TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL: WHAT IT MEANS (TO ME) TO HAVE AN ANGELIC GUARDIAN

Many who read this will likely walk away thinking, “What he said could be applied to any guardian spirit.” And you would be right! In some ways, that is why I am writing all of this and reflecting on one of the most important foundational concepts of spirit work that I noticed tends not to get emphasized as much. There is a definite precedence of diving right into a spirit system and its correspondences without considering how people will protect themselves or what they will do when things go sideways. I have been practicing my spiritualities long enough to know that even when everything is done with all the proper protocols, sometimes things go sideways anyway. Or you pick something up from that person’s cleansing or exorcism.

There are several compelling reasons to take on a guardian and have them take on you. As I already stated, guardians protect us. I already wrote recently about how my head Orisha did so for me, without me even asking or knowing at the time that Orishas did that. This brings me to another important facet of their role: they will guide you. I cannot tell you how often my guardian spirits have told me NO to trying a new system. When I ask why, they frequently clarify that while that system may work well for many people, it will not work well for me. What’s even wilder is to go to a reader and have them confirm this without asking. There are many reasons a guardian spirit may say no to us, and I have worked with mine long enough to trust a no as a no and not push it further. Whenever I ignore that guidance, things don’t go well…

Guardians play a role that may surprise many of you, especially in an age of gatekeeping and fear of cultural misappropriation. They also serve in spirit leadership. This was something I first witnessed in Espiritismo, where spirits from vastly diverse and different modalities work together for their charge in this life. This experience shattered the rigid divisions that religions and some of us make, showing that they don’t mean a thing in the bigger picture of the spirit world. Your guardian will direct the traffic of all your spirits, regardless of their origins. If you find yourself having difficulty with one of your spirits, your guardian is the one you can turn to for help. I know this because I have done it and seen how they refocus spirits.

Another benefit of a guardian is they can often gift familiars. I am using the word familiar here and know it is not universal across systems. Guardian spirits tend to be able to call forth other serving spirits to assist you in your work. However, doing this requires a super strong bond with your guardian. You can sense this when you open Solomonic grimoires, even angelic ones, and see phrases such as Angel so and so commands 600 legions of spirits. Whenever you see that sort of language, there is a strong implication that one of the legion spirits could be assigned to you.

While we often focus on the benefits of guardian spirits to us, it's important to remember that the relationship is mutual. Working with guardian spirits helps them understand more about what it means to be human, with all our wants and needs. Even if they were once human themselves, they are likely far enough removed from that lived existence that they need reminders of it. This sort of knowledge can help with the way you work with them. Deepening their understanding will make for more accurate work and results.

Guardians can also learn how to see and experience our mortal, material world through our eyes. I worked with a Thai Prai once, and after doing the requisite chant and feeling the spirit on me, I invited him to experience eating again through me. I FELT its presence more strongly and could feel its sense of pleasure at experiencing food with me. Aside from teaching and reconnecting them to something long foregone, it also sometimes feeds some of what may be lacking in them.

Perhaps most important is that any of these connection points, when nurtured, means guardians grow as spirit-beings with us, and as we grow and develop together, the bond gets that much stronger. Much more can be said, but I will leave it here for now and encourage all reading to consider a guardian spirit that best suits the magic and life you intend to achieve and maintain. Blessings to you all!