Angels

Angels are winged celestial beings created by God to serve as his attendants and messengers, but also as soldiers in his war against Lucifer and demons. They are native to Heaven and are imbued with both holy white light as well as considerable power. Their true form is nothing less of holy righteous beings which are beautiful as well as hazardous, terrifying, and overwhelming all at the same time; ranging from two to six (maybe more) large feathered wings on their backs, four animalistic heads with halos of light around them, and heights as tall as skyscrapers.

Angels are one of the most powerful entities in the series, generally outclassing all demons, monsters, Reapers and other supernatural creatures with the exception of Leviathans.

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

- The inner "programming" of an angel

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 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, according to Castiel 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, Loki. 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.

Angels communicate with each other through the enochian language.

Season 2
Mascerading as the Trickster / Loki the Archangel, Gabriel killed three people at a college possitioning himself as the school janitor, all of whom were described as "dicks" before messing with Sam and Dean themselves. Eventually catching on, Sam, Dean and Bobby Singer attack "Loki" and Dean stabbed him, believing him to be dead. However Gabriel was revealed to have survived with Dean stabbing a fake body.

Season 3
Bent on both revenge and teaching Sam a lesson, "Loki" set up a mystery spot where Dean was killed a thousand times in a ground hoged day Tuesday. Eventually Sam and Dean found him and tried to kill him but "Loki" resumed the daysm only for Dean to die on the Wedensday but did not reverse time again. 6 months later Sam found "Loki" who revealed to him that Dean's numerous deaths were to remind him of his aweful fate of going to Hell before spearing Dean and returning time to normal.

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 is unable to take his soul as well. 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.

Season 9
In I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here, all of the angels have fallen from Heaven in what all humans believe to be a "global meteor shower." Some have taken vessels, but most were still encircling the world looking for vessels. Most blame Castiel for what happened and began looking for him for revenge. Desperate to save Sam, Dean prayed to all angels for help, but only Ezekiel came to help while three come looking for Castiel's location. Dean killed one with an Angel Blade and banished the other two while Ezekiel took Sam as his vessel to heal both Sam and himself from their injuries. At the same time, an angel named Hael approached and ultimately kidnapped Castiel, planning to possess Castiel in order to become stronger and to fit in on Earth easier. Castiel managed to defeat Hael by crashing her car, but was forced to kill her when she threatened to broadcast to all angels where to look for him.

During a fight against demons in Devil May Care, Ezekiel was forced to reveal himself to save Sam from Abaddon's demons. His astral projection was similar to that of previous angels, although his wings were noticeably broken.

According to Ezekiel in I'm No Angel, a faction of angels led by Bartholomew, who is a protégée of Naomi, is hunting down Castiel for revenge and gaining power. Bartholomew is shown to be using an internet preacher with a worldwide following to spread the word to say "Yes" to angels if they come looking for a vessel, allowing him and his faction to gain bodies at a fast rate. He sends angels out to look for Castiel, but after one attacks him, Castiel uses tattoos to hide himself from the angels. Bartholomew then sends out rouge Reapers to look. Dean finds out Castiel thanks to Ezekiel and rescues him, killing two Reapers along the way, but Castiel is killed. Ezekiel resurrects Castiel and later tells Dean that Castiel must leave or he will have to, as if the angels find him, they will attack the Bunker and Sam, Dean, Castiel and Ezekiel will not be able to survive a full incursion. Even though Ezekiel is slowly healing Sam, if he leaves Sam, Sam will die. So Dean is forced to tell Castiel to leave.

In Heaven Can't Wait The angel Ephraim takes possession of a man who had become deeply religious, so much so that he drove his wife away. Blinded by religious fervor and a desire to serve God, the man let Ephraim into his body. Ephraim began a killing spree, using his abilities of pain-detection to track down the gravely injured or emotionally despondent and using his healing abilities to heal them or his special smiting abilities to give them a quick and virtually painless death, ending their misery. He was killed by Castiel.

