The 9 orders of Angelic Beings (1 being the highest order)

The First Sphere -- angels who serve as heavenly counselors
1 - SERAPHIM
2 - CHERUBIM
3 - THRONES

The Second Sphere -- angels who work as heavenly governors
4 - DOMINIONS
5 - VIRTUES
6 - POWERS

The Third Sphere -- angels who function as heavenly messengers
7 - PRINCIPALITIES
8 - ARCHANGELS
9 - ANGELS

The Nine Orders Explained

SERAPHIM
The highest order of the highest hierarchy are the seraphim, the celestial beings said to surround the throne of God, singing the music of the spheres, and regulating the movement of the heavens as it emanates from God.

CHERUBIM
Beyond the thrones are the cherubim. They are the guardians of light, and of the stars. Remote from our plane of reality, still their light touches our lives, the divine light that they filter down from Heaven.
Lucifer (Satan/Devil) is known as the 'angel of light, whom God's light shown through' - before his 'sin against God'.

THRONES
The first order in the third sphere is the thrones. They are the companion angels of the planets.

DOMINIONS
The dominions are the heavenly beings who govern the activities of all the angelic groups lower than they are. Divine bureaucrats, they also serve to integrate the spiritual and the material worlds. Although they take their orders from God, and rarely contact individuals, their work is connected to our reality.

VIRTUES
Beyond the powers are another group of beings, the virtues. They are of particular importance to us now because they are able to beam out massive levels of divine energy.

POWERS
The first order of the second sphere are those beings who have been known as powers. They are the bearers of the conscience of all of humanity, the keepers of our collective history. The angels of birth and death are in this category. They are able to draw down and hold the energy of the divine plan the same way trees draw down the energy of the Sun. In this way, the powers can send all of us a vision of a world spiritual network.

PRINCIPALITIES
Beyond the group of archangels are the principalities. They are the guardian angels of all large groups, from cities and nations to recent human creations such as multi-national corporations. These might more accurately now be called integrating angels.

ARCHANGELS
Beyond the angels are the beings we are used to calling the archangels,they tend the larger arenas of human endeavor. These beings are from a different family from the angels. There are many different kinds of archangels in this larger family. The four we are most familiar with are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.

ANGELS
The angels that we are most familiar with are those in the last order. They are the ones who are closest to humanity, the ones most concerned with human affairs. Within the category of angels, there are many different kinds, with different functions. The ones that we know best are the guardian angels.
Because of shifts in their functions and our consciousness, it is useful to think of these celestial beings as companion angels. As we enter a time of increased light and love on the planet, they will not need to guard us, but rather will be our guides to greater and greater consciousness.