IADALBAOTH-A being that appears in the lore of Gnosticism (an offshoot of Christianity that advanced its own notion on the Creation). According to the Gnostics, Idalbaoth was the creator of humanity and also the progenitor of the so-called seven elohim, the Gnostic equivalent of the seven great angels. He occupies a high position in Gnostic cosmology, in some accounts ranked just below the Creator of all things. In other cases, however, Iadalbaoth is considered a being of darkness.

IMAMIAH-A onetime angel who was a member of the angelic order or choir of principalities. Now a most unpleasant fallen angel, he is a noteworthy denizen of hell, called upon by sorcerers to bring total destruction to their enemies. Imamiah was mentioned in the lore of the Qabalah.

INIAS-Also Iniaes, one of the angels who were officially removed from the list of honored angels recognized by the Christian Church at a council in Rome in 745. The angels were taken off the lists by Church officials to counter what they feared was an altogether unwholesome obsession concerning the angels in the popular thinking of the time. Inias was joined in disgrace by Uriel, Sabaoc, Tubuel, Raguel, and Simiel. The legend is told, however, that Inias responded quite poorly to the actions of the council and became an enemy of the faith.

INNOCENTS-An all but forgotten choir of angels who ranked as the tenth order of the twelve that were proposed by occultist scholar Francis Barrett in his 1801 tope The Magus. Barrett argued that the generally accepted nine choirs of angels-as established in virtually recognized form by the theologian Dionysius the Areopagite in the sixth century-omitted three others: innocents (tenth choir), martyrs (eleventh choir), and confessors (twelfth choir).

IOFIEL-An angel, also called Jophiel and Zophiel, whose name means "the beauty of God." (See Jophiel.)

IRIN QADDISIM-See under Watchers.

ISRAEL-In some Jewish lore Israel refers to an angel ranked among the high order of the hayyoth, the formidable angels circling or supporting the throne of God. Elsewhere, however, this angel is identified with a curious but understandable angelic being named Israel-Jacob, a union of the famous patriarch Jacob with the angelic. In the Old Testament, Jacob struggled wih the angel, termed the dark angel, and the angel declares to Jacob that his name henceforth shall be Israel.

ISRAFEL-Also Israfil, one of the great angels in Islamic lore, honored as the angel of the Last Judgment or angel of the Resurrection. At the end of the world, Israfel will descend to the earth, stand upon the holy rock in Jerusalem, and blow the awesome trumpet that will awaken the dead from their slumber and summon all who have ever lived to come forth and be judged. Described as possessing four wings, he is said to be covered with hair and a host of mouths, his impressive appearance matched by his incredible height; he is so tall that he is able to reach from the earth to the very pillars of heaven. A beautiful angel and a master of music, Israfel sings the praises of God not just in Arabic, but in a thousand different tongues; the Lord is so touched by his singing that he uses the very breath of Israfel to inject life into hosts of angels, who themselves take part in the ceaseless singing of Allah's praises.

ITHURIEL-An angel who is best known for his colorful activities in John Milton"s Paradise Lost. In this part of the tale, Gabriel learns that Satan is loose in the Garden of Eden and so dispatches the cherub Ithuriel, with the cherub Zephon, to find the leader of the fallen angels. They find him disguised as a toad, squatting next to the sleeping Eve. Touching satan with his spear, Ithuriel causes the great deceiver to return to his actual form. Unfortunately, while Satan was disturbed and unmasked to reveal his appalling shape, his whispered temtations had their deadly effect. The hunt for Satan by Ithuriel and Zephon was the subject of a beautiful illustration in the 1974 edition of Paradise Lost. As with other Miltonian angels, such as Abdiel and Zophiel, there is question as to whether Ithuriel existed prior to his adventures in literature or was an invention of Milton. Jewish scholars note that Ithuriel is mentioned in lore dating at least to the late Middle Ages or the sixteenth century.

IZRAEL-An angel of Islamic folklore, one of the four angels of the end of the world, with the angels Michael, Israfel, and Gabriel. Izrael is thus to be spared-with his angelic associations-the terrible effects of the first blast of the trumpet on the Day of Judgment that is to be sounded by Israfel. The angels will be free of the effects of the blasts until the final sounding of the trumpet, when all things and beings will be summoned to the Final Judgment.

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