In Holy Terror, Metatron speaks to the angel in Sam's body, revealing that he knows the angel possessing Sam is not Ezekiel, but Gadreel. Metatron tells Gadreel he plans to rebuild Heaven and restore it to its former glory. He invites Gadreel to be his second in command, and restore his besmirched name. Gadreel agrees, but Metatron demands a demonstration of his loyalty. He wants those who could oppose him killed, and gives Gadreel a piece of paper with the first target; Kevin Tran. While Castiel is being tortured by Malachi, he learns that Ezekiel was one of the angels who was killed during the angel's expulsion from Heaven. After he escapes, Cas passes this information onto Dean. While not knowing who is possessing Sam, Dean decides he must be expelled. He asks Kevin for a spell that will help him speak to a person, while repressing the angel possessing them, although without revealing the real reason why. However Gadreel was aware of Dean's plan and altered the sigil. Knowing that Dean plans to get rid of him, he punches Dean, briefly knocking him out. He then finds Kevin in the main bunker room and despite Dean's intervention, he kills Kevin and leaves with the angel and demon tablets.

In Road Trip, Gadreel is backstage at a rock concert. The pop idol Corey is actually possessed by the angel Thaddeus who tortured Gadreel and another angel called Abner while they were imprisoned in Heaven. Gadreel kills him with an angel sword. Gadreel meets with Metatron in a bar, where coincidentally the man who was his original vessel works. He reports that he killed Kevin, and Thaddeus, and Metatron gives him his next target. Gadreel is reluctant but Metatron says he demands it as a test of loyalty. Gadreel's next target turns out to be his friend Abner, now living a happy family life. He tells Gadreel that being on Earth is a second chance, and that the most important thing is to go after what you want. Gadreel had been vacillating about killing Abner, but this steels his resolve. Dean, Cas and Crowley track down the Impala - and Gadreel who has killed Abner. They take him captive but he refuses to leave Sam. Crowley begins the painful process of accessing the angel's mind. Unable to bear seeing Sam suffer, Dean walks away, and Cas follows. Dean apologises for sending Castiel away from the bunker and not telling him about Sam and how Gadreel deceived him. Castiel replies that he too trusted Metatron and was deceived into inadvertently helping the expulsion of the angels from heaven. Crowley has accessed Gadreel's "programming" and is able to make the angel reveal his identity. Castiel is enraged, as he views Gadreel as responsible for everything from the absence of God to the Apocalypse. Gadreel mocks them, saying he cannot be controlled. Crowley offers an alternative - he will possess Sam, and alert Sam to Gadreel's presence, so he can expel the angel. Over Castiel's protestations, Dean agrees, and gets Castiel to use his power to remove Sam's anti-possession tattoo. Crowley then enters Sam's mind. He convinces Sam that an angel is possessing him, but then Gadreel finds them. A fight ensues but Sam is strong enough and expels Gadreel from his body. Crowley leaves voluntarily. Gadreel returns to the bar where Metatron is, and repossesses his original vessel.

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. They are superhuman beings superior to mortals in both power and intelligence. 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 hosts. 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 presence has been seen or manifested on earth as a brilliant white light; respectively, angels in their true form do have large swan-like wings on their backs 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, he also explains that the reason that humans can't see an angel's wings while in a vessel is because their senses are so 'limited' or too dull to perceive them. 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. Apparently, they lost their wings when they fell, as Hael stated: "What's an angel without its wings?". In the next episode, we can see how damaged their wings are, when Ezekiel shows his to three demons. Angels' true forms also appear to be very large in height, as evidenced when Castiel states that his true form is "approximately 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 clear signs of anger, pettiness and arrogance. 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 as opposed to handshakes. To be more accurate, angels are very much capable of both human emotions and flaws of character, rather the majority of them choose not to show or admit to having emotions 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 and Metatron 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 or what the resulting offspring would be.

Due to their age and power, many angels look down upon humans and see them as inferior. Lucifer rebelled because God loved humans, a flawed and arrogant species, 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 because, despite their inherent flaws, a lot of them strive to do good.

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.



While outside of a vessel, angels appear to humans as a luminous white-blue smoke. While within a vessel, angels only have their powers thanks to their grace. Without it, they are just like humans and become subject to the process of life and death, as 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 fell from Heaven, they seemed 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 expel all angels from Heaven. However, being expelled from Heaven like that doesn't strip the angels of their powers, except teleportation and seems to make them weaker. They also don't seem to be completely cut-off as Gadreel displays powers Castiel lost when he Fell the first time.

