Sylvia Browne's Book of Angels Read online

  Religious writings are filled with references to angels. The Bible alone contains approximately 600 such references. The Douay version, an English translation of the Latin Vulgate, indicates that the number of angels must be very large (3 Kings 22:19, Matthew 26:53, Hebrews 12:22), that their strength must be great (Psalms 103:20, Revelation 8:1-13), and that their appearance varies according to circumstances but is often brilliant and dazzling (Matthew 28:2-7, Revelation 10:1-2).

  Mark 13:27 says: “And then He will send forth His angels and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven,” showing that God can call the angels up at will to help Him protect His precious children.

  The Catholic Encyclopedia says that the word angels is derived from the Latin angelus and the Greek angelos, meaning “one going” or “one sent.”

  In Ask the Rabbi, written by Louis Jacobs and researched at the Ohr Somayach Institution in Jerusalem, the rabbi writes: “The Hebrew word for angel is malach, which means messenger. According to traditional Jewish sources, angels are the powers which fulfill the will of God.”

  In Hinduism, in the Bhagavad Gita (11.5), the Supreme Lord is talking to Arjuna (man and God are speaking). The Supreme Lord says, “Oh, Arjuna, behold my hundreds and thousands of multifarious divine forms that come in different colors and shapes.”

  In Selections from the Writing of the Báb, the great Baha’i messenger from God writes: “O Lord! Assist those who have renounced all else but Thee, and grant them a mighty victory. Send down upon them, O Lord, the concourse of the angels in heaven and earth and all that is in between.”

  Many historians, on writing about the life of Buddha, report that his first sermon was preached to many devas and Brahmas (angels and gods).

  The Islamic faith depicts angels as unseen beings of a luminous and spiritual substance who act as intermediaries between God and the visible world. Belief in their existence enters into the Islamic definition of faith itself: “The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His Messengers” (The Meaning of the Holy Qu’ran 2:285).

  Besides the supreme beings, Zoroastrianism describes many classes of spiritual beings also known as arda fravash (holy guardian angels). Each person is accompanied by a guardian angel who acts as a guide throughout life.

  John Neihardt, author of Black Elk Speaks, tells us that even the American Indian tradition speaks of angels. Black Elk, a holy man of the Oglala Sioux, said, “I looked up at the clouds and two men were coming. There headfirst like arrows slanting down, and as they came, they sang a sacred song, and the thunder was like drumming. ‘Behold a sacred voice is calling you, all over the sky a sacred voice is calling.’”

  As you’ll learn in a later chapter, this sounds similar to what Francine tells us about the Cherubim and Seraphim: Their voices not only fill the sky, but fill our hearts and souls as well.

  Angels and the Arts

  When I began researching the subject of angels, the volume of literature I found myself swamped with was something not even a psychic could have predicted. Authors, artists, and poets too numerous to mention make no veiled attempt to hide their belief in the power and glory of angels. Not just religious writings, but literature, music, paintings, and mosaics abound with their images.

  Most of us have seen the famous picture of the guardian angel helping children across what seems to be a precarious bridge; I know Catholic schoolchildren have seen this picture many times. And millions of people have traveled from all over the world to see Michelangelo’s angels in the Sistine Chapel.

  Angels turn up in numerous works of poetry and prose, from Edgar Allen Poe to one of my favorites, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow wrote: “As if with unseen wings, an angel touched its quivering strings; and whispers, in its song, ‘Where hast thou stayed so long?’”

  In “Hymn to the Beautiful,” Richard Henry Stoddard wrote: “Around our pillows golden ladders rise, And up and down the skies with winged sandals shod, The angels come, and go, the Messengers of God.”

  In “A Cradle Hymn,” Isaac Watts wrote: “Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber! Holy angels guard thy bed! Heavenly blessings without number gently falling on thy head.”

  In literature, Ralph Waldo Emerson told us: “So it is in rugged crises, in unweariable endurance, and in aims which put sympathy out of question, that the angel is shown.”

  Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement, described angels in this way: “They are celestial visitants, flying on spiritual, not material, pinions. Angels are pure thoughts of God, winged with Truth and Love, no matter what their individualism may be.”

  It’s quite a journey when we go in search of angels. Whatever source we consider—Biblical, literary, or artistic—angels are alive throughout much of our past and present. Whether adorned with wings, halos, or harps, angels are always given the attributes of healing, solace, and protection. They’ve survived throughout the annals of time to tell us a very pointed truth: that they are loving and real, and they come from a God who will always take care of us.

  Modern-Day Angels

  Angels aren’t relegated to just the classics and religious teachings. Lately they’ve been turning up on TV and in the movies, too. Of course, they’ve always appeared in “holiday classics” such as It’s a Wonderful Life and The Bishop’s Wife, but they were rarely seen in mainstream programming. Eventually, scriptwriters took some tentative steps into the supernatural with the TV show Bewitched. Then angels popped up occasionally on series such as Little House on the Prairie. Later, they gained top billing in Highway to Heaven, and today there’s Touched by an Angel, a popular program that’s held its own in the ratings since it first hit the airwaves. The movie Michael, starring John Travolta, was a little raw in terms of how it portrayed angels, but nevertheless, it marked the beginning of their imprint on human consciousness. Art imitates life, as they say, but art also imitates truth.

