatron was actually planning revenge to all the angels in heaven. The trials Metatron revealed to Castiel were not in fact the trials on the angel tablet to close heaven but a spell to expel all angels from heaven. Naomi rushes to warn Castiel and Dean. The revelation causes Naomi to regret her actions and those of all angels, telling Castiel and Dean that angels are supposed to protect humanity and lost sight of that somewhere along the way.

Trying to discover the truth for himself, Castiel travelled to Heaven, only to find Naomi dead in her office. Metatron confirmed Naomi's revelations and took Castiel's grace, completing the third part of the spell. This turned Castiel human, and caused all angels to fall down to Earth.

Characteristics
"Perfect... Like a marble statue. Cold... no choice... only obedience."

- Anna, about being an Angel



As warriors of God and agents of Fate, Angels are extremely powerful beings in the supernatural world. Their true spiritual forms or visages prove overwhelming to most mortals, however, some special people can view their true visages without suffering lasting effects; demons also can't look at them in their true form without damaging their host. A key example of this: Pamela Barnes used her psychic powers to see the true form of Castiel and her eyes burned out as a result of her actions. Although not physically seen as they have no physical presence or being of their own, an angel's true form has been seen or manifested as a brilliant white light; respectively, angels do have large swan-like wings which can range in number anywhere from two to six. In "Lazarus Rising", Castiel displays his wings through his shadow. When angels die after being stabbed by an angelic blade, shadows of their wings (Angel's wings) are burned into the surface on which they are lying, as seen in the opening of "On the Head of a Pin" when Castiel finds a female angel dead on a street, and again when Anna kills Uriel and when Zachariah and Gabriel were killed. Also, in "Dark Side of the Moon", Zachariah tells Dean and Sam that in his true form he has six wings and four faces, one of them being that of a lion. It's possible that the number of wings an angel possess represents their rank or power since Castiel was shown to have two wings, while Zachariah, his superior, has six. In "Sacrifice", an angel's fiery wings where physically seen for the first time. Angels' true forms also appear to be very large, as evidenced when Castiel states that his true form is "about the size of your Chrysler building".

Anna Milton describes angels as being emotionless, not permitted to have feelings or free will. She even goes on to compare angels to marble statues, in the sense that they're both cold, loyal and have no choice. Despite being an angel herself, this description that Anna gave to Dean has been proven wrong on many occasions. Castiel has shown loyalty to the Winchester brothers and regret when he was ordered to kill Anna. Gabriel has shown anger and love towards his brothers, Michael and Lucifer, in "Changing Channels". In "Dark Side of the Moon", Zachariah shows signs of anger and pride. In "Hammer of the Gods", Lucifer is saddened and sheds tears over having killed Gabriel. In "My Bloody Valentine", Cupids are shown to be very cheerful, emotional, and love giving hugs. To be more accurate, angels are very much capable of human emotions, rather the majority of them choose not to show emotion as emotions are considered doorways to doubt as well as a weakness, and they are not permitted to display emotions for the same reasons.

Angels consider themselves family to one another, referring to each other as brothers and sisters. The angels also refer to God as their father. Even though God is their 'father', all angels except the Archangels have never actually seen God or his true face. According to Anna Milton, only four angels have actually met God and seen his true face. These four are thought to be the Archangels.

Unlike humans, because they lack physical bodies, angels do not reproduce while in their true forms, as reproduction is a purely physical process. Anna tells Dean that one of the things that humans have that angels don't is sex. Dean even describes angels as "Ken dolls" meaning that the only way for them to have sex is to possess a human. Only while within a human vessel can angels mate with humans, resulting in Nephilim. It has not been seen if they can mate with other angels in human vessels.

