Guardians of Heaven - Angels

Throughout time, humans have always identified with heavenly guardians—the higher light vibrations of creation. In some cultures and religious traditions, these guardians are viewed as messengers from above—angels. Angel comes from the Greek word angelos, which is the same as the Hebrew word for messenger—mal’akh.

Carvings of winged messengers date as far back as ancient Sumer in southern Mesopotamia—present day Iraq. Traces of the Sumerian civilization appeared as early as the 5th millennium B.C.E. To the Sumerians these beings were called Anu-naki, meaning ‘of the heavens.’ There is even evidence from excavations that Sumerian homes had personal altars to their guardian spirit. The early Hawaiians believed in the awaiku—the equivalent of angels. Their home was known by two names: Lani keha (Heavenly Breath) and Kahiki Na (Serene Spiritual Country of God in the East). The awaiku were not only messengers, but also guardians of nature:

Some awaiku listen to the prayers of Kane’s children on earth, and convey their petitions to the divinities. Others among the awaiku play a variety of roles, such as the gods and goddesses of Nature under the supervision of the reigning deities, or as rainmakers who control the amount of water needed for the nourishment of crops, or as handlers of the bolts of lightning that flash from the skies during tempests by command of the storm gods, or as healing angels who assist the kahuna lapa’au by causing the divine healing power to flow from above into these spiritual healers, giving them the power to cure their patients.[1]

Similar to the Hawaiians, the Maya Ch’orti’ believed that angels directed some of the forces of nature:

The Ch’orti’ see lightning as the ’machete of god’ (umachit e katata’) that is wielded by various angels (anxerob’ e katata’) working under the auspices of god. Lightning is generally known as jijb’ya’r.  However, special lightning bolts contain small, sharp stones on their tips so that when the angels of god throw them to the earth the Ch’orti’ believe you can go to the strike spot and find the small flint point (also called "la hacha de dios"). These dangerous bolts are called senteyo, a term specifically used for the powerful, deadly lightning bolts that are accompanied by thunder (which, they say, is caused by the angels playing their drums or by angels chopping at the clouds with their machetes).

The angels who are given charge over lightning are known as "the first angels" (e b’ajxan anxerob’)…. They are divided into two groups. The first are the "our older brother angels" (e kasukun anxerob’)…. These angels "work" (apatna) from January to August but do their principal work between April 25th and May 5th since they are responsible for bringing the rain for spring planting…. Another set of angels, known as "the younger angels" (e kumix anxerob’) begin their work in September. The most powerful angel among this group is the "penultimate angel" who is known as Angel San Miguel or Angel San Gabriel. He begins to work on the first day of September and goes though the middle of November….

… The Ch’orti’ also believe that one can get possessed by an evil spirit if lighting strikes close to where one is. A curandero must be called in order to rid one of this “espanto” (b’aik’ut), or "fright."[2]

In light of this quote, it is easy to consider that these winged messengers extend as far back as the earliest shamanic cultures. In fact, the shaman would be viewed as the angel of the community, for it was the shaman who could ’fly’ to the heavens and return with a message—knowledge of the mysteries of heaven and earth.

Angels have often been referred to as ‘morning stars.’ This is symbolic of the light emerging from the darkness, being suggestive of the role that angels may play in our lives. These celestial beings are always around us and above us providing us with a link and ladder to the heavens. In the dark night of our soul, there is always the shining brilliance of our own angelic self, our guardian angel working towards the destiny of our soul’s light evolution. We are all children of light, sons and daughters of Heaven and Earth, Feathered Serpents—suns of God.

Archangel Mikael