Angelic Pathways (26 page)

—ARCHANGEL CASSIEL

Chamuel (Seeker of God)

If your angelic brothers and sisters have faith in you,
how can you not have faith in yourself?

—ARCHANGEL CHAMUEL

In Heaven there are many visions of beauty. And though I’ve only been given brief glimpses of the splendors that await us at home, I have seen enough to say that Archangel Chamuel’s garden will take your breath away. Reminiscent of a meticulously kept Japanese garden, it’s resplendent with vibrant color. Whenever I pay a visit, I can’t help but ease into the tranquil surroundings of flowers, trees, and a winding, bubbly brook.

The garden very much reflects Archangel Chamuel’s designation as the patron of nature. He oversees all of Creation and helps to maintain its order and balance. As he does with nature, so he does with our lives. Archangel Chamuel brings to us lessons of healthy living and existing in harmony with our environment, no matter the circumstances. He teaches us how to go within and be the peace we seek in our everyday lives.

I first encountered Chamuel when I was a student in a Buddhist temple. Appearing to me as a Buddhist monk—or sometimes as a Native American shaman—this angel helped me to learn the art of meditation as well as the intuitive healing method of Reiki.

In working with this archangel, I have discovered that the best way to connect with his energies is by keeping nearby his icons of bamboo, the lotus, or a rainstick. Another icon is the stag. Practicing a holistic or Vedic lifestyle can also bring you into alignment with him.

The scents of coconut, ginger, sweet grass, and Nag Champa resonate well with this archangel. His power day is Thursday, so you may find it easier to meditate on this day, especially if you do so in a forest or garden or even up on a hilltop. He’s one of the rulers of both Jupiter and Neptune, and his numerical vibration is three.

Archangel Chamuel enjoys the sounds of tribal drums, but a soft flute suits him as well. His favorite sound of all, however, is that of nature.

Connecting with this angel is sure to bring you to a state of relaxing tranquility, so seek him out when you need to unwind and unload daily stress.

Holidays that best resonate with Chamuel:
Lunar New Year, Earth Day, Spring Equinox

Best times to channel Chamuel’s attributes:
when offering care to someone going through a healing stage (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual); when selecting a get-well card; when introducing a new pet to your home or celebrating the arrival of a new pet for someone you know; when caring for a sick pet; when purchasing or moving into a new home

When your meditation garden, your inner place of peace,
is being overrun with the weeds of mental clutter,
write in your journal to clear your mind of hindering thoughts and your heart of unproductive emotions.

—ARCHANGEL CHAMUEL

Gabriel (God Is My Strength)

One of the best ways to gauge your potential
and test your skills is to step outside of your comfort zone. So, would you like to take the initiative, or am I going to have to drag you? The choice is yours.

—ARCHANGEL GABRIEL

For an angel that I would not categorize as a warrior angel, Gabriel is perhaps one of the most militant angels I’ve ever met—even more militant than his brother Michael, the general of the angelic armies.

Archangel Gabriel is the messenger of all messengers. Known as the angel of Annunciation for his role in revealing the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary and the arrival of the Messiah to the Three Magi, Gabriel has held a prominent role in Christianity for millennia. He is the angel of communication and the patron of actors, speakers, journalists, commentators, and writers. He also oversees the study of philosophy, mathematics, and physics.

In my past works where I’ve written about Gabriel, readers have reprimanded me for being too harsh on the angel and painting him in a bad light. Even the angel himself said I’ve made him out to be too cruel at times. But since day one, I have always said that I depict the angels based on my interactions with them. It’s how they appear to me. And while most of my readers agree with me on angels like Michael and Cassiel, Gabriel’s fan club has accused me of giving him a bad rap.

Well, if he weren’t so darn meticulous and demanding where I’m concerned, maybe I’d have better things to say about the militant angel. I liken him to a spiritual drill sergeant. There’s no compromising with the angel. There’s no discussion. It’s do-or-else with him, and when I see him in a consultation, I usually sigh heavily and tell the client, “My condolences. You have Archangel Gabriel for this leg of your spiritual journey.”

And to think, he’s the one I went to for help in writing my life script before I was born. Yes, I know I chose him for a reason. I chose him because he’s exacting, his attention to detail can’t be rivaled, and he’s a perfectionist if there ever was one. Perhaps that’s why I lock horns with him as much as I do—we’re too much alike in that respect. Your encounters with this archangel may be the complete opposite of what I’ve experienced. In fact, I hope they are. Although Archangel Raphael commissioned me to write my first and second books, Gabriel was the driving force behind them.

Because you’ve picked up this book, I’m going to assume you’re looking for answers to some of life’s biggest questions. The moment you start asking is the moment Gabriel will step into your life. Aside from making really important announcements, he is the angel that guides us toward deeper thinking, toward shifting how we perceive the world and ourselves. He’s an angel of creativity and thus inspiration, but his approach to inspiring us is by luring us into uncharted territory where we can no longer rely on old ideas and concepts to rescue us. Instead, he works by the saying “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” When he tosses us into circumstances where everything tried and true has failed, we’re then forced to think outside the box and come up with new ways to approach our circumstances.

I think it’s pretty darn brutal on his part, but that’s the very human side of me talking. In the grander scheme of things, it’s pure genius. Of course it is—he’s an angel after all.