Due to their age and power, many angels look down upon humans and see them as inferior. Lucifer rebelled because God loved humans more than Angels. Some angels continued to hold resentment to this many thousands of years later, as evidenced by Uriel and his followers. Despite this, angels guard the souls in Heaven, and as shown in "What's Up, Tiger Mommy?" refuse to pawn them, even for the Word of God. Feelings of resentment aren't universal, as some angels such as Samandriel, Joshua and Inias are much more civil with humans, while others such as Anna and Gabriel consider them better than angels.

The episode "Torn and Frayed" has shown that after a sufficient amount of torture, angels can be broken and their "operating system" be accessed. Angels have secret knowledge pre-programmed into their being that they aren't even aware of. The screams an angels makes when tortured sends out ripples that cause strange occurrences, such a glass bottle shattering or a bush lighting on fire.



The angels only have their powers thanks to their grace. Without it, they are just like humans, even having a soul, like stated by Metatron, when he removed Castiel's grace. Anna stated that removing it voluntarily is very painful, comparable to a human removing a kidney.

When the angels falls from Heaven, they seem like meteors to the human eye. Anna explained that when she told to the Winchesters her story about how she fell from Heaven and is demonstrated when all angels fell from Heaven, when Metatron cast the spell to expell all angels from Heaven.

Archangels - High-tier powers


The four eldest and most powerful of God's angels, they were the only ones to have seen his face, with the possible exception of Metatron. They are far more powerful than any other angelic rank, being imbued with near unimaginable and unmeasurable power and authority. Furthermore, they are some of the strongest beings in all of Creation. The first four archangels that were revealed were born in this specific order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Gabriel. They are apparently the only known angels to have met God personally (if one doesn't count Metatron's statements about God), and therefore believed to have been the angels Anna described. There are at least only two archangels alive now; Michael and Lucifer (both are currently sealed in Lucifer's Cage), as Gabriel was killed by Lucifer, and Castiel killed Raphael when the former was imbued with power from Purgatory's souls.

Seraphim - Mid-Tier powers


The Seraphim (Zachariah was for a long time the only known Seraph) are a whole other type of Angelic being, who ranks higher than angels and Cupids. Zachariah, for example, was Castiel's direct superior, before his demise. Castiel, after all his resurrections, became a Seraph. The Seraphim report to the Archangels. They can be killed by regular Angel blades, but for some reason, they don't tend to carry their own blades. Castiel (after being promoted) and Zachariah are the only known Seraphim. Like the Archangels, their powers are imbued within them and if they Fall or become cut off from Heaven, they don't lose any of their powers.

Angels - Low-Tier powers


These are normal, common angels. Though not nearly as powerful as the Archangels or Seraphim, they can still destroy demons and Earthly monsters with relative ease. They are grouped into garrisons and are commanded by the Seraphim. They often carry Angel Blades. It is said that none of them have actually ever met God, and thus must rely on faith and obedience.

Cherubs


Cherubim, also called Cupids in, are ordered as third class angels, and thus placed at the very bottom of the Celestial chain of command, Heaven's hierarchy. They follow Heaven's orders, particularly serving Michael. In their occupation, they are responsible for manipulating affection in certain, special bloodlines. John and Mary Winchester, for example, were "matched" by a Cupid (however, not the one who appeared in "My Bloody Valentine") on Heaven's orders so that Dean and Sam could be born.

Fallen Angels


Fallen Angels are angels who either were expelled from Heaven, or who voluntarily left. They look no different than normal angels, but sometimes affects their abilities, depending on the rank of angel. For example, a fallen Seraph, like Castiel, retains all of his powers, whereas when Castiel was an Angel who fell, had lost a great deal of his power. However, a Fallen Angel's blood can potentially be used in the Anti-Leviathan killing weapon. Known banished angels include Lucifer, and Castiel. Angels who fell on their own accord--voluntarily left--include Anna Milton and Gabriel. Castiel is the most recent Fallen Angel having fallen twice: once when rebelling against the Apocalypse and the second (and current time) when he left of his own accord. Since he's a Seraph he retains all of his powers and abilities. Metatron is an angel who voluntarily left, but like Castiel, he seems to keep all of his powers despite being a regular angel. As of Sacrifice, Metatron's betrayal has caused all angels in Heaven to fall to Earth.

