Throughout the ages the presence, seen or unseen, of winged beings hovering between the human and divine worlds has been recognized. Peter Lamborn Wilson reveals their role in all the great religions, as the mediators, the protectors or if necessary the punishers. He considers their function as messengers: carrying a Greek hero to the realms of sleep; raising Mohammed to heaven; wrestling with Jacob; or announcing the birth of Christ. He analyses the image of the angel; angelic choirs; the archangels' war against Satan. And he delves into arcana such as angels and shamanism, and angelic eroticism. The illustrations gather angels from every culture and artistic medium, every time and place.