OPHANIM - Wheels of Fire!

The Ophanim or Thrones form the third Order or Choir in the First Hierarchal Sphere of the Hierarchy of Angels and are part of the Heavenly Counselors according to the comparative study of Old and New Testament passages.

The Hebrew is owphan meaning wheels, and they are also known as Thrones, from the vision of Daniel 7:9 and are unusual looking compared to the other celestial beings.

They appear as a beryl-colored wheel-within-a-wheel and their rims are covered with hundreds of eyes.

They are closely connected with the Cherubim:

"When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures [Cherubim] was in the wheels." (Ezekiel 10:17).

The Lords of Flame...

In the Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception the "Lords of the Flame", the Hierarchy of Elohim astrologically assigned to Leo, are the Thrones "because of the brilliant luminosity of their bodies and their great spiritual powers" which also corresponds to the description of the Ophanim.

The other two superior hierarchies are the Cherubim and Seraphim.

They signify the turning or revolving celestial bodies, especially the planets, with a constant eye upon the indwelling angelic hosts which give to the celestial bodies their respective individualities, their characteristic energies and substances, and which produce and control their various cyclical movements in both space and time.

According to esoteric Christian teaching, the three Hierarchies ie. Thrones or Ophanim, Cherubim and Seraphim have already reached liberation and are thus no longer active in the work of evolution.

Beings of Incredible Power

They are beings of incredible power and movement.

They also symbolize stability, are the keepers of higher and more lingering energies of the universe ensuring that these energies maintain relations and course through all realms. They act as the conduits of the physical worlds and tend to be more stationary in their existence.

They also send healing energies, mirroring goodness without any trace of pride or ambition. They are living symbols of God’s justice and authority, passing messages from God himself to men and other angels.