Nephilim


Nephilim are a hybrid race that are half-human and half-angel. They are the offspring of a human and an angel. Only two of their kind was found on earth and one was killed by Castiel as a part of the trials to "close off Heaven": a spell to expel all angels from Heaven.

Low-tier powers
Common powers granted to all angels with varying levels of effectiveness.
 * Angelic Possession - Similar to demons, angels require a vessel while on Earth. However, they must have the vessel's permission before they can take control.
 * Astral Projection - Angels can project their wings onto surfaces at will. If one is killed by an Angel Blade, its wings are burned onto the surface on which they died.
 * Chronokinesis - Angels can travel through time, in either direction. They can also take others with them, and just send others without going themselves. However, this is a very difficult ability to master with or without Heaven's assistance. More powerful angels such as Seraphs or Archangels are able to manipulate time easier, even when cut off from Heaven.
 * Dream Walking - Angels can appear in people's dreams, they usually use this to communicate, when they can't find the person they're looking for, or want to talk privately. Lucifer was able to talk to his future vessels in their dreams.
 * Eidetic Memory - Angels have the faces of every prophet who has existed or will exist etched into their memories. This ability also makes them aware of reality warping and timeline changes.
 * Electronic Manipulation - Angels can manipulate electrical appliances. Castiel caused a dozen car alarms to stop by snapping his fingers.
 * Immortality - Angels don't age and cannot be killed by diseases or Earthly weapons.
 * Invulnerability - To date, the only things capable of killing angels are Angel Blades, Holy Fire, a stronger angel, Death, God, and Leviathans. Archangels have even fewer weaknesses, as Michael wasn't killed by the  Holy Fire, and they can only be killed by Archangel Blades, not ordinary Angel Blades. It has been stated that Death's Scythe can kill angels.
 * Regeneration - If an angel's vessel is damaged, it will repair itself nearly instantly unless the wound was caused by angelic weaponry .
 * Sedation - Angels are able to render humans unconscious with a touch.
 * Super Stamina - Angels never tire, and they do not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep to sustain themselves.
 * Super Strength - Physically, regular angels are more than a match for humans, lower-level and mid-level demons, and most monsters. Higher angels like Seraphim can kill any demon. Archangels can overpower and kill any demon, creature, monster or pagan god. They can also kill all other angels with ease.
 * Supernatural Perception - Angels are able to see all supernatural activity around them. Castiel could even see Reapers, which remain invisible except to those they are seeking. They can also sense any location, being, or object not protected by Enochian Symbols. This perception also extends to electromagnetic waves, and can decipher radio modulation signals, as angels are "multidimensional waves" in their true form and can thus perceive such energies.
 * Telekinesis - Angels are able to telekinetically move beings and objects with their mind.
 * Telepathy - Angels can read the minds of other angels with ease, higher angels such as Seraphs and Archangels can also read humans minds.
 * Teleportation - Angels are able to travel from one place to another, instantly, without occupying the space in between. They can also summon or send other beings.
 * Voice Mimicry - Angels can perfectly mimic the voice of mortals.
 * Protective Charm - An angel can protect an individual (commonly their future vessels) from most forms of physical damage. This degree of protection is linked to an angel's power. Castiel was able to prevent his vessel Jimmy Novak from burning his hand on a pot of boiling water as a sign of faith. Raphael was capable of making Crowley immune to Castiel's angelic killing touch.
 * Flight - All angels are able to fly, though it's only been shown when not in a vessel. It may be linked to their teleportation due to the sound wings flapping when they teleport.
 * Pyrokinesis - Castiel displays the ability to burn through ropes holding him, even before it becomes a Seraph.
 * Invisibility - Some angels can become invisible to humans.