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 rank higher than angels and Cupids. Zachariah, for example, was Castiel's direct superior, before his demise. They are immensely powerful celestials who can easily overpower and kill high-tier demons and monsters and have been shown to possess incredible powers, such as Holy White Light and advanced biokinesis. Seraphim function as liaisons between Archangels and regular angels and 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.

Some notable Seraphim include Castiel and Zachariah, currently the only two shown in the series. However, it is presumed there are just as many Seraphim as regular angels.

Angels - Low-Tier powers


These are normal, common angels. In comparison to most other supernatural entities, angels are amongst the most powerful and feared beings in the series. Though not nearly as powerful as Seraphim or Archangels, angels easily outclass demons, monsters, and other supernatural creatures, with the exception of the highest ranking demons. Angels possess a great number of formidable abilities that make them a dominant presence in the supernatural world, such as telekinesis, smiting, and teleportation. They are grouped into garrisons and are commanded by the Seraphim. They often carry Angel Blades, lethal weapons that can kill any being, including angels themselves. 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 one of their kind was found on earth and was killed by Castiel as a part of the trials to "close off Heaven": a spell to expel all angels from Heaven.

Rit Zien
Rit Zien are the medics of Heaven. Their name is enochian for "Hands of Mercy". On the battlefields of heaven they would heal the angels and give the mortally wounded a painless death.

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. Gadreel states that even once they are possessed, the vessel can expel the angel at any time but this presumably does not apply for all angels.
 * Astral Projection - Angels can project shadowy forms of 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, though it is still not an easy task.
 * 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 names 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 raising his hand.
 * 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, though it's unknown if they can be killed by 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.
 * Smiting - Perhaps an angel's most versatile and terrifying weapon, smiting (sometimes known as the Killing Touch) allows the angel to kill any demon, monster and even humans with a touch. Smiting is often exhibited when angels place their hands or palms on their adversaries' face, forehead, or mouth.
 * Super Stamina - Angels never tire, and they do not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep to sustain themselves.
 * Super Strength - Once possessing a vessel, angels use their power to dramatically increase the physical strength threshold of their hosts. All angels are much superior to humans and animals in strength, however, their strength varies from angel to angel, depending on their position within the celestial hierarchy; lesser angels (cherubs, rit zien, and common angels) are just stronger than lesser monsters as well as average black-eyed demons, able to press at least 2 tons (4,000 lbs), while seraphs, mid-level angels, are considerably stronger, able to overpower stronger monsters, mid-level demons, and virtually all lesser angels. Finally, archangels are the strongest of all angels and are counted among the most physically powerful beings in existence, able to overpower all lesser and mid-level angels, top-level monsters, top-level demons, and even top-level pagan deities.
 * Super Senses - All angels enhance their vessels senses to superhuman level. Angels possess an acute sense of smell. Their sense of smell is heightened to the point where they can identify people by smelling their body, bone or by their blood. Angels can also identify people by sniffing their genes and hormones as well.  Because angels operate on a different plane of existence, they can see atoms and ions which are impossible for humans to see. Angels can hear a humans conversations miles away from them, and they are somehow able to locate any human on the planet and find them, but they can't locate people if they are protected by an Enochian charm or symbol.
 * Supernatural Perception - Angels are able to see almost 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. They are able to use this power in a more aggressive manner like demons, but are often not depicted as doing so.
 * 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.
 * Temporal Awareness - Angels are capable of becoming aware whenever any alteration occur within the time-stream, allowing them to discern alternate timelines and the like. With this, Angels like Castiel and a younger Uriel have identified other time-travellers in this manner.
 * 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 of wings flapping when they teleport.
 * Pyrokinesis - Castiel displays the ability to burn through ropes holding him, even before he becomes a Seraph.

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 - Angels have 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.
 * Smiting - Angels are able to destroy low to mid-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. Seraphim and Archangels can kill any demon, monster, or supernatural creature with this power, since they are immeasurably more powerful than the listed entities.
 * 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. However, if the soul is in Heaven, they apparently don't need to physically retrieve it as Castiel was able to resurrect Bobby Singer without retrieving his soul and Gadreel was able to do the same with Charlie Bradbury.

