My Interest in Angels

By Rosemary Ellen Guiley

c. Visionary Living, Inc.

My interest in angels was sparked in the mid-1980s, when I began having archetypal dreams that included a mysterious figure I identified as an angel. This figure served as a psychopomp in the reaches of inner space, leading me through a psychic transformation from one life stage of consciousness to another, which unfolded over time. Earlier in life, I had received no particular religious indoctrination about angels, and felt rather neutral about the question of their existence as portrayed in text and art. However, it was obvious to me that I was nonetheless tapping into an archetypal form that exists regardless of my own personal views. This was an ancient archetype, shaped by countless experiences, which in turn shaped beliefs, which revolved back to shape experience. And now this archetype was breaking through the unus mundus, the undifferentiated whole of the universe, in response to my own psychic need. I found that the more I accepted this angel, the more the archetype became energized in my life, expressing itself not only through dreams, but through inspiration, creativity, intuition and even visionary experience. In the ensuing years, I have found myself in the company of numerous angelic presences, each distinct.

Do I believe in angels? The answer is yes, although even after years of study on the subject, I remain uncertain as to what exactly they are. I do not believe there are easy answers. In some respects, I believe they are beings in their own right who fit our traditional definition of them as mediators between God and mortals. In other respects, I believe they are a part of us–what we call our Higher Self. The world’s mystical traditions teach oneness, that everything is part of everything else. Quantum physics tells us that there is no separation between object and observer, that we are inexorably bound up in what we think we merely observe. Consequently, we and the angels are part of each other; the angel can be seen as an expression of our higher self (and the demon as an expression of our lower nature). The dynamics between the two, high and low, are what psychic integration and spiritual growth are all about.

The angel is a profound mystery, as deep as the mystery of the soul, as limitless as the mystery of infinity and eternity. This is a puzzle we may never be able to solve, but our probing of the mystery yields endless permutations that deepen our insights into ourselves. The experience of an angel–an angelophany–is just as powerful today as it was for the visionary prophets of the Biblical era. The prophets were escorted to a state of consciousness called heaven and were given the word of God in the form of laws and moral codes. Today the epiphanies are more personal, but just as life-changing. Via the angel we glimpse the unknown, and we are encouraged to press on.

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Adapted from the introduction to The Encyclopedia of Angels, 2nd. ed., by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, published by Facts On File, 2003.