Lets start at the beginning
A journey to discover Angels
Hello dear friend,
I trust that this missive finds you well.
I have been pondering about topics to talk about this year, and have decided to start at the beginning. Not with ghosts and spirits, they will come later, but with the angels.
Although my experience was a while ago, I realise that they have been watching over my family for as long as I can remember. Lots of little things, mostly centered around my brother Neil. When he was very young he was forever getting himself into situations that could have resulted in serious harm. Putting his fingers into plug sockets, standing on upstairs window ledges, that sort of thing. He was always discovered just in time by my dad usually. Dad, although he would deny it was psychic, he could sense and see spirit, even though he dismissed it all as bunkum.
[Hmmm, not talking about spirits didn’t last long did it?]
When I lived in Hereford I attended the local spiritualist church, a lovely place, full of loving energy and wonderful people. Most Sunday’s I would come home from church with strange messages for Dad, and although he denied it, I could tell by the silences the words had rung true. I wish I had spoken to him more about this, perhaps one day he will pop back to chat with me. I often felt his presence whilst he was alive, especially during his last illness. When he was first admitted, I awoke to feel him at the foot of my bed. No panic or urgency, just love and a feeling that told me not to worry, all would be as it was meant to be.
But back to angels. The topic is huge, in this letter I was intending to give a brief overview of the hierarchy, but oh boy that is a deep rabbit hole. So that will be the topic for next weeks.
Angels nowadays seem to be everywhere, whimsical, fierce, protective, fallen. And all the stops in between. For a society that seems to be becoming more secular, the belief in angels is growing. Its almost as if people feel less intimidated talking to angels, than they do by talking to a divine spirit, or god type figure. Is it that they are perceived as less judgemental? More protective than the wrathful god that punishes transgressions? I’m not sure. What are your thoughts on this?
Angels always seem to have been considered as messengers. Between humanity and the Divine, and vice-versa. I recently listened to Rabbi Daniel Smith1, who spoke about Baal Shem Tov, who I believe was one of the founders of the Hasidic movement.
He was telling the tale that Baal Shem Tov came to a house of prayer and said ‘I can’t enter here’, his companion asked ‘why not?’ Tov replied that it was too full, but his companion responded by saying that ‘it was empty, there is no-one inside’, and he said ‘no, its full of prayers, it was so heavy they never went to heaven. Our prayers need wings to carry them to god’. I feel this tale gives the concept of angels meaning and power. That they are a channel, a way, a medium carries these messages between the earth and heaven.
The main thing that I wondered about this story was why the prayers had not left the house of prayer. He did not say, perhaps you know?
Until next time, as ever, may your angels and guides watch over you and protect you until we meet again.
Love and Light,
Tracy
Things that have resonated this week:
This blog post by Pradeepa David about a different way to view winter.
A curious story about Time Slips in Liverpool, I may write more about these in a future letter, its an intriguing idea.
Paul Sockett’s latest missive, ‘Important, Words are’ about language and how we communicate with ourselves and others.
Things I have done this week:
I entered the Discoveries Prize for women writers, I promised myself to enter as many competitions as I could this year, in order to challenge myself and to improve my fiction writing. So The Last Dragon Maiden has been added to the pile of submissions, the long list is announced in May. Fingers crossed for all who entered.
I started Keto a couple of weeks ago. I really need to get my knees replaced and they will not add me to the surgery list until I have lost a considerable amount of weight. Wish me luck, so far, so good.
BBC In Search of Angels program 1986 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0376jc2