The eighteenth century visionary Emmanuel Swedenborg believed that the
angels were perfected men and women (like the Buddhist
bodhisattvas): "There is not a single angel.... who was
originally created as such, nor any devil in hell who was created an
angel of light and afterwards cast down thither, but all, both in
heaven and hell, are from the human race." A Jungian perspective
might be that angels are powerful psychological archetypes that have
been given form by being believed in for thousands of years. In
the end it is the individual heart, not the rational mind,
that establishes a relationship with angels. A question
often asked is, "If the angels are here to help us, why do they have to
be asked?" The idea is that angels cannot interfere with our free
will. If we do not choose to engage with them they remain an
abstract idea. However you choose to look at it, the pages that
follow outline one of the greatest stories ever told. We will
meet some of the best known angels and establish simple rituals,
including prayers, to invite them into our lives.
