Prime Time Replay:
Rosemary Ellen Guiley
author of The Encyclopedia of Angels
MsgId: *high_strangeness(3)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:00:02 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Welcome to High Strangeness! My name is Patrick Huyghe and our guest tonight is Rosemary Ellen Guiley. Our subject? Angels! Guiley is the author of several books on angels, including what is perhaps the definitive work on the subject, "The Encyclopedia of Angels," published by Facts on File.Guiley is a bestselling author, columnist and teacher on spirituality, metaphysics and visionary experience. For more than fifteen years, she has pursued a spiritual path that embraces the mystical, metaphysical and healing traditions of both West and East. Her study of and personal experiences in alchemy, energy healing, Zen, the ancient mystery traditions, mysticism, dreamwork, prayer, the angelic realm, the paranormal and more have given her a unique perspective on emerging spiritual consciousnesss. She brings this perspective into her books and workshops, weaving insights that are inspirational and practical.
Guiley has written more than 15 books, including "Angels of Mercy," "The Angels Tarot," as well as "The Encyclopedia of Dreams: Symbols and Interpretations," "The Miracle of Prayer," "Blessings: Prayers for the Home and Family," "Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Phenomena," "Tales of Reincarnation," and "The Alchemical Tarot." Rosemary is an Honorary Fellow of the College of Human Sciences in Montreal and she also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research. Prior to self-employment, she worked as a newspaper and wire service journalist and editor, and as an editor for IBM in White Plains, NY.
Now first question . . . What, in your view, set off the current '90s interest in angels?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(7)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:03:02 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Hello!
MsgId: *high_strangeness(8)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:03:52 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Glad you made it!
MsgId: *high_strangeness(9)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:05:27 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
I think our hunger for direct contact with the divine -- call it God or the Universal Mind or other names -- contributed to the intense interest in angels. Angels are personal, and have a form and image we can relate to -- they seem to be like us, a part of us that's divine.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(10)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:06:01 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
But why now? And when is the last time angels were so popular?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(11)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:10:09 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
-- As I was saying, angels seemed to be the stuff of fantasy. We've been in the midst of an explosion of paranormal and extraordinary experiences for the past few decades. It was time for angels to make the reappearance as part of the scene. Also, I think many of us feel spiritually adrift these days. I think the first part of my message got blipped somehow. Angels began to fade with the Protestant Reformation and the end of the Renaissance. The Age of Science and Reason brought rationalism, and angels no longer fit the paradigm.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(12)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:10:49 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Hasn't this current "domestication" of angels tended to gloss over what is said to be the awesomeness or terrifying grandeur of the angels?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(14)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:12:51 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Yes! We've rather turned the angel -- an awesome being -- into tea party pets. We think all angels are good and wonderful, when in fact they are neutral, in that they do the will of God. The Bible tells of cases where angels are sent to punish and destroy.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(15)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:13:27 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Have you had any encounters with angels yourself?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(16)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:15:18 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Yes, I have. My first encounters occurred in lucid dreams. Then I began to be aware of invisible presences around me. I sense them with the inner eye rather than see them physically.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(17)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:15:45 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Are most angels encountered in dreams?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(18)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:18:06 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
I think the most common angel encounter actually is the "mysterious stranger" who seems to be a human being. They turn up when we're in trouble, always know what to do to save the day, say very little and vanish quickly without a trace.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(19)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:18:57 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
This is different from the guardian angel, isn't it?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(20)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:20:55 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Well, a guardian angel could act as a mysterious stranger, but not all mysterious stranger angels are guardian angels. Guardian angels are supposed to be with us all the time. I feel we all have multiple angels around us. Some come and go as we change through life, in answer to different needs.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(21)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:21:39 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
And how does a guardian spirit differ from a guardian angel?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(22)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:23:40 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Guardian spirits come more from the shamanic traditions. They are power animals, totem spirits, tutelary spirits, which assume various forms. They can protect persons, tribes, clans -- groups and so on.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(23)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:24:35 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
How many types of angels are there?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(24)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:26:57 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Angels are distinguished by their place in a hierarchy. There are different hierarchies that have been put forward over the centuries, but traditionally there are nine classes of angels. Actually the "angel" -- the one closest to earth and humans -- is lowest in the pecking order. At the top are seraphim who are so close to divine light that they are rarely encountered by people, and they rarely assume any kind of physical form.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(26)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:28:52 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