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.
 * Advanced Vessel Locking - 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.
 * Holy White Light - Seraphim and Archangels can unleash a concentrated blast of pure light energy from their palms and control its destructiveness, ranging from incinerating a room full of monsters to obliterating entire buildings. Castiel demonstrated the sheer lethality and power of this ability by killing an entire room of Jefferson Starships with one blast. Regular angels may also have this ability, as Metatron has been shown to use it.
 * Invisibility - Some angels can become invisible to humans.

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.
 * Advanced Smiting - A more powerful version of a lower angel's smiting. This could obliterate powerful beings such as archangels themselves. Lucifer caused Castiel to explode by snapping his fingers, and Castiel, while powered with the souls from Purgatory, also demonstrated the same ability to Raphael.
 * 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 - Archangels are 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 humans, angels, pagan gods, demons and monsters.

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.
 * Pain Seeking - Angels in the Rit Zien class can sense another beings pain.
 * Unique Smiting - The Rit Zien have a unique method of smiting their victims by vapourising them completely.

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).
 * Brain Penatration - One of Crowley's demons was able to block at least some of Samandriel's powers by placing large metal spikes into his brain. They can also break into the angel's factory settings through this method.
 * Higher Demons / Large numbers of Demons- The highest Demons 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) may be able to overpower a few regular angels as Crowley's army of demons was able to defeat Castiel's guards ("The Man Who Knew Too Much"). However, it is unlikely that numerical superiority plays any factor against the Seraphim and Archangels, as Castiel as a Seraph was effortlessly able to kill three demons in quick succession.

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 and take its heart, to take a cupid's bow, and take an angel's grace (Metatron took Castiel's).
 * Vessel Expulsion - A vessel possesses the ability to expel the angel possessing them if they so choose depending on their strength of will and willingness to be possessed. However, while the angel is rendered bodiless, they do not seem to be harmed in any other way.
 * 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 an Archangel blade is capable of killing both normal angels and Archangels as shown when Lucifer killed Gabriel with his own blade.
 * Angel Blade Bullets - Bullets forged from melted-down angel blades were shown to be effective against angels. However, like an angel blade, the bullet must enter a fatal area, such as the brain.
 * 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. Leviathan also managed to slaughter an entire garrison. 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 this was with Dean's assistance and he 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.
 * Cambion/ Anti-Christ - the offspring of a human and demon can easily overpower angels, even able to destroy the entire Host of Heaven with a word.
 * Eve - a being older than the angels themselves, can suppress their powers through her mere presence alone.
 * Naomi's torture implement - Naomi possesses an implement capable of causing harm to angels through torture and possibly bending them to her will. It has also been shown to be capable of killing of an angel.

Nephilim

 * Jane (deceased)

Cherubim

 * Cupid
 * Gail

Angels

 * Uriel (deceased)
 * Anna Milton (deceased)
 * Joshua
 * Balthazar (deceased)
 * Virgil
 * Rachel (deceased)
 * Hester (deceased)
 * Inias
 * Samandriel (deceased)
 * Naomi (deceased)
 * Metatron
 * Ion (deceased)
 * Esper (deceased)
 * Nathaniel
 * Ezekiel (deceased)
 * Hael (deceased)
 * Bartholomew
 * Malachi
 * Gadreel
 * Muriel (deceased)
 * Theo (turned into human) (deceased)
 * Azrael (deceased)
 * Sophia (deceased)
 * Abner (deceased)
 * Thaddeus (deceased)
 * Jophiel (tie-in Novels only)
 * Uzziel (tie-in Novels only)
 * Ramiel (deceased) (tie-in Novels only)
 * Selaphiel (tie-in Novels only)

Lucifer's Guards
        Abbadon (deceased) (tie-in Novels only)

Rit Zien

 * Ephraim (deceased)

Seraphim

 * Zachariah (deceased)
 * Castiel (at least partially restored)

Archangels

 * Michael (imprisoned)
 * Lucifer (imprisoned)
 * Raphael (deceased)
 * Gabriel (status unknown)

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 appearance 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

Season 9
Engel
 * I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
 * Devil May Care (Gadreel)
 * I'm No Angel
 * Slumber Party (Gadreel)
 * Dog Dean Afternoon (Gadreel)
 * Heaven Can't Wait (Ephraim)
 * Rock and a Hard Place (Gadreel)
 * Holy Terror
 * Road Trip
 * First Born (Castiel)