Angels: What do they look like and how do they serve?
In the history of Christianity the appearance and duties of angels have come down to us mainly from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Various passages describe them according to a human vision that was so important it was written down for other people to read. But the existence of angels is also present in the religious texts of Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and the Bahá'í fatih, to name a few.
All these works are valuable to understanding the nature and purpose of angels, most often portrayed as messengers between the Supreme Deity and human beings. As angels are so close to heaven, the home of God and the Saints, they bring inspiration, consolation, guidance and protection, from higher realms.
The idea that angels can fly come to us from the Old and New Testament. In Revelation (14:6) John describes in his vision, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,…” In Ezekiel (3:10:19) it is written, “And the Cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight..”
After Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, in A.D. 312, artists began to paint angels with wings, suggesting their ability to travel swiftly, and with halos, indicating their holy aura. Toward the end of the fifth century, flowing robes were added to angels’ attire. In the centuries to follow artists such as Rembrandt, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael (both named after archangels) painted the angels in such vivid detail that those images have become part of our culture and collective consciousness.
Those depictions reflected the symbols of strength and power in the time they were painted. Angels wore the flowing robes and capes of the medieval ages. The higher angelic ranks wore gold crowns, carrying scepters and orbs, which were symbols of authority for royalty and the ruling class. Archangels were sometimes drawn in soldier’s costumes, carrying spears and skewering evil spirits. These representations were understandable to the common man.
But we no longer live in a time in which inherited royalty rules most countries, especially the United States. How do people in the 20th and 21st centuries see angels? What artistic forms would be meaningful to the modern mind?
In a world that has the rapid communication of the cell phone and Internet, how would angelic messenger skills be viewed? When jet planes, rockets and space shuttles zoom into the sky, faster than any earthly bird, how do the old images of human figures with wings hold up? Present day soldiers no longer hold spears or swords, but carry terrifying guns and missile launchers.
From a scientific viewpoint, angels may come to be seen as beings of measurable energy and light, able to bring down manifest wisdom and effect healing from higher levels of consciousness we have yet to discover. The Christian celestial hierarchy might someday be seen as layers of beings who translate and transmit the tremendous energy and light that is the Higher Deity.
View the futuristic icons and religious art of Hannah M.G. Shapero
Devas: Making the Garden Grow
One example of how the modern world may envision angels comes through the experiences of three individuals in the second half of the 20th century. In 1962 Peter and Eileen Cady, and their three young sons, and Dorothy Maclean, moved into a trailer park in the seaside village of Findhorn, in Scotland. Living on unemployment income, they wanted to grow vegetables to supplement their diet. Dorothy was able to contact the spirit of plants (called “devas” in the East, meaning “Shining Ones”) who gave her instructions on how to work the sandy, dry land. Peter listened to her messages and used them to increase the land’s productivity. They were so successful that huge plants, herbs and flowers sprung up from what used to be barren land. News of their success reached round the world and the Findhorn Garden became famous, visited by horticultural experts and others who wanted to learn the secrets of their modern Garden of Eden.
As other people joined the small group Findhorn became a community, committed to following Divine inner guidance and being in harmony with nature. In 1972 the community was registered as a Scottish Charity under the name The Findhorn Foundation. The 1970s and 80s saw the community grow to approximately 300 members. Today the Findhorn Foundation is a major spiritual, ecological and educational center, with many holistic businesses and initiatives, all linked by a shared positive vision for humanity and the earth.
Visit the Findhorn Foundation web site
Geoffrey Hodson: Angels, Gods and Nature Spirits
Born in England in 1886, Geoffrey Hodson possessed unique clairvoyant powers and his insights were used to enlighten people about the world behind the physical form. For seventy years he traveled the world lecturing for the Theosophical Society, who printed over forty of his books. His titles include four volumes of The Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible, Angel Hosts and Interpretations of the Life & Teaching of Jesus Christ. He died in 1983 at the age of 97.
One of his most famous books is The Kingdom of the Gods, published in 1952. He recounts the results of his personal research regarding angels, (known as devas in the East, meaning "the Shining Ones"), nature spirits, sylphs, fairies and elves. There is a wonderful chapter in this book about the relationship between the angels and the Kabbalah. The book’s 29 color plates, by artist Ethelwynne M. Quail, are paintings of how these angels and spirits appeared to him.
For more information on oon his life and work: Geoffrey Hodson
To buy Hodson’s books, visit The Quest Book Store
Complete copies of some of Hodson’s books are available at the web site of The Canadian Theosophical Association (a regional association of the Theosophical Society in Adyar)
Angels for a New Age
Have we closed that book on knowledge of the angels? Actually, humanity is just getting started on proving the existence of angels and learning to cooperate with them. The future stands like a wide open field, just waiting to be explored.
Visit the web sites of people who are currently investigating the existence of angels:
Devas of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne, Australia.
Eskild Tjalve, a Danish clairvoyant and painter