  Over the last ten years, angels have penetrated the deepest consciousness of humankind. In fact, they’re mentioned often in a variety of books, and are depicted in different forms in gift and specialty shops. Where angels once were relegated to places of worship, now we see cherubic angels with laurel wreaths on our mantels (as in my home); on lapel pins; and even tattooed on arms, legs, and (ahem) private parts. Why? My take is fairly simple. As I’ve stated many times in my lectures, so much has failed humanity that the world has turned to a higher spiritual belief, a gentler belief. And what could be more gentle than an angel?

  Naysayers will argue that angels are just another metaphysical fantasy to relieve our minds and give us a false sense of security. If that were true, then why have they shown up in every religion and every form of art and literature, as well as being alive and well in the media? How could all these people, separated by geography, time, and culture, come up with the same knowledge or truth of these amazing beings sent by God?

  I think the sudden resurgence of angels is also in direct rebuttal to the hellfire and demons we’ve had to put up with from so many religions. The angels, as I see it, have come into prominence out of our need to believe in an all-loving God, perfect in every way, who looks after His creations. Angels walk with us every moment of our lives. These beautiful beings, with light shining around them and wings spread out for protection, bring us not only the feeling and knowledge that we’re not alone, but a certain freedom from worry. Over my mantel hangs a beautiful Campanelli painting of an angel with a hummingbird. Every time I look at it, it gives me peace and comfort. I know angels can’t prevent all harm or keep us from lessons learned, but they certainly do create what we know or feel to be miracles here on Earth—very real pointers in life to show us that God listens, watches, and cares.

  Make no mistake—angels are real beings, created and sent by God to aid humankind and serve as go-betweens for us and the
Other Side. Angels are true messengers from God. In my mind’s eye, I love the vision of an angel or angels going to God or to our life’s chart (our “blueprint” for this life, which we wrote before we were born) and bringing back the answers to our most troubling questions. No matter how lonely or despondent we feel, we’re definitely not alone. Angels are forever, and are always in attendance. Unlike some human beings, angels will never fail us, never be in a bad mood, and never get disgusted with us. They’re direct reports from God, always in a state of acceptance and unconditional love.

  New Information about Angels

  Seventeen years ago, I founded a Gnostic Christian church called the Society of Novus Spiritus (New Spirit). Whether you call us Essenes, Knight’s Templars, or Cathars, we are the oldest religion, the religion practiced by Christ. We seek, search, and probe until we find the truth, and that is why we say, as Christ did: “Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.” The greatest thing about our Gnostic religion is that it stays pure and keeps advancing with more and more extensive knowledge. Our Gnostic theological process is the same that was used to gain knowledge on the Other Side: We gradually accumulate more information as we go along, finding the answers to questions heretofore classified as mysteries.

  As a Gnostic Christian, I’ve done my own extensive research, but my spirit guide Francine has always provided more specific details. For 40-some-odd years, she’s relayed material and prophecies way ahead of our time. Not long ago, Francine held a series of trance sessions once weekly for six weeks on the subject of angels. As you read this book, you’ll see how meticulously she has researched from “her side”—the Other Side—and how she’s shared her knowledge with us. She addresses each phylum of angels (we now know that there are ten, not just the eight I wrote about in Life on the Other Side), and she describes what they look like, whom to call upon, and the specific duties they perform.

  At first, these trances were exclusively for the ministers of Novus Spiritus, who said that when Francine imparted her knowledge of angels, they felt the room change, as if they were sitting in the presence of the hosts of heaven. Later, we all agreed that the timing was perfect to include this wonderful information here. No matter what your current beliefs about angels may be, I encourage you to be open-minded as you read this material. Notice the psychic chill of truth I described earlier, and see what, if anything, resonates with you. As always, my slogan is this: Take with you what you want, and leave the rest.

  A Few Facts and Figures

  In one of our first trance sessions, Francine told us that there are trillions of angels. She’s never tried to count them, nor has she tried to look up their number in the Hall of Records, the beautiful building on the Other Side that houses every historical work ever written and the detailed chart of every person who’s ever lived on Earth. However, she once saw what we might call a readout that listed trillions of angels who populate this planet alone. When you add that to the inconceivable number of angels who populate other planets, they far outnumber anyone of human flesh. At any given time, any living human being could call on tens of thousands of angels, without ever depleting the supply. And that’s a lot, considering that there are more than six billion people living on this planet right now.

  Angels can interact on both a spiritual and physical level with great power and force. Their strength is legendary, and their ability to take form is also apparent. Their primary purpose is to help us fulfill our written charts as well as their God-given assignment, such as protectorate, messenger, healer, and so on.

  One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is typified in this letter from C. She writes:

  “Do angels ever take human form for pleasure; that is, without being needed or to aid in a situation? I believe I encountered one once, walking past me in a supermarket. As this older black woman smiled at my baby, it filled me with an indescribable feeling of light, and when I looked back at this woman, who hadn’t been moving very quickly down the aisle, she was nowhere in sight. Try as I might, I couldn’t find her in the store.”

