Overview
God who humbles the proud
Nanael is the guardian angel of people born from about December 12 to December 16, when the Sun is in Sagittarius, between 20 and 25 degrees. The dates shift by a day depending on the year.
What Nanael governs
Tradition credits Nanael with rule over the higher sciences. Its influence extends to clergy, teachers and professors, magistrates, and lawyers.
- knowledge
- learning
- meditation
- reflection
- solitude
Born under Nanael
A person born under this influence has a melancholy temperament. They love a private, retired life, rest, and meditation, and they stand out for their knowledge of the abstract sciences.
The shadow of Nanael
The contrary angel rules over ignorance and every bad quality of body and soul.
In the tarot
Four of Wands
The Golden Dawn starts the circle of angels at Leo and sets two angels under each of the thirty-six numbered cards. It places Nanael and Nithael under the Four of Wands.
- completion
- harmony
- family ties
- well-earned rest
- wish to build
Angels close to Nanael
- Its tarot twin
- Nithael
At a glance
- Zodiac
- Sagittarius 20–25° The five degrees of the zodiac the angel governs. The 72 angels share the circle, starting at 0° Aries.
- Days in 2026
- Dec 12 – 16 The days the Sun crosses those degrees this year. From one year to the next they can shift by a day.
- Choir
- Principalities The 72 angels are set in nine choirs of eight, from the Seraphim to the Angels.
- Decan
- 27 of 36 The zodiac divides into 36 decans of ten degrees; each holds two angels.
- Decan ruler
- Saturn The planet that rules this decan, in the Chaldean order handed down from antiquity.
- Hour
- 17:20 – 17:40 Its twenty minutes of the day: the 72 angels share the 24 hours, starting at midnight.
- Days of rule
- May 11 · July 22 · October 2 · December 13 · February 23 Every day of the year has its angel, in a seventy-two-day cycle that starts on 20 March: each angel returns five times.
- Verse
- Psalm 119:75 The verse the tradition ties to its name. Psalms are numbered as in modern Bibles.
- Hebrew name
- ננאאל Its name in Hebrew, read from right to left.
Nanael, questions and answers
How do I know if Nanael is my guardian angel?
Nanael is the angel of people born while the Sun crossed its five degrees, from December 12 to December 16 this year. On the day the Sun moves from one angel to the next, only the hour of birth can decide.
Which days belong to Nanael?
In the tradition's calendar, Nanael rules five days a year: May 11 · July 22 · October 2 · December 13 · February 23. It also rules the twenty minutes of 17:20 – 17:40.
What does the name Nanael mean?
The tradition renders its name as: God who humbles the proud.
Which verse goes with Nanael?
Psalm 119:75, numbered as in modern Bibles.
Sources
The texts on this page are written from an early nineteenth-century French treatise on the Kabbalah, now in the public domain; the tarot link follows the Golden Dawn.