Angels

"They're not really the Hallmark card version that everybody thinks? They're fierce, right? Vigilant."

- Sam

Angels are Celestial beings created by God. They are winged spiritual entities native to Heaven, imbued with holy white light. And although both angels and humans were created by God, angels are very different and are supernaturally superior to humans. Their true form is nothing less of righteous monstrosities, ranging from two to six wings, and sometimes four faces (one of which is a lion), and can be as tall as skyscrapers.

Characteristics
As warriors of God, 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, an angel's true form has been seen as a brilliant white light; respectively, angels do have swanlike wings. 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. 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 "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, angels do not reproduce. 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.

History
Before creating anything, for some time, God just existed with Death, who both were present at least before the the beginning of time, probably sooner. Eve, at the point of her existence, existed before Angels, but her actually age is unknown.

Then, once having planet Earth formed, God created the Leviathans, who roamed it, eating literally everything in their path, and potentially angels, so he locked them in Purgatory.

God created his first type of Celestial being, Archangels, namely Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel. Sometime after, he created the Seraphs, angels and cupids.

Archangels

 * Main article: Archangel

Described as "Heaven's most terrifying weapon", they represent the most powerful type of celestial, created by God, and are imbued with immense power and authority, existing on a higher plane of existence. They were made before the other angels, and presumably everything else, being born in this order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. It has been insinuated that the four archangels are the four angels that Anna describes that have seen God. Their true visages prove destructive and overwhelming to everything around them, and are fatal to mortals in most instances, but their chosen vessels can withstand it. Most mortal vessels can't properly contain them, and because of this, they require their true, predestined vessels in order to stay within a vessel for as long as needed because other vessels will eventually decompose and degrade from an essence of an archangel. Castiel pronounces them as being fierce and absolute, but not very just. Michael and Raphael are tethered to prophets, and will intervene when a prophet is in danger and or when one tries to manipulate prophecy. All archangels possess abilities inherent in all angels but at an elevated level, and possess other, more special abilities that angels are incapable of using. But like the rest of the angels, they are tied down to rules set by God and have to be careful what power to use and when. The natural order has a way of responding to their actions. Currently none of them are active since Michael and Lucifer are trapped in Hell and both Raphael and Gabriel are dead.

Seraphs

 * Main article: Seraphs

Seraphs are another type of angelic being, and are quite powerful. They are under the authority of archangels. Not much is known about them in Canon other then the complexion of their true visage which consists of: four faces ("one of which is a lion") and six enormous wings. Their ranking within the Host remains undefined although they seem to be higher than normal angels. Zachariah is an example of a Seraph.

Angels
These are normal, common angels. Though not as powerful as the Archangels or Seraphs, they can still destroy demons and monsters with relative ease. They are grouped into garrisons and are commanded by the Seraphs. They often carry Angel Blades.

Cupids

 * Main article: Cupids

Cupids, also called Cherubs in the celestial chain or sphere, are ordered as third class angels. They all 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 the Cupids on Heaven's orders so that Dean and Sam could be born.

Fallen Angels
Fallen angels are angels who either were banished from Heaven, or who voluntarily left. Known banished angels include Lucifer, and Gabriel and Anna Milton fell on their own accord. Castiel is the most recent Fallen angel.

Powers possessed by all angels

 * 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 naturally 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.
 * Dream Walking - Angels can appear in people's dreams, they usually use this to communicate, when they can't find the person their 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.
 * Immortality - Angels don't age and cannot be killed by dieases.
 * 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 was shown to shrug off Holy Fire, and they can only be killed by Archangel Blades, not ordinary Angel Blades. It has been rumored that Death's Scythe can kill angels. It is also said that powerful demons like Lilith can kill low-level angels, although it seems doubtful.
 * Regeneration - If an angel's vessel is damaged, it will repair itself nearly instantly.
 * Sedation - Angels are able to render humans unconscious with a touch.
 * 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.
 * Superhuman Stamina - Angels never tire, and they do not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep to sustain themselves.
 * Superhuman Strength - Physically, regular angels are more than a match for humans, lower-level and mid-level demons, and most monsters. Higher angels like Seraphs 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.
 * Telekinesis - Angels are able to telekinetically move beings and objects with their mind.
 * Telepathy - Angels can read the minds of others.
 * Teleportation - Angels are able to travel from one place to another, instantly, without occupying the space in between.
 * Voice Mimicry - Angels can perfectly mimic the voice of mortals.

Powers accessed through the Heavenly Connection

 * 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. More powerful angels, like Raphael, are proficient enough to scare (and presumably 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 when to Lucifer's cage and took Sam's body from the cage, but his soul remained behind). Castiel mentions that angels had to lay siege to Hell in order to retrieve Dean.

Powers only used by high-tier Angels

 * Biokinesis - Higher level angels, such as Seraphs, 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.
 * Memory Manipulation - Powerful angels are able to erase, restore, alter, and fabricate memories in the minds of humans.
 * 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.
 * 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.

Powers only used by Archangels

 * Cosmic Awareness - All archangels have a superhuman knowledge of the universe.
 * Cryokinesis - Lucifer demonstrated the ability to freeze a pane of glass with his breath.
 * Electrokinesis - Raphael had arcs of electricity coming from his back.
 * Holy White Light - Archangels can create devestating energy.
 * Hydrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate water.
 * Invulnerability Extension - Raphael was able to protect Crowley from Castiel.
 * 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.

Other

 * Matchmaking - Certain types of angels in the Cherub class, e.g. Cupids, can bring couples together by marking their hearts.

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 almost impossible to kill.


 * 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. This won't work on Archangels. 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. Archangels are immune to this. It seems that the chant is not well known as the only entity to use it was Alastair.




 * 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.


 * 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. Uriel_dead.jpg
 * Archangel Blade - Archangels seem to have their own angelic blades that are 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.


 * 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.


 * Enochian Sigils - When Enochian sigils are placed on human rib cages, they prevent any angel 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.


 * Hex Bags - Hex bags can used to prevent angels from detecting and finding someone (these cannot hide someone from Archangels in vessels).


 * 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 (Possibly) - 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 archangels but it seems likely it could kill normal angels, such as Castiel himself.


 * Death's Scythe - Although it has not been seen in action, 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.


 * Leviathans - Leviathans can easily kill lower 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. Archangels are a different matter entirely, since their powers far exceed those of other angels/seraphs, and are not lost if cut off from Heaven. No fight between Leviathans and Archangels has been shown, though.
 * Eve - Eve, a being older than the angels themselves, can suppress their powers through her mere presence alone.

Cherubim

 * Cupid

Angels

 * Castiel
 * Uriel
 * Anna Milton
 * Joshua
 * Balthazar
 * Virgil
 * Rachel
 * Hester
 * Inias
 * Metatron (Scribe of God; mentioned only)

Seraphim

 * Zachariah

Archangels

 * Michael
 * Gabriel
 * Raphael
 * Lucifer

Season 2

 * Tall Tales (Gabriel, disguised as The Trickster)

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
 * The Rapture
 * When The Levee Breaks
 * Lucifer Rising

Season 5

 * Sympathy for the Devil
 * 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
 * Dark Side of the Moon
 * 99 Problems
 * Point of No Return
 * Two Minutes to Midnight
 * 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)