  Of course angels take human form for pleasure, and C.’s letter bears up that fact. I sometimes think that they do it to make it easier for us to accept them, rather than appearing in their real form.

  I’m often asked whether angels have names. Yes, some religions have given them names such as Michael, Raphael, and Ariel, but angels don’t have individual names as our spirit guides do. I’m sure they don’t mind what we call them, though . . . as long as we call them. Many times, to make us feel more comfortable, they allow us to call them any name we like. Francine, for instance, has a tendency to call them all Michael. She says it’s just easier, but adds that it can also be advantageous to call on the particular group or phylum that can answer your specific need (we’ll cover each of these in detail in upcoming chapters).

  Believing that we can call on the angels seems to pierce the veil and make them more accessible. Francine says that belief, as our Lord said, can move mountains, but it’s also like a hand that reaches through and helps pull the angel closer. If we don’t believe, are the angels still there? Of course they are, but our acceptance seems to make it easier for them to come in.

  Angels are dispatched by the Council, the governing body of entities on the Other Side. These master teachers are very advanced in their knowledge and spirituality. They help review our charts and, if needed, can insert angels into our charts to help us during a particularly difficult time. As you’ll see, nothing in life ever happens by chance. Our charts have been mapped out by not only us, but by this group of highly evolved spirits—as well as our guides, our loved ones, and, last but not least, our angels, who fill in the gaps and help things happen. I like to think of them as the Super Glue of our lives.

  Spirit guides and some phyla of angels have been known to petition the Council on our behalf about facets of our charts. Francine, for example, can’t change my charted course, but she can consult with the Council on how to help me. Don’t think I haven’t also petitioned the Council to help me understand a confusing or difficult situation in life. Does it help? Yes, it all helps. The more knowledge we have, the greater our understanding of what we’re going through.

  I’m often asked how angels were created. Francine has explained that, from the beginning, we all existed in the mind of God. In fact, she says that the word beginning is somewhat erroneous, because there really wasn’t a beginning. Since the idea of all of us being created simultaneously is too difficult for most people to understand, she described it in this way:

  “It’s not erroneous to say that if we did all exist in the mind of God singularly, there was a delineation of the sparks of the Divine Sparkler. So, for the sake of finite minds (and this is certainly not to discredit anyone’s mind), angels were the first creations. If you want to say that we were simultaneously created, you could say that, but let’s say the first sparks out were the angels. This was the first beginning of the love. It was almost like a magnificent love affair with God.”

  When He created angels, God wanted the purest of the pure. This is certainly not to discredit human beings such as ourselves, but angels have no other purpose. Now, some have different careers, jobs, or delineations of what they do, but they’re all made out of pure love. Unlike human beings and spirit guides, who have their own individual personalities, characters, likes, and dislikes, angels are nothing but pure love, pure protection, pure knowledge, and pure forgiveness. Angels have no imperfections. They have no other agenda but to help, protect, and love. They’re probably the closest creations to God that we can comprehend.

  You may wonder whether angels have thoughts, then. Yes, angels have intelligence, and they have emotion, but it’s in the purest form. In other words, angels are not humanized. They don’t get mad, despondent, or moody, and there’s no such thing as an avenging angel. Since they haven’t led lives, they have no cell memories to carry over, no “emotional baggage” or even lessons to be learned. Spirit g
uides, however, even though they live on the Other Side in a perfect environment of loving, positive energy—what we call heaven—have to become humanized to the point that they can get emotional. If they didn’t, they couldn’t be effective as guides. In fact, Francine says that’s why most spirits don’t like to be guides: They have one foot in bliss and the other one in the emotional dimension of Earth. But if it were any other way, they wouldn’t be able to answer our questions or relate to our emotions. As Francine has said many times, they would simply say, “Who cares? You’ll be over here soon.”

  What Do Angels Look Like?

  Like Francine, Raheim has been my guide my entire life, but since he’s a secondary guide, I wasn’t aware of him until about 30 years ago. I don’t hear him like I do Francine. If he has something to say, he tells her to tell me. The only time he has a voice is during trance, when he comes in through me and provides information about a particular subject.

  In his last incarnation on Earth, Raheim was a Sikh, and apparently a teacher of great renown in imparting knowledge within his faith. Of course, now he’s a Gnostic, but let’s face it . . . on the Other Side, all religions blend into one because we all have greater knowledge there. Religion down here is a matter of personal preference, whatever road you choose to travel. If you feel that your path of choice is right, then it’s right for you.

  Raheim tells us that angels represent all the races in creation. There are angels with brown skins, black, red, yellow, and white. Many times they show particular racial characteristics in their eyes, noses, lips, hair, and other facial or bodily features, but there is no prejudice or racial barriers on the Other Side. Angels of all races attend to human beings of all colors and ethnic backgrounds. The faces of angels are not all the same, just as the faces of human beings are not, but their body stature remains the same depending upon their phylum.