“You know you love me,” the angel whispered to me one day while I was working on this book. I had been dreading writing about him for weeks, but when he came at me with a smile—a genuine smile—I actually became emotional. In all the years I’ve known the angel, he’s never smiled at me. Not once. Even Archangel Michael has told him some days that he really needs to lighten up, so I was stunned to see such a warm display from him. In that respect, I have to say here that my readers were right. He’s not as cold and callous as I have always perceived him to be. And to answer his comment, yes, I do love him. If you’re fortunate enough to get his softer side when you connect with him, then you will love him, too.

You can align yourself with Gabriel’s energies by focusing on his icons of the trumpet and short sword. Medieval and Renaissance religious artists were highly influenced by this angel, so feel free to indulge with a few prints from Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo. Music of church choirs is perfect for connecting with the angel, but Gabriel’s energies resonate more with classical European music similar to Catholic hymns. (The foot-stomping, tambourine-pounding, gospel-type music falls more in the domain of Michael or Sandalphon.)

A prime location to connect with Gabriel is just about any place where you can connect with ancient Greek or European Medieval and Renaissance history, such as in a museum, at ancient sites in Greece, at a Renaissance festival, or in old Catholic cathedrals.

I mentioned earlier that angels are not religious, but I don’t think anyone would argue that they did inspire religions around the world. Gabriel held much influence over Europe between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, a time period that just so happens to coincide with the rise of the Catholic Church. It also coincides with the struggle against the Church by those following the pagan rites and rituals of their ancestors, so meditating on a hill, in the forest, or by a brook by the light of the moon will prove just as beneficial for connecting with Gabriel, especially since the moon falls under his rule.

One thing about Gabriel that I didn’t really notice until the writing of this book is his dual nature. Though the angels can take on either gender when appearing to us humans, Gabriel is the only angel that first appeared to me in both his male and female forms. The angel initially appeared to me in his female form not long after my spiritual mentor, Ella, passed away. But because my emotions were still reeling after having lost my mother and then Ella only a couple years apart, I was in no mood for a mothering presence in my life. Gabrielle, as I first called her, realized this and made a quick exit after introducing herself. Later that night, she returned as a he, Gabriel. The only other time I see his female form is with clients.

Gabriel’s female form is very gentle, warm, and soft-
spoken, whereas his male form is anything but. Then there’s his dual influence on the creative mind and the analytical mind, the imagination and knowledge, dreams and the concrete, art and philosophy. He’s not a one-trick pony by any means, and if you’re someone who is prone to indecision or perhaps warring with different sides of yourself, Archangel Gabriel is definitely an angel who can help bring balance to your internal conflicts.

A few scents that will help you invoke that sense of balance while also aligning you with Gabriel’s energies are rose, almond, mint, and sage. Crystals that may help are citrine, azurite, and sapphire.

Monday is Gabriel’s power day, and his numerical vibration is three.

Holidays that best resonate with Gabriel:
Administrative Professionals Day, Feast of the Annunciation, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice

Best times to channel Gabriel’s attributes:
with anything academic in nature; graduation; a school reunion; a “meet the parents” dinner; when trying to conceive; during pregnancy and childbirth; at a formal dinner party (business), cocktail party, or garden/tea party; at a job interview, promotion, or review; when keeping in touch; casual letter writing

When your inner light is shining through,
it’s hardly a time to be shy.
Others will like what they see in you,
so move to the front and be noticed!

—ARCHANGEL GABRIEL

Haniel (Grace of God)

The creative process is often a healing one.

—ARCHANGEL HANIEL

When I first met Haniel, I was taken aback by his radiant light and an overwhelming sense of love and warmth. I was actually on guard at the time I connected with him because I was dealing with issues regarding guilt and self-love. It was another evening of beating myself up over having lost my parents so early in life and wondering what I could have done to be a better daughter for them. That was part of a one-two punch that came with my wishing I could have understood them way back when as deeply as I do now.

“Don’t you think for once that they don’t love you,” the archangel said, appearing out of nowhere. At first I thought he was Raphael, because they resemble each other a bit, but whereas Raphael appears tall and broad-shouldered, Haniel is more slender. The two could pass for twins, but their energy signatures are very different, not to mention Haniel has a devilish smirk that I instantly fell in love with.

When Haniel saw how guarded I was, he flashed a smile and put up his hands, “Calm down, darlin’. I ain’t gonna bite ya.” Raphael would never use the word “ain’t.” I knew right then I was dealing with an angel that must have hung around in Michael’s circle—with Cassiel, Uriel, Sandalphon, Ariel, and Raziel. Those were the only angels I’ve ever heard use slang and American colloquialisms. But more than that, Haniel had a slight Southern drawl that didn’t seem to really match the angelic robes he was wearing. I didn’t say anything to him about how comical I found it, but as he began turning up in client consultations, his clothes began to fit his personality. Suffice it to say that when I see him now, he’s all cowboy—not my type at all, which had me wondering why he took on such an appearance around me.

It wouldn’t dawn on me until much later, while he was helping me deal with the loss of my parents, that even though he wasn’t my type, I was still very comfortable around him and accepting of him. Why? My mother had a special love of action movies, and one of her favorite genres was the western. The Duke, Gregory Peck, and Clint Eastwood were unavoidable in my house on Sundays. If there was a western being televised, she’d find it.

So, who better to bring me messages of love from Mom than someone with enough Southern charm to make ol’ Scarlett blush?

As I worked with Haniel, I came to understand him as an angel of mercy and divine love. For a cowboy, he’s awfully affectionate, too—always willing to give a hug or to wrap his wings around someone. Polite to the point of addressing clients as “sir” or “ma’am,” the angel always makes me smile. So if ever you find yourself battling with guilt or feeling unloved, don’t hesitate to seek him out.