Powers accessed through connection to Heaven
To lower-level angels, certain powers are granted and maintained as long as they stay connected and loyal to Heaven and its rulers. Should they rebel and fall, those powers will wane and eventually vanish in time. However higher-level angels such as Seraphim and Archangels do not suffer from this condition.
 * Enhanced Chronokinesis - The ability to bend time is easier if the angel is connected to Heaven.
 * Healing - Angels can cause the wounds, diseases, and toxins of another being to heal instantaneously.
 * Killing Touch - Angels are able to destroy lower-level demons with a simple touch, however the demon has to be in a host body, as this doesn't work on their smoke form. However, they can grip a demon's smoke form and force it back into a host body to smite the demon. They can also use it to kill monsters and humans. More powerful angels, like Raphael, are proficient enough to scare (and kill) a demon as powerful as Lilith.
 * Resurrection - Angels can bring the dead back to life. However, they must know where all the pieces of the original body are, and they must have the soul of the subject. (The only known exception was when Castiel went to Lucifer's cage and only was able to raise Sam's body. His soul remained in the cage for over a year after). Castiel mentions that angels had to lay siege to Hell in order to retrieve Dean.

Mid-tier powers
Abilities more commonly used by higher classes of angels such as Seraphim, Naomi, Metatron and Archangels.
 * Biokinesis - Higher level angels, such as Seraphim, like Zachariah, are able to manipulate the biology of other beings. Zachariah, for example, was able to make Dean hemorrhage while torturing him into saying yes to Michael.
 * Vessel Locking Advanced - Powerful angels can hold a demon in smoke form as if it was tangible and force the demon to return to its vessel. This was demonstrated by Castiel on Ellsworth.
 * Memory Manipulation - Powerful angels are able to erase, restore, alter, and fabricate memories in the minds of humans.
 * Advanced Pyrokinesis - Powerful angels can generate and manipulate fire. Michael was proficient enough to kill another angel, Anna, by setting her ablaze from within. Interestingly, this didn't simply destroy the vessel, it also killed the angel, suggesting the fire had a supernatural element to it.
 * Soul Reading - Angels are able to read the souls of humans, however it is a painful experience for the human. They can also use the soul as a source of energy, but the pain is even greater for the human, and there is the risk of an explosion if the angel is not careful.
 * Reality Warping - Powerful angels can bend reality to their will. The most notable example is Gabriel, who lived on Earth as masquerading as a Trickster named Loki. Mid-level angels, can only do much easier things, such as breaking and repair objects by pointing, or assembling a game by shaking the box.
 * Power Removal - Powerful angels such as Seraphs are capable of removing psychic powers from human beings. However, the process is very painful and can leave the person mentally-damaged.
 * White Light - Naomi and Metatron have used this ability when fighting Crowley showing not only Archangels can use this power.Archangels are able to use that power can kill or injure almost everything. They can also control the intensity of this power.

High-tier powers
Extremely powerful abilities, used only by Heaven's most powerful denizens, the Archangels, but Metatron also shares one of these powers (although it was gained through experience rather than being an innate power).
 * Cosmic Awareness - All archangels and Metatron have a superhuman knowledge of the universe.
 * Cryokinesis -Lucifer demonstrated the ability to freeze a pane of glass with his breath. His presence can cause an entire town to drop in temperature.
 * Electrokinesis - Raphael could produce powerful arcs of electricity that appeared from his back.
 * Molecular Combustion - Lucifer caused Castiel to explode by snapping his fingers.
 * Shapeshifting - Lucifer was able to take multiple forms while not in a vessel, and while in vessel, Gabriel could also do this.
 * Weather Manipulation - Raphael was able to generate storms that caused blackouts over the entire Eastern Seaboard. Lucifer unleashed incredibly fierce winds with his release.
 * Terrakinesis - Able to create severe quakes simply by willing it
 * Nigh-Omnipotence - Archangels have a vast supply of power and can change reality, being able to do and create things out of thin air such as illusions, fantasy, portals, beings etc. Having great power and dexterity, archangels can easily overpower basically anything; humans, angels, pagan gods, demons, monsters, etc

Other

 * Matchmaking - Certain types of angels in the Cherub class, e.g. Cupids, use a special sigil called a Cupid's Bow to bring couples together. Couples touched by a cupid have their hearts marked with an enochian sigil.

