From the book: Spiritual Legality: Management of Authority and Responsibility in the Spiritual Realm
Author: Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo

Abstract
This article presents an expanded analysis of the concept of spiritual legality, integrating the prevailing definition in contemporary spiritual thought with the philosophical-theological formulation of the Angolan thinker Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo and the dialectical approach of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. In the contemporary field, spiritual legality is understood as the authority granted to a person or entity to act in the spiritual realm on behalf of another. Gilson agrees with this formulation but proposes two additional bases: legality as an instrument or portal that connects the spiritual plane to the physical, and the possibility of exercising this authority directly by any conscious and well-instructed individual. Hegelian philosophy provides methodological support for this view, explaining the interaction between body, mind, and soul, as well as the dynamics of mutual recognition that define equality, superiority, or subordination in both human and spiritual relationships. The integration of these three perspectives offers a reading applicable to Gaesema’s conceptual reforms, reinforcing the centrality of individual responsibility and spiritual awareness.

Keywords: spiritual legality; Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo; Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; spiritual authority; Angolan philosophy; dialectics; new age.

Introduction

Spiritual legality is a concept that transcends mere religious language, reaching philosophical, social, and ontological dimensions. In contemporary spiritual thought, it is defined as the authority granted to a person or entity to act in the spiritual realm on behalf of another. This formulation, of a juridical-spiritual nature, implies an act of granting that establishes specific prerogatives in the non-visible realm.

The Angolan thinker Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo maintains this definition as a basis but proposes a methodological reformulation in two dimensions: first, understanding legality as an ontological portal that links the spiritual plane to the physical plane; second, affirming that any individual can exercise their own spiritual legality directly, provided they acquire knowledge, develop sound principles, and understand the laws governing this connection.

The philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel — especially his notion of immanent development and mutual recognition — offers a methodological key to understanding Gilson’s two bases. Hegel explains that all reality develops internally, in a dialectical process that unites and transforms opposites. Moreover, he describes that relations between individuals go through a process of reciprocal acceptance that determines whether the interaction will be one of equality, superiority, or subordination. This social and philosophical structure proves surprisingly suitable for thinking about spiritual legality not merely as granted authority but as a relationship of recognition between planes of existence.

Thus, this article seeks to integrate the three approaches — contemporary, Angolan, and Hegelian — in order to build a robust understanding of spiritual legality, aligned with the conceptual reforms advocated by Gaesema.

1. The Contemporary Definition of Spiritual Legality

In contemporary spiritual thought, spiritual legality is understood as granted authority. This granting can occur consciously, through pacts, vows, declarations, or rituals, or unconsciously, through habits, choices, and tacit alliances. The relationship between grantor and grantee defines the scope of action in the spiritual realm.

This understanding echoes biblical foundations, such as in Romans 13:1–2, which states that all authority comes from God, and Hebrews 13:17, which reinforces the legitimacy of spiritual leaders.

2. The Conceptual Expansion According to Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo

Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo preserves the contemporary definition but introduces two bases that deepen its scope:

• First base – Spiritual legality is an element or portal that connects the spiritual plane to the physical plane, allowing influences, information, and energies to transit between these two realities.
• Second base – The exercise of this legality can be done directly by any person, without intermediaries, provided there is adequate knowledge and solid principles, or in a mediated way, through spiritual leaders or authorities.

3. Implications for New Age Thought

Gilson’s proposal shifts part of the emphasis from control by intermediaries to individual responsibility. This harmonizes with New Age spiritual currents, which understand spiritual evolution as an internal and conscious process, without discarding the value of voluntary mediation.

4. The Contribution of Georg Hegel to the Understanding of Spiritual Legality

The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel offers a rare and valuable philosophical foundation for the concept of spiritual legality. His principle of immanent development describes that things transform from within, where opposites coexist and mutually overcome one another. Applied to the spiritual field, this means that the connection between the physical and spiritual planes is dynamic, organic, and inevitable, as both are part of the same total reality process.

For Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo, Hegel is one of the most capable thinkers of academically explaining the interaction between the physical body, mind, soul, and astral plane. This view fits into his first base — the portal that unites two worlds — by understanding the person as a complex unity, simultaneously physical and spiritual.

Moreover, Hegel’s notion of mutual recognition establishes that when two individuals interact, both must decide — consciously or unconsciously — whether the relationship will be one of equality, superiority, or subordination. From this process arise social structures such as master and servant. Transposed to spiritual legality, this means that each individual decides how they will position themselves:

1. As dependent on spiritual intermediaries;
2. As equal in relation to the Divine;
3. Or as someone who delegates or submits their spiritual power to another.

This reading confirms that spiritual legality can also be understood outside religion, as a social and ontological relationship of recognition and authority, supporting the methodological reform proposed by Gaesema.

Final Considerations

The integration of the contemporary definition of spiritual legality with the bases proposed by Gilson Guilherme Miguel Ângelo and the dialectics of Georg Hegel provides a solid and interdisciplinary conceptual structure. The Hegelian perspective not only reinforces the understanding of legality as a link between planes but also explains, in social and philosophical terms, the mechanisms of acceptance, recognition, and hierarchy that operate in these relationships.

This integrated approach, while respecting the theological core of the concept, expands its methodological and philosophical reach, offering Gaesema and the academic community an interpretation applicable to both the spiritual and social fields. In this sense, spiritual legality emerges as a central concept for understanding not only authority in the invisible realm but also the ways in which the individual chooses — or allows — to position themselves before the Divine and their fellow human beings.

References

• Holy Bible. Trans. João Ferreira de Almeida, Revised and Corrected.
• GUILHERME MIGUEL ÂNGELO, Gilson. Essays on Spiritual Legality. Luanda: [publisher to be defined], [year].
• HEGEL, G. W. F. Phenomenology of Spirit. Trans. Paulo Meneses. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2017.
• SILVA, J. P. Authority and Submission in the Spiritual Context. São Paulo: Vida Plena, 2018.

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