You make it sound like there are lots of angels and their kin around. Does the question -- How many angels can you fit on the head of a pin? -- have anything to do with how many angels there are?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(27)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:30:12 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
That question about angels on a pinhead actually is one of great theological importance. Theologians have debated whether or not angels have any corporeality. If they don't, then an infinite number can fit on a pin head. Various theologians have put forth supposedly "exact" numbers of angels, but I think there are as many angels as are necessary.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(29)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:32:09 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Good answer! But necessary for what? What is the purpose of these spiritual beings?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(30)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:35:09 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
It's open-ended. Necessary for whatever needs to be done in the cosmos. Angels are supposed to be an interface or medium to God -- their chief roles are to carry prayers and answers back and forth, and to relay and act out the will of God. Actually, I think we need them in order to feel close to God.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(31)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:35:53 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
What role have angels played in history?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(32)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:38:07 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Their greatest role is in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, where they figure prominently in the life and mission of Jesus. After the church formed and doctrine was established, they entered more of a monastic existence.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(33)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:38:39 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Does angelology differ greatly from one religion to the next?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(34)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:42:05 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Angels per se belong to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and they're pretty much the same. The roots go back to Zoroastrians, who had a different cosmology. Gnostics developed their own angelology. All religions feature helping beings similar to angels.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(35)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:42:30 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
What is the difference between the angels of Christianity and those of occult magic?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(36)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:44:49 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
In many cases, no real difference. Depends on the system of magic. Some magic is oriented to the aeons, which are more from Gnosticism. But there are thousands of angels mentioned in sacred texts, who are summoned for various purposes in magic . . . and of course some magic calls upon the fallen angels, the demons!
MsgId: *high_strangeness(38)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:46:31 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
In your "Encyclopedia of Angels" you have an entry on "Extraterrestrials." Why?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(39)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:48:51 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Descriptions of angels given throughout history match many descriptions of ETs. Also, it's been suggested that the angels described in the Bible actually were ETs. The ancients took them for divine beings.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(40)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:49:20 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Why then would the ETs, especially the Grays, look so different than angels?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(41)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:51:48 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
The grays fall on the demonic side to me. But other encounters -- such as Bettay Andreasson Luca's -- feature radiant beings with shining eyes. And ETs and angels both come in brilliant light from the sky. They both have supernormal powers, and bring messages of great import.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(42)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:52:18 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Where does our image of the winged angel come from? And what is the purpose of the wings?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(43)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:54:59 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
There was a huge debate in the early church over whether or not angels have wings. The ancients portrayed their gods with wings -- how else would you fly up to heaven? -- and so when Christian artists began drawing angels, they endowed them with wings, too, using pagan gods as their models. Technically, angels don't need them.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(44)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:56:02 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Some people don't see or hear angels, they reportedly "smell" them. What are angels supposed to smell like?
MsgId: *high_strangeness(45)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:57:36 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Typically, angels bring sweet and floral scents, especially roses. This is characertistic of encounters with divine and saintly beings, such as the patron saints, Mother Mary, Jesus, etc.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(46)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:58:39 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
We are running out of time so, last question: Tell us about your other new books coming out soon.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(47)
Date: Tue Nov 18 22:59:50 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Next big one: "Dreaming for Love and Enlightenment," about the spiritual dimension of dreams -- next fall. And a collection of prayers for healing, "Wellness," in the spring.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(48)
Date: Tue Nov 18 23:00:14 PST 1997
From: Moderator At: 168.100.204.161
Thank you very much for being with us tonight, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, you're an . . . oh, never mind! For High Strangeness, this is Patrick Huyghe. Goodnight.
MsgId: *high_strangeness(49)
Date: Tue Nov 18 23:01:34 PST 1997
From: Rosemary_Ellen_Guiley At: 152.163.207.136
Thanks, Patrick, and goodnight!
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