Weaknesses
Angels are difficult to kill. The methods that are used to hurt or kill demons and humans will not affect them at all. In On the Head of a Pin, Uriel states that the only thing that can kill an angel is another angel, though this has been shown not to be the case as both Dean and Meg have killed angels before. Although there are not many ways known, there are methods to stop or kill an angel. Archangels are next to impossible to kill.

Harming, Misleading and Trapping

 * Holy Fire - Encased in flames created from Holy Oil, the angel is trapped. The trapped angel still can use their powers, possibly aiding them to escape. Touching the flame will kill the vessel and the angel. However, it cannot kill Michael, being only able to banish him.
 * Lucifer's Cage - Strong enough to securely contain normal angels and Archangels; it is currently holding the two strongest Archangels in existence, Michael and Lucifer. It is to be noted that Castiel was able to at least reach inside of the Cage to pull Sam out though he called the task "nearly impossible" and was only able to get Sam's body.
 * Enochian Sigils - When Enochian sigils are placed on human rib cages, they prevent any angel/archangel from detecting and finding them. They can also be used to prevent angels from entering a building by painting them on the building's walls. In Torn and Frayed, the sigils on the walls dramatically weakened Castiel's powers.
 * Hex Bags - Hex bags can used to prevent angels from detecting and finding someone (these cannot hide someone from Archangels in vessels).
 * Higher Demons / Large numbers of Demons- The highest Demons, Alistair, Lilith and (presumably) Azazel are able to fight, overpower, harm, and even banish lower level Angels, they can't kill them though. Significant numbers of demons (even without hosts) can also overpower angels as Crowley's army of demons was able to defeat Castiel's guards ("The Man Who Knew Too Much").

Banishing or destroying

 * Blood Seal - If a person places his or her hand upon this blood seal that is placed upon something then all angels in the immediate area will be banished away. An angel can activate this seal as well. If an angel activates the seal then the angel who activates the seal will not be banished along with the other angels in the area. The blood seal can also be place upon a person's body. If an angel activates the seal this way (carved into its vessel's chest), he or she will be banished along with the other angels.
 * Exorcism Chant - There is an exorcism chant to expel angels from their human vessels and send them back to heaven. It seems that the chant is not well known as the only entity to use it was Alastair. The Whore of Babylon also knew an enochian chant which causes Angels severe pain.
 * Spell to Expel all Angels from Heaven: Metatron used a spell to banish all angels from Heaven. The steps to complete the spell were to kill a nephilim, to take a cupid's bow, and take an angel's grace (Metatron took Castiel's).
 * Removing their Grace: if an angel loses its Grace, it will become human, gaining a soul.
 * Angelic Blade - An angel can be killed by stabbing him or her with an angelic blade. It seems that the angel must be stabbed in a vital area of the human body, such as the head, heart, neck, or stomach. When an angel is stabbed by an angelic blade, a burst of bright, white light is released and angel wings are burned on the surface underneath the body of the angel's human vessel.
 * Archangel Blade - Archangels seem to have their own angelic blades that are probably more powerful than normal angelic blades. It seems that a Archangel blade is capable of killing both normal angels and Archangels as shown when Lucifer killed Gabriel with his own blade.
 * Weapons of Heaven - Harms angels and archangels; so far it has been shown that a weapon of Heaven can destroy an archangel's human vessel so that it can not be resurrected as seen with Donnie Finnerman, the true vessel of Raphael.
 * Colt - Castiel believed that the Colt was the only thing that could possibly kill Lucifer. Although, a shot to the head failed to kill Lucifer, it's unknown if the Colt is capable of killing other regular angels, but as only five beings are immune to it its probable.
 * Death's Scythe - This item is said to have the power to reap any living being, whether it be human, demon, angel, and its rumored to even be able to reap Death himself. So far it has been seen to kill reapers which is an indicator that it is very powerful.
 * Leviathans - Leviathans can easily kill regular angels, as demonstrated at the end of the episode "Reading Is Fundamental" when Edgar kills Kevin's two angel escorts by sticking his fist into their chests and injecting them with black Leviathan blood. According to Castiel, one of the reasons why God locked the Leviathans up in Purgatory was because they could kill angels. They can overpower Seraphs, although not without effort. Castiel fought off several Leviathan in Purgatory, taking on more than one on at least one occasion (though was almost killed by them). However it's unknown how they compare to the Archangels.
 * Hellhounds (possibly) - Hellhounds might be able to harm or kill Angels as upon their approach Castiel ran along with Dean, Sam, Meg and two other Demons.
 * Death - As the personified of the literal concept of the end of a living entity, Death can essentially kill any type of Celestial.
 * God - God can kill any Angel on his command.
 * Eve - a being older than the angels themselves, can suppress their powers through her mere presence alone.

Nephilim

 * Jane

Cherubim

 * Cupid
 * Gail

Angels

 * Castiel (promoted)
 * Uriel
 * Anna Milton
 * Joshua
 * Balthazar
 * Virgil
 * Rachel
 * Hester
 * Inias
 * Samandriel
 * Naomi
 * Metatron
 * Ion
 * Esper
 * Nathaniel

Seraphim

 * Zachariah
 * Castiel

Archangels

 * Michael
 * Lucifer
 * Raphael
 * Gabriel

Season 2

 * Tall Tales (Gabriel, disguised as The Trickster) - first appearance of an Archangel

Season 3

 * Mystery Spot (Gabriel, disguised as The Trickster)

Season 4

 * Lazarus Rising (Castiel)
 * Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester (Castiel)
 * In The Beginning (Castiel)
 * It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
 * I Know What You Did Last Summer
 * Heaven and Hell
 * Death Takes A Holiday
 * On The Head Of A Pin
 * It's A Terrible Life (Zachariah) - first appearance of a Seraph
 * The Monster at the End of This Book - first named semi appearance of an Archangel
 * The Rapture
 * When The Levee Breaks
 * Lucifer Rising

Season 5

 * Sympathy for the Devil - first named proper appearance of an Archangel
 * Good God, Y'all (Castiel)
 * Free To Be You and Me
 * The End
 * I Believe The Children Are Our Future (Castiel)
 * Changing Channels
 * Abandon All Hope...
 * The Song Remains the Same
 * My Bloody Valentine - first apperance of a Cherub
 * Dark Side of the Moon
 * 99 Problems (Castiel)
 * Point of No Return
 * Hammer of the Gods
 * Two Minutes to Midnight (Castiel)
 * Swan Song

Season 6

 * The Third Man
 * You Can't Handle The Truth
 * Family Matters
 * Caged Heat
 * Appointment In Samarra
 * Like A Virgin
 * The French Mistake
 * My Heart Will Go On
 * Frontierland
 * Mommy Dearest
 * The Man Who Would Be King
 * Let It Bleed
 * The Man Who Knew Too Much

Season 7

 * Meet The New Boss
 * Hello, Cruel World (Castiel)
 * The Born-Again Identity (Castiel)
 * Reading Is Fundamental
 * Survival of the Fittest (Castiel)

Season 8

 * What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
 * Blood Brother
 * A Little Slice of Kevin
 * Hunteri Heroici
 * Torn and Frayed
 * Goodbye Stranger
 * Taxi Driver (Naomi)
 * The Great Escapist
 * Clip Show
 * Sacrifice